BY DEREK KAHR
When I was 19 years old, I started bartending for a Boston harbor cruise company in the summers. Dalton & The Sheriffs would play the "Country Saturday" show on a crappy boat with overpriced beer, drinks served in little dixie cups, and a 19-year-old kid serving them. What I remember most about those nights was how fun and friendly the crowd was (and still is). I never got a complaint about the long beer lines and the folks always took good care of the bartenders. That was nearly 12 years ago now and I have been a Dalton fan ever since.
After graduating college, I started going with some friends to the Thursday and Sunday shows at the Bell in Hand. I got to know one of my closest friends by going to the Dalton shows. We worked together at the time and couldn't stand our manager. After work, we would peel out of the office and hit the weekday Dalton show. We'd usually have a few too many and would show up to work in not-so-great shape the next morning (which our manager clearly loved). We would bond about our work situation, and it was a great way for us to blow off some steam.
I was living in Southie when the Capo Tuesday shows started (about the same time as I met my wife). My wife and I loved going and listening to the music and always had a good time getting our friends together to go to the shows. A lot of the initial memories we have together consisted of going to those Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday Dalton shows.
Dalton's music, to us, is relatable, down to earth and speaks to what we know and love. I even included the line "Love the ones who love you back" in my vows to my wife on our wedding day, because that couldn't be more true to us. At the same time, we love how when we bring friends that don't know their music, the shows are still a blast for them as well.
We'll be at the House of Blues on Saturday with a group of our closest friends and cannot wait to sing our hearts out with everyone.