Black Potato Festival - Clinton, NJ - July 15, 2007

[shari]

I am going to let Jen tell the stories, but here is the link to the setlist (I'm back...)

http://ellispaul.setlistarchives.org/sh ... =200707153



Shari

[JennyLevE]

It was another very interesting show. It seems like there is always something with Ellis. The show started off pretty normally. After being introduced, Ellis opened with:

1. Maria’s Beautiful Mess
2. The new Civil War song – Cotton burning?
3. Once Upon a Summertime
4. The Day After Everything Changed (Wabi-Sabi song)
5. Speed of Trees

To this point in the day it had been really hot and humid. It was really nice that just before Ellis started playing the sun had ducked behind the trees, on top of the cliff, in front of which the stage was situated. Anyway, the clouds were rolling in and Ellis asked us if we were going to be OK if it rained. Everyone cheered and I don’t think that many people expected it to rain at all. Low ad behold about half way through the next song…

6. God’s Promise

It began to drizzle. Quick thinking as he is, Ellis creatively changed some of the lines in the song to include summer showers and additional rain storms. From Looking around I’m not sure that many people in the audience realized that the lines had been changed, but those of us how did appreciated it. By this point, it was actually raining and as people looked from one to another trying to figure out the best well to deal with the sudden shower Ellis started to play

7. Have You Even Seen the Rain

It was really very amusing and many people began to sing along. At some point in the middle of the song the lovely people at Black Potato decided that they needed to cover the speakers and other electrical equipment and we had a short break on account of the magical summer rain that was cooling down the temperature and radically reducing the humidity to everyone’s relief. The rain didn’t last long and as the sun started to shine through the cloud cover once more, Ellis started singing…

8. Here Comes the Sun

If was as if Ellis had control of then weather, because the more he sang the song – the brighter the sky got. Following the rain Ellis brought his band (consisting of Donny McCulley, Bob Hennessey and Matt Hebert) on stage. The began with a lively version of

9. the World Ain’t Slowin’ Down
10. Kiss the Sun
11. Alice’s Champagne Palace
12. Jukebox On My Grave
13. Take All the Sky You Need
14. 3,000 Miles (with Greg Cagno)

All of which included the band. As Shari mentioned on the setlist site Ellis was asking of audience suggestions to name the band. Ellis asked the audience to submit names to the stage on dry pieces of paper. After having selected the bands three favorites, Ellis Paul and the Rain, Ellis Paul and the Stormers and Ellis Paul and Mary, Ellis asked the audience to applaud for the name that they liked best. The audience selected Ellis Paul and Mary and Ellis decided that he would never play the name the band game again.

15. Blacktop Train
16. Encore: Let It Be

All together it was a really exhilarating show filled with great music dancing and a lot of laughter.

--Jen

[paddyinthepub]

Jen...

Thanks for the wonderful telling of Ellis and the Band.

Wait.....Ellis has a band?!?!?

[shari]

See? I knew she'd tell the story better than I would!

Thanks Jen!

I really like the name "Ellis Paul and Mary"