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September 1st, 2007
American Music Fest Virginia Beach, VA
We saw Steve Miller and Grant Austin Taylor at the Virginia Beach 5th Street stage at American Music Fest (14th year). We originally had tickets to Wolf Trap again in the DC area, but that trip would require a 3.5-4 hour per way trip plus and overnight stay, so we ended up selling the tickets when we learned that he'd be coming to Virginia Beach less than two weeks later! Worked out cheaper, less of a drive and no hotel stay. However, it was CROWED. This years bands weren't so great. KC & The Sunshine Band, Tavares, Steve Miller Band, Grant Austin Taylor, Jesse Chong Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Dokken, Angie Stone, Vertical Horizon, Jack Ingram, Tommy Tutone, Carbon Leaf, Berlin, Georgia Satellites and more. We only saw Steve Miller and Grant Austin Taylor (see page below for him). I've never seen so many people crowd the front like that before and we've been to a TON of concerts. We started out very late and got there an hour after gates opened, so seating wasn't great. We were like 25 deep in... however, by the time the crowding came, we were like 100 deep from the stage! Nobody up front who had chairs or blankets could use them. Tickets for this event were 15.00 each plus if you went on the day of it, it was 20.00. There was a "convenience fee" to order online, so they were like 17.50 each plus an "extra fee" so basically, they were like a dollar total less than buying the day of the show. Ridiculous. Parking was crazy. We did get the garage parking (which is the cheapest anywhere) for 5.00 but it was a LONG wait to get into the garage and a lot of circling to find a spot. Not fun. I advise getting to the beach EARLY; before gates open and just buying a cheap chair, setting it up and leaving it near as possible to the stage and get CLOSE to other people because if you leave more than 12", people WILL come in front of you. Guaranteed! Bring suntan lotion and don't eat at the beach. Food is very limited there and what is there is horrible. It hasn't improved in years. The chicken is something to stay clear of. It's never cooked all the way through. Eat BEFORE you go and stick to beverages there. There's not much in the way of food and beverages anyway. Also bring a light jacket even in summer because it gets cool there. Camera are allowed. Coolers and strollers are not. Sunglasses, good beach shoes and go potty before you get there. Porta potties are available but always a long line and not always clean. Autographs are near impossible at this event.
Grant
was a young boy (age 12) who has for apparently 6 years been playing guitar
and writing his own songs. His songs talk of love and experiences I
don't think he's old enough to feel but he seems to have an old soul.
His father played guitar and taught him and he got some adults to back him
up (one is a keyboard player of a radio station). He's a very good
guitarist and I think when he gets older and his voice changes, he'll sound
really nice. Right now he needs a little seasoning as his voice
doesn't match his songs... he will have a great deal of experience too as
he's done radio and a few shows for some very well known bands (like
Aerosmith). I see this boy growing up and becoming huge. He's
really good with the audience too.
Left to Right: 1) Drummer Scott
Travis (I think; formerly of Judas Priest) 2) Grant Austin Taylor 3)
Keyboardist Harvey "Big Bird" Kojan and Jimmy Wiseman bass player. Not
shown:
David Taylor-rhythm guitar
Links of interest:
Harvey Big Bird Kojan (Grant's Keyboardist) and 99 FM WNOR
Photos copyrighted to www.dahoovsplace.com E-mail: dahoov2@cox.net