Dave Mason

It was great to see Dave in South Louisiana once again after a long absence from this area. At 77 years of age he still has the ability to play the guitar, but as would be expected his voice is beginning to give in to age. His backup band was good and their vocals added just the right amount of support to Dave. The entire concert was superb, the song list and Dave's narrative between songs was exceptional . I'd do it all over again if he was to play in this area in the near future.

Dave was great. His band sounded awesome. The trouble is, I went there to see a Dave Mason concert, and he only played for an hour and 14 minutes. The Outlaws played for about an hour before him. I would much rather have seen a complete Dave Mason show without an opening band. From now on, I might avoid concerts with opening bands. Not worth the money.

The Capitol Theatre to me is the best place to watch a concert it's located in Clearwater Fl. There is not a bad seat in the house the people who work the event are always willing to help out. Now about the concert Dave Mason is truly a musical Icon. He and his band has never sounded better His music been around awhile and he always makes it sound new and fresh. Specially love the way he takes the Traffic songs the ones he says are AD after Dave and arranges and makes it his own. If Dave Mason comes to a town near you go see him do not miss a chance to see one of the greatest musicians and a true Hall of Famer

A great show from Dave Mason and his band last evening. They performed a great selection of Traffic tunes, which included Dear Mr. Fantasy, the Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Pearly Queen, Medicated Goo, Rock n Roll Stew, and Feelin’ Alright. Guitar player Johnne Sambataro did a brilliant version of Blind Faith’s Can’t Find My Way Home. I enjoyed hearing keyboard player Mark Stein, from The Vanilla Fudge, sing You Keep Me Hangin’ On. I will be seeing him again with the Vanilla Fudge in April. Dave Mason’s voice is better than ever. All in all, a wonderful night of great music.

No frills, no fluff, just straight forward rock and roll by Dave Mason and his very competent group of musicians. They played a lot of Traffic tunes as well as many gems from Dave's solo albums including my favorite album "Alone Together" he cut after leaving Traffic. He's a trooper. 77 years old and still going strong! Excellent show!!

Wow! Dave Mason was terrific last night. Full of energy and clearly enjoying being close to home, he and his band really rocked the house! He opened with “only you know and I know” and flew through mist of his greatest hits. Mark Stein is a great addition, too! Don’t miss this energy packed show if ge comes near you!!

The first time I saw Dave Mason was in 74 in San Francisco. The concert was fantastic he played all his hits many off of album Alone Together. Included a few songs of traffic. Even Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. He has a great sense of humor. Keep in mind he's 77 years old. If you get the chance see Dave Mason. He's without a doubt iconic. The executive manager of the Elsinore theater, came on stage named a couple that is a huge fan of Dave Mason. Executive manager said because of this of this particular couple who me call that their names and ask them to stand up to get them recognition for quote "pestering" him relentlessly to book Dave Mason. Thank you so much. The Elsinore theater was built in 1926. It's absolutely beautiful. The architecture is of Gothic style. You could put the the lobby in the theater in Disneyland and it would be right at home seriously beautiful. Not to mention the Acoustics were outstanding in that theater. I've said it all now.

The Palace Theatre is a beautiful intimate venue with really nice staff. There is a wonderful outside area as well as tables in the lobby where people could enjoy a drink before the show. The venue has exceptional acoustics, and the security was present, but NOT standing out should there ever be a problem. The concert started promptly at 8 Pm and David with his amazing band (each member has incredible resumes in music, too many to list here) and they played about an hour and 40 minutes nonstop to a very appreciative audience. Dave seemed to have a great time and gave everyone the major hits of his career. (If he would have performed all of them, it would have been a 4-hour show!) The highlight for me personally was an extended version of LOOK AT YOU LOOK AT ME from his first solo album. Both he and his keyboard player did passionately inspired solos. Dave is NOT a flash guitarist, but he is one of the best on the planet! He's not there to dazzle with an aerobic display, but simply plays passionate solos for his very lyrical and melodic songs. In my personal opinion, he is the best guitarist with a Wha wha pedal as we have ever seen. He becomes one with that pedal and his guitar tones reflect that. It was a perfect evening and then to top it off, Dave went to the lobby to spend time with fans taking photos and signing autographs. A rock and roll icon and Hall of Fame member taking the time to show HIS appreciation to his fans! Just a perfect evening!

