When it comes to this Steve Miller concert in 1998, I don’t remember too much. The main thought I have is that this was the first time I ever saw Steve Miller, even though I had been a fan for quite a while. I fell in love with his “Book Of Dreams” (1977) album. I must have played it a thousand times. Each time imagining what Steve Miller looks like and more importantly: Does he play as well as it sounds on record? All my questions were answered on this night
Steve Miller is my favorite kind of rock musician: one who sings the lead and plays the lead – guitar, in this case. I think it is the little action of stepping out from behind the mic to jam on the guitar that is appealing to me. To me, the singer/ songwriter is the best thing to happen in music. Elvis was great and passionate when he presented a song but the emotions he displayed might not be genuine. That is not the case with the singer/songwriter nor with the singer?lead guitarist. As an audience member, it is not too far of a reach to say that the emotions portrayed on stage are real.
In 1977, I was a young lad and had no idea of Steve Miller’s historical past in the blues (The Steve Miller BLUES Band) nor his early days in the Bay Area. By this time he had hit it big with hits from his last three albums, “The Joker”, “Fly Like an Eagle” and the aforementioned “Book of Dreams”. That’s where I stood with Steve Miller, he was a hitmaker with a sweet guitar sound. I think I learned a lot more about Mr. Miller on this night at the Fillmore. A new appreciation of the man as he worked through hits as well as wowing the crowd with his guitar work.
The Poster
The poster for the evening had references to some of Steve’s well known characters. The artist was Randy Tuten who had been creating artwork for Bill Graham shows since the late 60’s. Many of Tuten’s posters are quite sought after, drawing hundreds of collector dollars. On this poster you can see a spaceman relaxing on the moon while sitting in a lounge chair. The spaceman stares up to a star constellation in the sky. It is in the shape of a cowboy on the back of a rearing horse. A Space Cowboy! The title of a song off of Miller’s third studio album, released in 1969!
History in Person
I do remember Steve Miller relaying stories about the ‘old days’ in the San Francisco music scene when he moved there in 1966. He really got his professional footing in the city by the bay. The band, with some locals added in (notably guitarist Boz Scaggs), hit the ground running on the west coast with two big festival shows in 1967 (Magic Mountain Festival and The Monterey Pop Festival).
Soon after, Miller dropped the psychedelic blues style in favor of a more straight ahead rock vein. The newly named Steve Miller Band (they dropped the ‘Blues’ part) went on to great success with the immense popularity of their 1973 album, The Joker. The rest is history! On this night at the Fillmore in 1998, I finally had my Steve Miller questions answered! He IS as good as he sounds on record. He CAN still sing those classic songs. He plays the guitar beautifully and, in 1998, as it turns out, the 55 year old, future Hall of Famer still had a long way to go! And I got another chance to see him…..stay tuned.
