I still rate Stevie #1 in my book. I've seen him play 5 times (perhaps 4 1/4 times in that once he was so blitzed he played 5 songs and left the stage. Greg Allman with Dickie Betz came on and saved the day) but his best came after he entered recovery from alcoholism. I saw him at JazzFest earlier in the year of his death; the whole bands performance was incredible. Oddly, on the day of his death, I found out that a secretary at the university clinic where I was working was married to the brother of Chris Layton, the drummer for Stevie. She mentioned that if she knew I was such a fan she could have gotten backstage/front row passes for me any time I wanted them for any concert. Damn.... I saw Stevie go into 'the zone' for near 10 minutes one night on the riverboat President while the rest of the band and crowd stood and stared in amazement that someone could make such wonderful and full sounds come from a guitar seemingly effortlessly. At the end of his riff he opened his eyes and gazed out with a huge grin and humility as if he was saying "I'm as amazed as you; I'm not sure how this can happen either". It was a special moment.
Look who showed up for his induction into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.
AWSOME!
