I don’t particularly enjoy going to a concert and seeing a band play the same songs I can hear on their CDs, in the same fasion, in a paint-by-numbers set. The best shows is where the performers, well, perform. Where they put on a show. Where they entertain.

Dick Dale, as I discovered tonight is a performer, an entertainer, and he’s also one of the best damn guitarists you’ll ever see. He knows the fretboard than most men know their own dicks. He doesn’t just pluck notes, he brings them to life. And he obviously has so much fun doing it. Dale doesn’t just confine himself to a corner of the stage. He uses the whole theater, playing to the entire audience, making sure everybody has a good time, from the oldest to the youngest.

We’re just back from his 2-hour+ show at the Majestic Ventura Theater. It was a real treat. He gave all he had, and the audience ate it up. The man even plays trumpet better than a lot of guys who make a living doing just that.

This is what we did tonight for my wife’s birthday. It was a great night.