Wow Hall, Eugene
Oregon July 25. 2002

Last Update: 13. november 2003

All photos by: John Lake

Before a far-less-than-packed house at the WOW Hall, Arthur Lee and Love played a competent, though occasionally erratic set.
Late in the show, a fan yelled out, "Great show, Arthur!" to which he responded, "Thanks, but I don't think so".
Nevertheless, the crowd was solidly behind the band and generally quite pleased with the evening's effort. Hell, with a song catalogue like Arthur Lee's even a less than stellar performance can be most satisfying.
Arthur's performance drifted throughout the evening from absolutely awesome to needing a lot of help from Rusty, who mouthed verses across stage that Arthur was having trouble with; oh well, the Stones use teleprompters that are well-hidden on their huge stages, but I guess Love doesn't have that option on tiny club stages. Funny thing about the show was just when Arthur seemed to be losing it, he'd reach down in and pull out a half dozen great numbers in a row, only to slip for a few songs, then get it back together again. I was lucky enough to meet him before and after the show and he was quite gracious.
There was a lot of Love (pun intended) between Arthur and the Love fanatics in attendance. Though the crowd was disappointing at only around 200 people, most of the attendees were longtime fans, familiar with every lyric. I swiped a set list off the stage after the show, but some of the songs listed weren't played and the order was juggled around. Anyways, here are the ones I know were played, though not necessarily in order and my list might be incomplete as I don't care to jot songs down during a show:
Orange Skies **
Your Mind and We Belong Together
Alone Again Or
Signed DC
Bummer in the Summer **
She Comes in Colors **
Between Clark and Hillsdale **
Red Telephone **
Daily Planet (Arthur commented that this was the worst song he ever wrote!)
You Set the Scene **
Stephanie Knows Who
Everybody's Gotta Live
My Flash on You
A House is not a Motel **
7 and 7 Is Singing Cowboy **

I put asterisks next to the songs that were particularly well done this evening.

Little Red Book and AndMoreAgain were on the setlist, but not played during the two hour set. The band played well, especially Mike Randle who has that old Love sound down like he's been in the band since 1967. Well, enough rambling, time to go to bed! I'll leave with a few of Arthur's quotes this evening...
"I was told an entertainer shouldn't discuss politics or religion, but I don't believe in either...what a minute, I DO believe in God"
"For my next number, I'm going to sing Hound Dog"
"Thanks to Robert Plant for keeping my music alive"
"In England I was invited to Parliament; in California they threw me in jail"
"I know this isn't my best show, but I thank you for coming"

Thank YOU Arthur...it's good to have you back.

Bruce Nelson

Just got home from the show here in Eugene...it was great to see Arthur and the guys on stage and rocking out!
I passed on a hello from the Freedom Man to Mike(who seemed like a very nice guy)..and took several pictures which turned out pretty well. There was a funny dynamic to the show at times (typical kooky Eugene audience)...We had a few lively "Gram Parson" (Mike's term!!) headbangers in the front row that Arthur and Mike had some fun with...and a hippie lady in front that Arthur said was "freakin' him out with weird looks which he could see even with his shades on!!"..
Some lyrics were forgotten here and there (Arthur joked about this many times)...but the crowd did not seem to mind. The sound was good...the group was really tight. It will be very interesting to read Mike's account of the show..there was no encore..and Arthur mentioned a few times that he did not feel like he had put on a good show (which the crowd of course refuted). Arthur seemed really beat by the end of the show--I know that the guys must have had a long drive up from San Francisco.
I waited for an autograph..but he could'nt do any more. The turnout was not very good (probably 150 people??) which was a major bummer..Arthur mentioned this a few times too!!..but the folks that did come were there for the LOVE! On the whole I was really impressed by the group and Arthur's stage presence. "Signed D.C.", "Orange Skies" and "seven and seven is" were especially good. Thanks for coming to our little college town, guys. The people that were there LOVE the music and we were touched by the way that you guys brought it to us.

Peace out,

Lake