Steve Poltz - 05March09 - Dayton, Ohio

Canal Street Tavern... The historic venue in my backyard. Steve's been making the trip to Dayton, Ohio to perform here since his early days with the Rugburns.


Some lesser known local band was supposed to open up for Steve this night, but canceled. Sometime that afternoon, Steve's friend and fellow musician, Tom Flannery, left his Kentucky home to come up in hopes of catching Steve's set from the audience. By the time he got to the venue and met up with Steve, Steve was ready to have Tom open for him. Tom, not having any gear with him was left with playing an opening set with Steve's guitar, but that didn't stop him from putting on a great show.



This was my 2nd chance to see Tom perform, as he and his brother Tim, and son Dylan joined the stage with Steve at a show in Lexington, Kentucky in August of 2007 (Photo Gallery). He has a very musically gifted family, and it is always a pleasure to be in his presence and hearing his music. His song, Orion, must have left an impression on me in Lexington, because even after a year and a half, after only hearing it the one time, I found myself remembering the lyrics as I sat in my seat in Dayton. It is definitely a song worth listening to. If you would like to hear it and some others from Tom, jump over to his MySpace page and listen to some that he has posted there.



After Tom handed over "Ol' Smokey" back to Steve, Steve played another great set, and continued his antics from the previous evening in Indianapolis, keeping us all laughing and tied to his every word as he shared his humorous stories from his past and his travels.



Steve was also joined on stage again by Niki Dakota, the host of Excursions on WYSO, a Dayton public radio station. Niki had Steve on her show earlier in the day for about 45 minutes of songs and stories, so Steve invited her back to the stage to help sing a song with him, just as he did the last time he was at Canal Street Tavern, last summer.

It was again great to see everyone that came out. Beth, her husband, and the twins that are going to be scarred for life, thanks to Steve, made the trip. Matt and Terri Maylen made it down from Michigan for this show. Slack, the host of that Lexington show from 2007, came down, bringing some friends and co-workers from a job-site in Ohio. Of course, Frag, Nessa, Colleen, and the usuals came, keeping the family-like atmosphere in tact... well some weird dysfunctional family-like atmosphere anyways.

OTHER PHOTOS FROM THIS SHOW:

Steve Poltz - 04March09 - Indianapolis, Indiana

Steve Poltz at Local's Only... If you ever wanted to see just one show of Steve's and had to choose one venue, this would have to be the one... Well this one and The Barn in Michigan, but that's 2 shows, so just go to both. Anyways, there is something about the atmosphere at Dave and Michelle's venue in Indy that brings the best (or worst) out in Steve, but regardless makes for an amazing night with Steve. For some reason, Steve doesn't have the ability to end a show in a timely manner here, but for those of us in the crowd, we will NEVER object. His set lists in Indy somehow always end up stretching to 35-45 songs even on week nights, which is a remarkable feat for any musician.

Somehow this show became one to remember for me and my family. Having took the week off from work to travel home and see friends and family before catching some of Steve's shows, I was able to get to the club early to talk to Steve during his sound check. I had been talking to my brother, Kenny, in Afghanistan, on a Voice-Over-IP program earlier in the day. Kenny and I talked about the fact that this was his daughter, Fiona's, 5th birthday. Kenny and I thought that it would be cool to have Steve wished Fiona a "Happy 5th Birthday" and sang her a song, and then played a request for Kenny as well. On this tour, Steve has been recording the audio from the live show, and his road manager, Chris Modle's been burning live audio CD's of the shows and selling them as soon as Steve is done with the last songs. So I knew I had an opportunity to get the recording of Steve's birthday dedication to Fiona, and have something to send to Kenny in a care package.

So I approached Steve before the show and explained my thoughts, to which I got a reply of "No!" with a sheepish chuckle. Steve asked a few minutes later if I liked that answer, and I said, "We'll see!" and then I reminded him that my family has guns and we know how to shoot them. That was the end of that conversation, as I let Steve continue to get prepared for his show.