His music talked to me, moved me since his start. It was wonderful to hear and see him again in such a close local environment. Your band members are a perfect match for you, your songs are forever. Bucket list in my own neighborhood! Thank you for coming to Hartford! XO

The Master was in the house delivering a music history lesson. With stories, record facts, and a few light hearted moments, and a band as tight as a compound bow! Every one walked away with giant smiles and just awe for a legend of 76 years young this amazing man sounds and plays better than ever! Also included was the Dave Mason shop booth with not only T- Shirts but re-recorded vinyl album, CD's Posters and more all run by super nice people including Dave's wife! Post show had a meet and greet with Dave and he was signing anything from the shop that was purchased. I was on cloud 9 during and after the fantastic performance!

Fantastic show!!!!! Dave’s voice & guitar were spot on. The band, very energized, well balanced, took us on a history ride of Dave’s lifelong achievements. I thoroughly enjoyed every song. Do NOT miss the ‘Endangered Species Tour’ !!!!!!

Dave Mason: 1/19/23 “Embracing the Tuesday traffic in Atlanta, that’s exactly what I did. There’s absolutely no need to fight it when the jam itself is caused by Dave Mason, co-founder with Steve Winwood of Traffic, the 60’s/70’s English rock band. It was my first time seeing Dave LIVE and a long time coming, not that there hadn’t been ample opportunity as Dave has frequently passed through nearby towns time and again. In fact I had held third row seats for a cancelled performance scheduled for 3/31/22 also in Atlanta. Good things have a way of coming to those who wait as I’d gladly swap out 3rd row for front row-center seats any day. Mason in addition to Traffic boasts a career of 15 solo studio albums and 10 charted singles not to mention studio work with rock’s top musicians, too many to list (think— Hendrix, Clapton, McCartney, Harrison, The Stones, CSN…), in addition he was also a member of Fleetwood Mac for a brief period of time. It was also my first time visiting the two-story, 26,000-square-foot City Winery, a 350 seat table and chair facility in Ponce City Market. The Winery would prove the perfect venue for an intimate evening up close and personal to the artist —so much so that my chair butted right up to the table-height stage! Taking in the wide-angle view, the set up was from stage L to R: bass (Fender 4 and 5 string with a Goliath III speaker and amp system), drums (with ‘ENDANGERED SPECIES TOUR 2023’ and animal images on the drum head), Dave’s microphone (a 12 string Alvarez, 2 Fender Stratocasters, 2 Fender speaker cabinets with a Furman amp), a Hammond SKX Pro organ, and additional guitars (2 Variax electrics). The 76 year old took the stage at 8:45 for an hour and a half/14 song set drawing from all 53 years of his music catalogue beginning with his latest release ‘World In Changes’. The set took a heavy lean into Traffic’s catalogue with 5 songs, each rendition personalized by Dave somehow done without deviating too far off from the original recordings. There was ‘Rock And Roll Stew’, “Forty Thousand Headman’, ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy’ and “The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys’ which caused my mouth to drop with Mason’s playing as I mumbled the words ‘O My Gosh’ to myself. Dave’s playing has not diminished one degree with age! Within this past year I’d seen Beck, Travers, Kenny Wayne and Bonamassa play LIVE, and Mason stood right up there with them controlling tromolo, volume, and wah with precision and ease. The main guitar the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer used throughout the evening was his 1950’s bright red Strat with a matching red strap in lightning patterns, a true beauty! There was a situation involving the set lists as Dave’s was different than Ray’s (on bass) leading Dave to call the shots himself on which songs would come next in order. Ray slid with his foot his setlist across the stage to Dave who intentionally ignored it in lieu of eye contact, verbal cues and countdowns. Dave briefly stopped to address the crowd letting us know this was the first date of the 2023 tour, ‘This is our first show here, the 21st in Charleston, and a… till I drop, don’t miss the last show (laughing)!’ The other album Dave drew much of the material from was his 1970 debut album ‘Alone Again’ with 4 songs. However mid-set was the crowd favorite ‘We Just Disagree’, Mason strapping on the 12 string, ‘Alright, time for me to be a sensitive son of a bitch here’. The song itself was sheer perfection complements of Ray on bass carrying out the high harmonies. Sitting a mere ten feet away from Dave I really wanted to break the strict venue ‘no video or photography’ order to capture the song but I settled on a quick one snap photograph just for the record. A word about the band, there was Ray Caldwell on the bass with a four octave voice, he took the lead on ‘Forty Thousand’. Tony Patler on keys has played for Michael & Janet Jackson, Patti LaBelle, George Michael. Johnne Sambataro on additional guitars has an amazing resume of studio work with artists such as Clapton, Frampton and Page. He started out with Dave back in ’78 and took the lead vocals on ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’, Dave introducing the song, ‘We opened a lot of shows for Blind Faith which of course Eric stole most of that band, and a, so we’re actually gonna feature John here on a Blind Faith song for you, okay?’ It was drummer Marty Fera’s (Joe Walsh, Temptations, Johnny Rivers) first ever engagement with the band and you’d never have known it if Dave hadn’t mentioned it. The regular set ended with an audience participating guys vs girls singalong as Dave introduced Traffic’s, ‘Feelin’ Alright’. ‘Every bar band has played this, still plays it, and you may’ve sung it in a karaoke bar somewhere so a, here ya go’. The encore was a fast-paced rendition of ‘All Along The Watchtower’ putting the ribbon and bow on the band’s musical expertise. There may or may not have been a meet and greet should I have waited it out instead of choosing to get a jump on the long ride home, Mason upon exiting the stage stated, ‘I’ll be happy to come out there and shake babies and kiss hands.’ Immediately after his exit one presumptuous fan hopped up on stage and grabbed all the set lists, a road tech ripping them out of his hand reamed the fan, ‘What do you think your doing, you cant just take things off the stage’. The things you see in Hot-lanta! An unannounced bonus was the appearance of opener Thunderstorm Artis who had toured with Mason in 2022 as well as the likes of the band Train and Jack Johnson. Thunderstorm (yes that is his real name) born in Hawaii now residing in Oregon had gained notoriety as the finalist in season 18’s The Voice. He took the stage precisely at 8:00 for a half hour/8 song set including both originals and covers. His warm personality, mellow vocals and impressive guitar-body percussion brought the audience to their feet. ‘I’m super thankful that he (Dave) brought me out for this round here and be with you guys here in Atlanta man, it’s a lotta fun, y’all got a lotta good food down here.’ Highlights included the Beatles ‘Blackbird’ (his Voice audition song) and a rendition of Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ that brought the entire crowd to silence during the performance (you coulda heard a pin drop). Artis is definitely somebody to watch! On the eve of 81 year old David Crosby’s passing I left the venue grateful that I was able to see 76 year old Mason while he’s still around and at the top of his game!” Review and photo by DAve (Concert #735)

