Meet Jim Crowe from Chandler, Arizona.
I just got back from seeing America at the Casino Arizona show here in Phoenix. It's a cabaret type showroom, and I was lucky enough to get a table right at the stage next to Gerry's piano. As always (this must be my tenth time seeing them over the years) the show was excellent, even though it was the "short set". I started listening to them (with everyone else) back in the early seventies when the early hits were rolling. I was just learning to play the guitar and "A Horse With No Name" makes for a pretty decent beginners piece, so it was in my early set of songs. I didn't really get into them though until the first time I saw them play live at the Concord Pavilion in Concord California. Warren Zevon opened for them (taking over for Jesse Colin Young) and it was an awesomely long show showcasing their current hit album at the time "View From The Ground" and "You Can Do Magic". I was blown away by how much more energy they put into the music on stage compared to what's on the albums I was hooked. The next concert I saw was at Caesars Tahoe in Lake Tahoe Nevada in January 1985, the first concert where I was able to get right on the stage in the cabaret. My two best memories from that show were meeting Gerry in the lobby of the Casino and getting a chance to talk to him for a few minutes (I've still got my autographed ticket from that one), and the fact that the band thought they had been asked to sing at the upcoming Super Bowl. They told us that, then revealed that they had been mislead. It was "Jay and the Americans" that had been asked. (No, I don't really know who they were either outside of the song "Come A Little Bit Closer. Go figure.) I've been going to see them whenever I can ever since and hope to continue to see them well into the future, despite my biggest disappointment to date, tonight. The show was short, but great, and then they just ran off. No autographs, after show talk, nothing. I realize the road shows get tiring, but a few minutes meeting the die hard fans can't hurt. Oh well. I enjoyed the show and talking to the other fans that hung around for a while, trying to catch them at the tour bus. Thanks for the years of music Dewey and Gerry. I hope I catch you next time around.
Feel free to send your comments or questions to Jim.