Coming to the show in Indiana is a great chance to catch up with my extended family of Poltz fans that I only get to see a few times a year. This show brought back some of my closer friends, in Spring, who brought her fiance, Eric and about 8 others from work. Rob came and lured some friends from Illinois. Got to see Colleen and Nessa, as well as April and her friend Heidi who both sat with me through this show. Chris and Dianne Wolf made the trip, as expected, and Jay and others made it who I hadn't seen for a few shows.


Steve had Chris Wolf join him on the stage a few times, not only to help demonstrate the choreography of one of Steve's songs, but also gave Chris the opportunity to play a few of his own songs, including "Spotless" which can be heard on Chris's MySpace page. "Spotless" is a very entertaining song about Chris' invisible dog. This song was just selected from 15,500 songs as a finalist for a International Songwriters Competition. I highly recommend everyone reading this to go listen to the song. If you enjoy it, go vote for it. To vote, just follow this link, then click on the word "here" in the box that says "Click here to listen ot the finalists songs and cast your vote."

Steve was definitely in his element this night, as he was more than entertaining to all in attendance. He kept the atmosphere loose and fun, and kept the crowd involved the whole night. Keeping us involved had an unplanned effect as he realized while on stage that he was going to sell more live CD's if he made some of his banter and songs more personal for each person in the crowd. Upon realizing this, he stepped up his game and made it a personal experience for several of us.


During Steve's break, I took the opportunity to leave a note on stage asking again, well more like threatening Steve to play "Marsupial" for Fiona and wish her a Happy Birthday. Steve returned to the stage and played a few songs, but other than an occasional glance, made little effort to let me know that he acknowledged my note. Then during his encore, he finally made the dedication, but made it in a way that was entertaining to his crowd as well as addressing my note.

Fiona's Birthday Request-UNCENSORED Part 1.mp3

NOTE: This audio file contains some language and references that may not be suitable for younger audiences.

Fiona's Birthday Request-UNCENSORED Part 2.mp3

NOTE: This audio file contains some language and references that may not be suitable for younger audiences.

Fiona's Birthday Request.mp3



I got back to Elwood sometime after 2am and spent a few hours editing the audio down to try to get Fiona her song without any offensive humor included, but also wanted to provide the uncensored parts to Kenny in Afghanistan, as I knew he would love to hear it, as well as Steve's greeting to Kenny and congratulating him and Kelly on the future birth of their next child in July.

SOME PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW:






Don't ask... You really "had to be there" for sure!

Steve Poltz - 02.27.08 - Dayton, OH

For the first time, I brought a family member to a Poltz show. This may not sound like a big deal, but some of Poltz's shows tend to drift into a direction that sometimes you don't want to bring a parent in on. However, this show, this night, was a perfect oportunity to introduce my father to Mr. Poltz and his antics.



The show this night was nothing short of a great time. The Truckee Brothers (or Truckee Bothers as you can see on the paper sign behind Chris in some of the photos) were awesome. I was able to pick up a couple of the Truckee Brother's CD's at this show, and they have just moved up to the top of my "must have" list for anyone that is looking for a great rock album. "It Came from the Speakers" and "Double Happiness" both are awesome CD's and well worth a purchase. They have a sound that is unique and catchy that I think anyone could appreciate!

Steve Poltz - 02.25.08 - Indianapolis, IN

So, in the few years that I have been following Mr. Poltz, I had yet to get to hear him in a musical setting with any similance of a band behind him until this night. Poltz, has been "Traveling" since December 25th, last year, has been to Australia and back, then jumped on the road with Chris and Patrick of the "Truckee Brothers" mid-January. This tour with two of the four members of the Truckee Brothers made its way into my neighborhood this week, and I knew that I couldn't miss it.



This show was definitely an interesting show to witness. Our good friend Chris Wolf was in attendance expecting to watch the show with the rest of us, when 2 minutes before show-time, Poltz pretty much just asked him, "How's everything going? Wanna open up for us tonight?" I am still not even sure that Chris had time to reply before he was already standing behind a microphone on stage.



