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DJTees Blog
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The curse of having hit records...
The curse of having hit records...
Authored By John Nicholson
I have everything Steve Miller has ever released including the first not-on-album single as a demo, so when I saw him live it was a special moment. It was a Konocti Harbor resort in northern California about 15 years ago. It was an open air gig and came after a hot summer day. As a big fan I wanted to hear pre-Fly Like An Eagle songs, but most of the set was drawn from Book Of Dreams and Eagle, although they are great, popular albums, they’re quite middle of the road AOR Even so. The crowd liked it. At least until he announced he’d be playing a blues set now and proceeded to play some excellent blues. This was of no use to the people who just wanted to hear Jet Airliner and about 75% of them drifted away to the bars. It must have been galling for him. Clearly he put this blues set in, to break up the show, and keep it interesting for him. Have you ever been to a gig like this where the crowd isn’t interested in anything apart from the hits? It was very disappointing that as soon as he finished the blues section, they all returned to hear Rockin’ Me. He did dip into the past a couple of times for Livin’ In The USA and Nothing Lasts, but apart from that it was all Fly Like Eagle and Book of Dreams. Maybe this is the curse of having two big hit records. Have you experienced this?