Was a good show but couldn't hear the keyboards most of the time and the drums were overpowering at least in the lower circle. A announcement was made to put away your cell phones, no video or pictures allowed. Al Stewart is always great but I wish he would have had the whole band, his guitar player Josh was a highlight and has really improved in the last few years.

Dave sounded better than ever. Great song selection from Dave’s catalog. Even broke out a new song. Band was super tight and looked to be having fun. Too bad the crowd didn’t get up and dance until close to the end of the show. Must have been all those masks in the crowd.

Was an incredible concert! Mason puts on a great show at 76, and still shreds on his electric guitar. Played most of "Alone Together", his classic album from 1970 (I still remember a friend's purple vinyl copy!) and several other hits. Had a really hot band. (For those youngsters who don't know who he is, look him up on Wikipedia and be amazed at all of the blue hyperlinks with names of bands and artists he's been associated with over over 50 years!) No pictures, unfortunately, since they announced at the beginning "no photos, no videos please".

The show was great. However, we were given menus to order food and no one ever came back to take order and there seemed to be no one taking or serving. the Low tables along the ramp make it hard to see, the tables should all be high tops to see over the high bar stools at the counter and people standing around.

My big brother turned me onto Dave Mason so long ago as a teen and within the last 2 years of 2 shows being postponed or canceled altogether, I finally got to see him at least one more time since back in the late 70's with Jessie Colon Young! It was good to hear & see him last nite! Thankyou Dave Mason for being so good!! Bravo!!

The band was superb, but Dave seemed a bit tired. Steve Cropper and the Dave Mason Band seemed to do all of the heavy lifting. Dave was not on stage but for maybe 75% of the time, and that’s actually being generous. He really didn’t play that many songs. To be fair, I did see the Doobie Brothers/Zac Brown/Eagles snow on Saturday night and that is a tough act(s) to follow so maybe my standards were a bit too high last night.

Excellent show great songs Dave can play the guitar like a son of a gun talking stick resort show room is my favorite room in town to see a show the acoustics are excellent and every seat has great sightlines sure hope he keeps coming back to town regular I would love to see him again

Dave was super. I liked his version of Traffic songs, but especially the songs from his solo album. Got personalized autographed pic after the show. Also great was the Ultimate Performance Package at Ram's Head that included a special 4 course meal and unlimited drinks. Decided to stay at the Loews where we exchanged greetings with the band the next morning. Was a very special event.