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Would You Please Welcome. . . Joe Rathburn Live at Dark Thirty Reunion Show
Jimmy Duke, longtime host of Dark Thirty house concerts.
A little over 21 years ago I contacted three musician friends about helping me record a live album at my friend Jimmy Duke’s house concert series, Dark Thirty Productions. It would be a huge undertaking for them. They would have to learn 22 of my songs and, because of circumstances and scheduling issues, would have only two rehearsals before the show. It was risky. To record a live album is a serious technical task, and to capture everything with only one take after only two rehearsals was, well, not going to be easy. But David Beldock (guitar, keys, and vocals), Paul Beach (bass), and Roger Friend (drums/percussion) stepped up and accepted the challenge. We gathered twice in David Beldock’s living room to rehearse the show, work out bugs in the arrangements, and lock things in as much as possible.
The date was booked, the invitations were sent out, the arrangements were made for Dan Connor to bring his recording gear and sound man Dave Henk to be there, and on a cold, windy and rainy December 4th, 2004 we recorded a very fine live album: Would You Please Welcome. . . Joe Rathburn Live at Dark Thirty in front of an audience of approximately 100 people all crammed into Duke’s large knotty pine living room with a fireplace, a balcony, and an attached deck.
By all accounts, over the years the recording has been touted as a fine live album. Everyone I’ve talked to who own it have lavished glowing praise on it.
I recently had a reunion with musicians Beldock, Beach, and Friend at Beat N Track studio in Fallbrook. Beat N Track is owned by producer/musician/arranger Dave Blackburn, who mixed and mastered the album back in 2005. We listened to Live at Dark Thirty in its entirety and were quite amazed how well it’s held up. We were proud of our performances as well. We’ve decided to do a show to commemorate that recording and reproduce it at Vision on Thursday, June 18.
I’m proud of the songs and proud of the band; I know we’ve all grown as musicians and will bring all that maturity to this new reading of the songs. The great Dave Blackburn will be there, this time running the sound for us as well as capturing another multi-track recording of the show, so I’m absolutely certain it’s going to be one great concert and will probably sell out. I’m assured Jimmy Duke, now in his 90s, will be there and will intone his famous introduction for us once again to start the show. I can’t wait.
What follows here are the liner notes I wrote for the original CD. They tell the story well.
From the Liner Notes of Would You Please Welcome. . . Joe Rathburn Live at Dark Thirty
When Jimmy Duke offered me yet another coveted slot at his legendary house concert series, I was of course thrilled. I was due for a new album and had a lot of new, unrecorded songs. So, I decided to record the show and make a live album. Then I got to thinking, “Jimmy wants me on December 5th, 2004, and I turn 50 on the 26th. Thirty-three of those 50 years I’ve spent as a performing musician. Why not combine the live CD with the milestone birthday and make this really special with a band?” The wheels were set in motion. I realized those wheels could either take me somewhere great or simply roll all over me.
Most folks who do live albums do one of two things to assure their success. They either A: record several dates to be able to pick and choose the best parts from all of them, or they B: record with a band that they perform with regularly, so the songs have a chance to breathe, take on a life of their own, and settle in over many performances. I knew I would not have the luxury of the former, and as for the latter, I’d be lucky to get in a couple of rehearsals with whichever musicians I chose. I took a leap of faith that it would all work out somehow.
After a lot of thought I chose the band. I told Dave, Paul, and Roger what they were in for: learning 22 songs in two, possibly three rehearsals, and having to nail ‘em all cuz we’d only get one shot. Dave and Paul had played some of my material before, though it had been many years since Paul had. Roger, on the other hand, had never so much as even heard my songs. I knew, though, that they were the right players for the job. I prepared the charts and recordings and rushed the materials to them. I knew full well that with their busy schedules they’d have little time to work on the songs, but they’d do the best they could. Again, I had faith.
Obviously, things turned out fine. Here’s the album. Though the weather tried to chill, drown, and blow us away that day, 100-some folks crowded into Jimmy Duke’s house. Some had to sit outside on his covered deck (blankets, speakers, and heaters provided). He intoned his famous “Would you please welcome…,” (this time adding my name to the end of the phrase), and the show began. The audience sang Happy Birthday to me, then the band and I burned down two sets of music that I’ll not soon forget. A great time was had by all. As you listen to this recording, think about the beautiful energy that crowd of good people was sending our way, and how that energy came back to them through our performance. That, my friends, is the true meaning of the term “in concert.”
We all, audience and band, were in concert together for a couple hours. That’s why it worked. —Joe Rathburn 2/9/2005
Come be in concert with us again on Thursday, June 18,2026, 7pm at Vision, 4780 Mission Gorge Place, San Diego, 92120. Tickets: https://visioncsl.breezechms.com/form/20260618
