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A Bub at the Hub. Whew! - Show Review Jim "Beam" Anderson, Norcal eTree

I didn't get tickets to RRE for Friday (or Saturday), so I stayed local heading to Henflings to see some friends playing at one of my regular haunts. I wasn't alone. Brett & Tracy, Penguin, Stacy, and I think a few others from the SC area picked this as their back up plan.

Dream Asylum opened. Derek Bodkin on drums and vocals. I also knew the players from the BC Brewery; Peter on lead and Bruce on rhythm guitar. They did an excellent job of getting the crowd rockin'. After a great set that lasted over an hour the Dave Stein BubHub came on. They sounded better than I had ever heard them before. It blew my mind!

Derek stayed on the drum kit. A new bass player who I had not seen before was on stage getting the crowed revved up calling for a social as he downed a shot of Jaeger.

I'm not sure when it hit me but at some point during the first half of the show I noticed that the music was really taking me places. Places I never expect this band to take me. The quartet was playing like a band instead of a series of leads/solos. Derek is very strong on drums. He was driving the band hard.

Previous times I saw the band (one night at the Yankee especially) I thought their drummer was weak. Timid even. Derek was anything but timid!. And the bass player, he really new how to hit the groove, fill in the bottom, stand out with lead breaks, and all that. Dave on guitar and vocals and Ryan on keys have always been strong. I think filling in the percussion section with two strong musicians has made all of the difference.

One interesting thing I noticed was that Dave never forced his guitar to be louder than the rest of the band. Every instrument seemed to be mixed such that they all blended in a nice gooey way. Though the songs tend to be straight ahead rock, even mellow rock, with some Dead and other covers thrown in for good measure, the jam space was what turned my head around.I was trying to figure out what was causing the music to sound so interesting.

It wasn't any one instrument. It was the ensemble. Amazing! All of the musicians seemed to be on equal ground, able to play off of each other. Pushing and pulling. Driving and following. As we danced around and the music would ebb and flow with intensity I was wondering if it was just me having my own special trip. But no. There were hoots and hollers from people dancing hard. It wasn't just for one song either. It just kept coming. Derek sang a song or two. The bass player sang a song. Dave sang the balance of the tunes.

I understand that the line up beyond Ryan and Dave is some what in flux. I would really like to see this configuration stick together. With Derek and the new bass player this is a real band!

- Jim "Beam" Anderson

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