The show at the Agoura Hills Canyon Club was
fantastic! It cost me over $900 to attend that show, and let me tell you it was worth every single fricking penny! If you think I'm nuts to spend that kind of money, well, maybe I am.
But I don't think I'll ever get the chance to see Luke again, and when an opportunity comes knocking, you just have to open the bloody door. In any case, it was money well spent, and I don't regret it for a second.
There were two opening acts: a local band who looked like they were high school kids but played well nonetheless, and Trevor Lukather and his band. Trev's band was great! Check him out at
http://www.myspace.com/trevbabay if you haven't already. But I really do think his bass player needs a Bongo.
Luke played four Lukes. The radiance red was used the most, followed by the Dargie. Two BFRs made their appearance for one song each: a koa(!) for "Jammin With Jesus", and a blue for "Wings Of Time". He introduced the koa by saying "Music Man just sent me a new guitar. How bad-ass is that?" The prototype Luke BFR was also there as I saw it being put away after the show, but it did not see any playing time.
Luke's drummer is a monster! I forgot his name. Is it Eric Valentine? (I'm so bad with names.) He had a couple of solos, and during the first, there was a moment when I would have sworn he was channeling Jeff Porcaro.
Trev came up on stage to play along with "Tell Me What You Want From Me" and also for the encore number, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". Luke is the proud father for sure. He also introduced his daughter Tina.
It appears that David Paich, Greg Phillinganes, Mike Porcaro, and Simon Phillips were in attendance as Luke thanked them for coming. He seemed very moved by their presence. And Lee Sklar was also there; my seven-year-old daughter knows him from the Brother Bear music video and will be tickled pink that her papa got a photo with him.
The highlights for me were, without question, "Live For Today", "Wings Of Time", "Fall Into Velvet", and "Hate Everything About U". I was ecstatic that Luke played them. From what Keith mentioned in another thread, I guessed that Luke would play "Live For Today", but "Wings Of Time" totally took me by surprise. It made my night to hear those two Toto songs! "Fall Into Velvet" is an awesome piece from Luke's first solo album, and one of my favorites; it featured two guitarists and a keyboardist taking turns soloing, just like in the record version. "Hate Everything About U" is another favorite and the song I like best from his third album.
Luke, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! for an
AWESOME show and for the past thirty years.