This show also featured our door man from "Local's Only" being called on stage to play drums with "Cady" and "Peat" during their set. We had the road manager on stage playing bass to songs that he had never played before, and weather that seemed to only be nasty in Indy when the show was going on. The drive in and the drive home was fine, but about 3 inches of sleet and ice fell during the show. Just another bizarre Poltz show. This night also featured the beer coaster flipping contest after 2am, as club owner, Dave, showcased his coaster flipping talents, to the dismay of Truckee Brother, Patrick, and his potential childrens.



Poltz and the Cynics... A sound like none I have ever heard, but something that I do enjoy, and really look forward to hearing again. If the audio from this show is posted on archive.org in the coming weeks, it will definitely be one to listen to!

Steve Poltz - 08.11.07 - Hightstown, NJ

Another amazing Poltz weekend! Steve performed another show, his 8th I believe, at Lou & Rain's house. A great evening started off with the beautiful Carrie Engdahl's set, which became apparent after the first few songs to be a perfect opening for the antics of Mr. Poltz. Carrie is by far New Jersey's best female singer/songwriter.


Steve played much more of his new music and announced his Australia tour at the end of this year (Dec 25 - Jan 11), as well as announced the date of the release of his new album(s). Apparently there will be 2 CD's released early next year, and for reasons obvious to most Poltz fans, I would prefer not to post the date, since it has changed soooo many times over the last few years.


Again, another fun and exciting trip to New Jersey (my 2nd this year), to Rain and Lou's humble abode. Again meeting many more great people along the way. This trip was my first Springer-less Poltz show, which was odd. "Springer, we miss ya, girl!"


I was able to spend most of my time in Jersey with Morgan and Megan, our Poltz friends from Chicago, which was really RAD! Had a great time all around, and not looking forward to the drive back to Ohio. Enjoy the photos, and Rob, "Sorry, but I don't think anyone filled your shoes as archivist for this show. So a set list may be hard to come by."


Again, many thanks to Rain and Lou for their generocity in hosting these great shows year after year, and thanks to them for allowing me the opportunity to come enjoy them and try to capture some of the moments for others to see! "You guys rock!"

Steve Poltz - 06.09.07 - Chicago, IL

What an amazing way to close out the Midwest part of this tour. Steve's time on stage was limitted due to another concert after his show at Shuba's. Even still, Steve rocked the house and finished up his set with so much bottled up energy, that it literally spilled out into the streets of Chicago. Well across the street to the sidewalk in front of the bank across from Shuba's. Here, Steve put on a second show of the evening for all of his fans that had travelled far and wide to come see him. He even made new fans from random passing people.

Poltz Weekend 06.01.07 - 06.03.07

Another amazing Poltz weekend... Wow! I am still just blown away by Steve's antics and songs. He is an amazing musician and an even better man. Steve puts on an amazing show wherever he performs, but get him out in the Midwest and in some of these livingroom shows like the one that Springer Productions puts on in Frankton, Indiana, and like that the Maylen's host in South Lyon, Michigan, and you are in for a treat.


This weekend, Steve began with the Frankton show at the American Legion Hall. Albeit it was a little warm this time around, the show heated up more with Chris Wolf's comedic song lyrics and Steve's antics and passion for music.





After the Frankton show, Steve, Springer, Rob and I made the trek up I69 towards the Maylens. Several stops for Starbucks, and stops caused by my drinking 44 oz. Moutain Dews later, we arrived in South Lyon for the unveiling of "The Barn". This was the first show ever at "The Barn" and what a way to christen this great new venue.








The weekend concluded with the annual stop to Local's Only in Indianapolis, where for a Midwest bar venue, the Poltz fans seem to come out of the woodwork, including representatives from "The Bob and Tom Show," dedicated faithful fans, and this year, we were blessed with the surprise visit of Matt and Terri from the Saturday night show in South Lyon. An amazing show, in which Steve surprised us all with some unforseeable antics. We were blessed with a stage dive of sorts, right into our table, as well as a surprise guest duet with Chris Wolf and Springer, when Steve decided to take part in the crowds viewing of an amazing version of Chris' invisible dog song.