David Gray, Conor Oberst, and RYAN ADAMS at CSUN last night...

Adrienne surprised me with her Christmas Date yesterday (we do dates instead of gifts). It started at Dr. Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas BBQ, which honestly was so damn good that I would have been stoked already. Then we went to see David Gray, Conor Oberst, and Ryan Adams at CSUN. It was awesome to show her the music building and the MT room (unlocked, of course) where I spent those 'other' two years of grad. school...The venue is absolutely stunning and it was a real thrill to finally go inside it after all of those hours I've spent reading and studying near the fountain and in the trees out front and all the performances were great. I was really excited to see Conor solo because I've only seen him with MOF at the Greek (Insano Show, too). He played a couple of his 'classics' and ended with a kick ass John Prine cover...but... Ryan just outperformed both of them hands down. Very cool to see him with a full band after the amazing shows in Big Sur and at Disney Hall a few years ago. The reworked songs in electric form were done really well (Dirty Rain, Dear Chicago) and the setlist was a nice mix of "hits" and the last two records, of which I prefer Ashes and Fire, but the new one keeps growing on me with it's 80s sensibilities. He did his nice cover of "She's Not Me," by Jenny Lewis, which springs from him producing her record and continuing to play some dates with her including tomorrow night in SF. The performance of "Magnolia Mountain," (see above video if you aren't familiar with this tune) was quite exceptional. This is an old video, but it's still got mainly the same vibe with the Cardinals. I would argue that the backups were superior last night and that the spacey instrumental section (which makes this a Furthur favorite) was more compelling, but the track stands alone since it's release on Cold Roses back in '05. The full setlist was:Gimme Something Good, Let it Ride, Stay With Me, Dirty Rain, Magnolia Mountain, Dear Chicago, Lucky Now (solo acoustic), She's Not Me, When the Stars go Blue, Sweet Carolina, La Cienega just Smiled, I Love you, but I don't know what to Say, Come Pick Me Up. Thank you babe for the amazing date night and Christmas gift. You have really set the bar high for me this year. I love you and I don't know what to say ;)