A review of the Mavericks show at
West Point, February 21, 1998
By Greg Scearce (c)
"Sleep tight, America!"
I ran into Jerry Dale, Robert and Jaime in the lobby while waiting for Susanna and Heather. We talked for a while about how they had been doing since Foxwoods, how the Canadian tour dates and the few US tour dates had been, the RTML, M & Gs, upcoming shows, the whole bit. It was a nice opportunity to say more than is possible at a M & G.
Robert said that the band has gotten tighter as the tour has progressed. See below!
x – x – x – x - x
The Mavs are announced. Equipment sits on the darkened stage. The strains of Dino Martin(i) singing "That's Amore" float out over the packed house. Laughter rises, then the mixed audience of West Point cadets and other folks begins to smile and sing along!
Movement flashes on the unlit stage. Somebody is at the center mic. "Hello West Point!"
"Dance the Night Away" is launched. You can tell they've been working hard. Everyone is keyed up and ready. The audience is listening intently, some are surprised. People around me begin to stare, mouths drop open, then smiles form. The song comes to a close, and you can tell they've been won over.
Into "Tell Me Why". As I told Robert in the interview last month, this one took me the longest to get into. Now it's a personal favorite, and totally different from "DTNA", so more ears in the crowd perk up. The horns and sax blare, the vocals, guitars and keyboards are in perfect harmony, the Man from Slingerland is pounding… and Nick begins to show off the talent that makes him one of the greats. No more of the tentativeness that we (in retrospect only) saw at Foxwoods.
Jerry's piano starts "Someone Should Tell Her" and the horns chime in strongly on the choruses, and you can finally hear the rhythm section down below. Man, I love the way this rocks, and so does the audience.
Raul steps to the mic and introduces Mr. Jerry Dale McFadden, who obligingly tears into the familiar boogie-woogie piano opening of the revved-up Mavs version of a Merle Haggard classic, yep, you guessed it, "Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down". Although Raul starts out singing the wrong line, no one misses a beat, not even the new guys. It is a revealing moment. The band has started to meld again. It's that old "Whatever Raul dishes out, we can follow" kind of mentality working. Yessir, the MAVERICKS are back in town.
"Bottle" is a tremendous showcase for Jerry Dale's piano skills, and he rises to the occasion with some Floyd Cramer-like touches in the middle and some Jerry Lee Lewis acrobatics while playing. Tonight's just rocks out, with that big band feel and driving beat that Raul and the boys just thrive on. It really gets the audience screaming, whistling, and stomping. When it ends, I hear many sighs of almost relief around me, whispers of "Wow!" and "Damn!" and just a general release of pent-up energy. God, how I wish this were Tramps, with the open-floor-no seats layout. But even so… you can experience the energy seated here.
Into "To Be With You", introduction by Robert as "the new single that you might actually have heard" and with the recognition after the first few bars, it's obvious that there has been some airplay. Not enough yet, but the crowd by now is sold on the new music, so there's not a problem with the unfamiliarity. Instant acceptance. With Jerry Dale nicely simulating on synthesizer the string parts done in studio by the Nashville Strings, this power ballad really shows any remaining doubters the full power and range of Raul's voice.
"I've Got This Feeling" is Raul's favorite from Trampoline, written with Jaime, and features Nick's and Jaime's guitar "Q & A" – Nick plays a riff, and Jaime responds. Raul's vocals are tremendously heartfelt. The crowd loves it too.
The organ flares, and "It's Not Unusual" begins. It had been an encore song at Foxwoods, but here it is, a part of the main show. I don't think too many of the cadets know this Tom Jones standard, but it doesn't slow them down a bit from having a good time. Again, this song shows the work that has already occurred on the road, as all the instruments worked perfectly and the horns were really able to range widely. In fact, you can see this growth with every single Mav.
The customary acoustic moment arrives. Tonight's break is a solitary Raul standing at center stage with the acoustic guitar, performing "Dream River". Perfect for showing off Raul's voice, a great way to let the audience really hear him at work, all alone. The cadets even went wild over the whistling segment.
Back to the full band, out comes the megaphone and the audience responds by getting into a hand clapping routine as requested by Mr. Malo ("People of West Point…" he begins). "Delores" is born with Paul slapping the hi-hat and the horn section doing its best Dixieland thing, while Jerry Dale cooks at the piano. One of the cadets gets up to boogie, shedding his uniform coat, and his colleagues go nuts. I'll bet he was from New Orleans and just couldn't help himself. Mavs fans know that feeling! The big tempo change comes and the fans stay with it. Hey, I hear one of those toy slide whistles… The crowd roars its approval as the song comes to a close, and I can only echo those Canadian journalists' reviews that in essence said "Pity the poor McGraw who has to follow the Mavericks!"
With a church organ and gospel chorus, it was time for "Save a Prayer", and since the audience was still vibrating from "Delores", they were hooked. Oh man… it concludes, and I hear some more "Wow"s and "Damn"s in the air around me, and the boys say goodnight.
The Mavs leave the stage, and I'm thinking, "Well, that's pretty good, the boys were able to do ten songs. As an opening act that's not bad, but I suppose they have to make way for Tim" when what to my wondering eyes should appear, but the Mavericks coming back out to a yell and a cheer.
Jerry Dale speeds into "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down", and the crowd responds with cheers and whistles as soon as they recognize it. The horn section keeps trading licks with Nick, while the boys keep the rhythm rockin', and it turns into a 5 ½ minute long version worthy of the live CD, with the added bonus of the horn parts and Nick feeling comfortable enough to take some guitar risks. You're going to really enjoy this one.
Raul's periodic yells of "2-3-4", coinciding with the stage lights turning to light up the audience, result in roars from the crowd. Then Raul switches places with Jerry Dale at the organ bench, and with screams of approval, the Lord of the Dance takes center stage. But this is the new-and-improved giant economy size "Trampoline" version of the dance, complete with some fine circus clown antics. I won't ruin it for future showgoers by giving everything away. I think Jerry Dale may have a second career waiting in the wings for the next hiatus.
Then, with a mambo piano lick,
Jerry Dale and the horns kick off a real Cuban-feeling "La Mucura" to close
the show on a high note.
Whatever reservations we may have harbored about strict, proper, sedate and straitlaced West Point cadets were quickly dispelled tonight. And I have to say,
"America, sleep well tonight, the future of the country is in good hands. The future military leadership of the United States is solidly laced with Mavericks fans!"
Yes, it wasn't just my imagination that the Eisenhower bust over the archway was smiling wider as I left than when I came in.
"You must see this tour. By the time you
get there, these guys will be as tight as Dwight Yoakam's pants!"
Thanks, Mavs!