The Mavs take the Birchmere "by storm", 2 March 2014

Alexandria, Virginia: a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon with the threat of a major snow and ice storm, yes, another one! on the way, but the prospect of participating in the Mavs' #25LiveTour kickoff week brought a sellout full house to famed concert venue The Birchmere for the fourth night of the 25th anniversary tour.  Reports from the first three nights (Charleston SC, Durham NC, and Charlottesville VA) were of a fun show with many tunes from the old catalog and a fresh new intro to take over for the longtime "Zorba's Theme" as a builder of audience anticipation.  Well, the reports of a killer new show were not exaggerated!

Arriving at the venue 4 hours or more before showtime allowed the crazed earlybirds (OK, I was one of them) prime access to the choice table locations.  Two red tour buses were in evidence:

Ruby One and Ruby Two

Met up with a group of members from Facebook group Mavericks Fans Unite! - some of whom I had met at previous shows and some new friends.  The group is now 1039 strong and growing every day.  It is a great group for sharing information about concerts, a marketplace for last-minute unused tickets, photos, videos, and a great bunch of Mavs fans.

 I was able to watch the soundcheck and enjoy the great joyful interplay between the Mavs including newest member, bassist Jay Weaver (longtime accompanist for Raul's solo shows) and ace horn player Paul Armstrong.  The evening was off to a good and promising start.

Soundcheck:  Sway

After soundcheck Max Abrams came out for a visit with those gathered and awaiting the call.  Finally we were allowed to troop in to the performance space and choose seats.  We ended up in the front row of tables just at stage right in front of Eddie Perez.

Soon the house lights dimmed, and progressively a blue lighting scheme came up on the stage.  Shadowy figures appeared, ghostly blue. 



New intro - a rhapsody in blue of sorts

 



Jerry Dale started things off on the organ, joined by Eddie's guitar, then Paul's drums, Raul, Robert, Max, Jay and Michael were there and ready, and BOOM

The stage lights came on and the band launched into "Tell Me Why".  Wow. It works! 

The night progressed with old songs and new and favorite covers, the traditional Raul solo acoustic set in the middle, and by the time it was over, more than 2 1/2 hours of great music had filled the great acoustics of the Birchmere and the crowd was loving every minute. 

The setlist was a fantastic mixture and well thought out:

Tell Me Why
Things You Said To Me
Back In Your Arms Again
All Over Again
Pretend
There Goes My Heart...
Here Comes The Rain
Sinners and Saints
Missing You
Okie From Muskogee
From Hell To Paradise
Every Little Thing
Fall Apart
Dance in The Moonlight
As Long As There's Loving Tonight ('scuse me as I was typing "As Long As I Get Some Tonight" there for a second

Acoustic break, Raul solo
Sweet Dreams
In Dreams

Oh What A Thrill
I've Got This Feeling
Oh What A Crying Shame
Dance The Night Away
Save A Prayer, with Reverend Malo
I Said I Love You
Sway, into that Spanish number with the mystery name
All That Heaven Will Allow
Come Unto Me
All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down

This phase of the reunion tour is just going to get better and better as the band continues to work through the old songs and bring the new members fully into the fold, but I once again found myself saying that it was the best Mavs show yet.  So stay tuned!

The 25th anniversary of the Mavs is a great occasion, and the commemorative and collectible merchandise was plentiful, with even more to come.  Some special items: signed posters, drum heads with Robert Reynolds' original artwork and signed by the band, and Max Abrams' new CD, Sway, featuring Raul on vocals and just released before the band hit the road.

After the show the folks who stuck around were rewarded by Max, Michael, Paul, Robert and Raul coming out to chat in the lobby, as always, very generous with their time.

Shows are selling out very quickly, so make your ticket plans and purchases now to avoid disappointment.  I was only able to get to this show due to another fan's cancellation (shameless plug:  learned about it on Facebook group Mavericks Fans Unite!) and I am extremely happy that I didn't miss out. Plan, buy, and remember, if life should in future get in the way there are 1000+ fans out there and very likely in that group someone who may be able to pick up your unused ticket.

Coming up starting Friday, the tour hits the upper Midwest, then on to Canada before returning to the States.  And European fans don't worry, a considerable amount of shows are planned for Europe in 2015.  I would love to catch this show in Amsterdam!

Oh yeah, almost forgot:  another CD is in the works - songwriting underway and studio time coming up - and a live performance DVD shoot is also planned.  Again, stay tuned.

Cheers - see you out on the #25LiveTour road!

Greg