Feelin' Alright? Bit of a stiff neck myself

Dave Mason
Harrah's Casino Voodoo Lounge
Maryland Heights (St. Louis), MO
Thursday, August 16, 2007
General Admission
$26.64

I have relationships with songs just like I have them with people. The more times you listen to a song, the better you know it (the deep ones, anyway). Sometimes when a song doesn't click with me immediately, after I see it live, it's like hanging out with someone and seeing a different side of them. Warming up to someone you didn't get at first.

Feelin' Alright from Traffic has been my insightful friend whom I turn to for advice. I had always liked this song and bought the 45 back in high school. I made a monumentally bad decision of where to go to college my freshman year. Small, close-minded, treated you like kids, way out in the boonies. It was so different than my brief college experience of living on Penn's campus when I was 16. That was freedom! The first verse summed up my feelings so well.

Seems I got to have a change of scene
Every night I have the strangest dream
Imprisoned by the way it could have been
Left you on my own or so it seemed
I got to leave before I start to scream
But someone locked the door and took the keys

The next year, I left Ursinus and transferred to Penn, my dream school. I also "broke up" with my longtime best friend A. She alienated a lot of her old friends, and I tried to stick with her. But I finally saw that she wasn't really my friend and hadn't been for a long time. The second verse of Feelin' Alright took on new meaning.

Boy, you sure took me for one big ride
And even now I sit and I wonder why
Then when I think of you, I start myself to cry
Just can't waste my time, I must get by
Gotta stop believin' in all your lies
'Cause there's too much to do before I die

Feelin' Alright was written by Dave Mason. There have been many different versions, but my favorite is the original, recorded by Traffic when Mason was in the band. This was the first Traffic song I ever loved. I had an epiphany about Traffic a couple years ago at a Steve Winwood concert, and they're one of my favorite bands now. But back when I was a teenager, I got to see Dave Mason when he was briefly a member of Fleetwood Mac in the 1990s. (Oddly enough, I saw the Traffic reunion tour 8 days earlier at the same venue.) Mason had a solo spotlight, and I was so hoping he'd do Feelin' Alright, but he did We Just Disagree instead.

I'm sure I had plenty of other chances to see him over the years, but I didn't care. But now, I was curious to see this other facet of early Traffic. Mason's songs with the band are so different than the ones by Winwood and Capaldi, not nearly as compelling, aside from Feelin' Alright.

We bought tickets to see Mason last year at a casino, but there was an ice storm the day of the show. I wasn't leaving the house that day, but I think the show took place. Thankfully, he came back less than a year later. We bought tickets again.

What can I say about this venue? It was the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah's Casino. It was general admission. We had dinner at the casino and were among the first ten people in line. As I was sitting there before the show started, I thought it was going to be the worst venue ever. We walked in, and there were rows of chairs facing the bar. I didn't get it. "Where was the stage?", I actually had to ask someone.

Wow, the stage was way up above in the bar, in a second floor loft-type space. There were seats on the floor by the bar, raised booths behind them that were all reserved for casino VIPs. Behind there was another raised area with more tables. The viewing angle would be better from back there, but further away. Instinct took over, and we chose front row seats. Only a few front row seats were taken, I didn't know if they would suck or not until the show started.

It turned out not to be that bad. Unusual, but still a good view.

Mason came out right around 8. I didn't know what to expect, and all I expected to know was any Traffic songs and We Just Disagree. Roy knew a lot more of his solo material, from hearing it on the radio. Roy tells me he opened with "Let It Go, Let It Flow". Mason talked to the audience, mentioning the stage setup was strange and that he was gonna do a song from the second Traffic album. The woman two seats over from me had been in line with us, and she and I both cheered. Her friend, sitting next to me, turned and said it was like hearing it in stereo coming from both sides like that.

The Traffic song was 40,000 Headmen. I knew this was a Winwood song, but I was surprised to read the liner notes that Mason is credited with nothing on the song - he didn't play at all on the studio version. Winwood did all the vocals, guitars, keyboards. Hearing this song so soon in the set was almost a relief, there were going to be Traffic songs. This version was pretty good, with the keyboard player getting a big role. At the angle we were to the stage, I could only see the keyboard player's head and I couldn't see the drummer at all. Mason did a good job, but he clearly doesn't have a voice as good as Steve Winwood's. Roy thought Mason's singing style and phrasing reminded him of Winwood's in places.

There were some more songs that Roy recognized that I didn't. Some new songs too. Most of the songs were new to me, and the newly written ones fit right in. I know I've mentioned here how hard it can be to listen to a lot of unfamiliar material. That just wasn't the case this night. Very well paced, eclectic set, with music ranging from country rock to guitar jams. He kept my attention the whole show. They played We Just Disagree midway through the set. Good version of All Along the Watchtower. I learned that Mason played on Hendrix's classic version of this song.

Dave said he was going to play another Traffic song. It was Dear Mr. Fantasy. Very different version than Winwood's, the melody was reworked a little and Mason spoke-sang the lines. He also played around with the phrasing on the vocals, and it kind of annoyed me because it was hard to sing along to. The women next to me got up to dance. I didn't want to block people's views, but what the hell. I danced for the second half of the song. Big cheers for this one.

The set was fairly short, and the band came back out to do Feelin' Alright. Yes!!! It was nice to finally hear this one live. I think it was closer to the Joe Cocker version than the original laid-back Traffic one. One of the band members gestured for us to stand up, and we all did. I think my favorite song of the evening was Dear Mr. Fantasy.

Was that it? The concert started at 8 and it was only 9:20. We didn't leave our seats in case there was a second encore. No, that was it. The show seemed like a good length, there were plenty of songs and no filler. Nice to be done at a show so early on a work night. Some of the band members had come out, but no sign of Mason. Roy asked the woman at the merchandise table, and she said Mason comes out to meet fans sometimes, but not this night. We headed out. Roy drove me back to my car, which I left at my office, and we both drove home.