Rock & Roll Royalty was in the house with Hall Of Famer Dave Mason on stage. And there was also so much more ‘Royalty’ present in pure musical influence hovering just above us in this beautiful 165 year old barn venue. I’ll explain more in a minute but first a few words about the amazing Mr. Mason.

In 1994 Mason was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame as a founding member of the group Traffic. Sadly only he and Steve Winwood are surviving members. Obviously Winwood was ONE of the names Dave threw around during the show, but there were way more. Let’s see, he shared that he played with Fleetwood Mac for a few years, so let’s add Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Christie McVie and Lyndsey Buckingham. He also toured with the Bramlett’s, better know as Delaney and Bonnie who frequently opened for Blind Faith so let’s add Eric Clapton’s influence.

Now sprinkle in a little Joe Cocker who recorded Mason’s song Feelin’ All Right which although previously recorded by Traffic was a huge hit for Cocker…and, by the way, I didn’t hear Mason complaining! He played that tune as well as the Dylan/Hendrix .. All Along The Watchtower, which is the most requested song by his audiences. It’s usually his encore as it was this night. Evidently Mason and Hendrix were big buds.

Once off stage he sat and signed autographs for all that wanted them. Sure wish more LEGENDS would do that as well.

Did I mention yet that he shared that he was raised and lived right down the street from Robert Plant and I think a Stone or two and perhaps a Beatle?

His set included more than fifteen songs, including We Just Disagree, one of my favorites. This was a great hour and a half performance that I enjoyed thoroughly along with everyone else in attendance. One barometer for me is how loud and boisterous the crowd was. There was a lot of hooping and hollering all night long and plenty of shout outs.

Fortunately there were no requests for Freebird but there was one idiot woman that felt like it was OK for her to get up on stage with the guys. I think it was terribly tacky, and totally uncalled for.

Certainly haven’t seen it much, but perhaps spirits played a part or just the abundance of musical spirit on stage!  Mr. Mason seemed to take it in stride and even commented ‘That’s one of our Official Masonettes’. A classy way to handle it, reinforcing my impression that he must a genuinely nice guy.

I did get to meet him before the show and asked him if he still liked what he was doing for a living. His answer was ‘I love the music and being on stage however the travel is tough. Unfortunately, they go hand in hand.’

Dave Mason played three new recently written songs during his show. One was country, one more bluesy, and one was instrumental. I liked all three and what I liked even more was that he is still excited about his craft.  My favorite line of the night was when he shared ‘My hair might be gone and my waist as well (check out the photo gallery and you will see what he’s referring to) but I still have in me some great material to write and record.’ He added that since he has found no outlet in America for his music beyond the internet, he is collecting e-mail addresses of all his fans from coast to coast and will share his material that way. Way to go Dave!

This review would not be complete without mentioning that playing guitar with Dave tonight, as well as the night’s opener, was Jonathan McEuen. Jonathan was just outstanding during his fifteen minutes on center stage. He played a great cover of Leader of the Band. This is one of my favorite songs by the much loved singer Dan Fogelberg. May he rest in peace. Great opening set by this son of one of the founding members of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John McEuen. The good genes were obvious!

Until next time I hope you keep it between the navigational beacons.