Dailey promises fans some 'classy craziness'

1/9/2004
BY VANESSA WINANS
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Pat Dailey's a fish-story kind of guy.

Not only can he tell a few, but he sings a few, too. And he'll likely be doing both at tonight's performance in the Valentine Theatre.

Dailey, a veteran Great Lakes-based singer/songwriter, expects to play a mix of familiar and unknown material - and not all of the latter is new.

"I've been digging up some old songs I wrote years ago, that I haven't played in a long time," he said in a phone interview from his Cleveland home. "I've been reworking them."

The favorites folks can expect include "You Don't Have To Be Drunk," "I've Got To Be Drunk To Do That," and the famous "Great Lakes Song," which Dailey wrote. Asked if he'd play "I'm Hungry" for New Year's dieters, he laughed but refused to commit.

He also plans to play several tunes from his children's album, "Pat Dailey Sings Shel Silverstein's Underwater Land," which he recorded with the late poet Silverstein, a good friend of his.

Dailey, 62, has performed in the Valentine each January since 2000. The experience of playing in the renovated theater never grows old, though. "I love it. It's beautiful, and after all the years I've spent in bars, it's flattering" to play in such upscale surroundings, he said.

For folks who are familiar with Dailey's Put-in-Bay act, the Valentine show will be a little different.

"If you're in shorts and a T-shirt, and you're sweaty, that's a summer thing. You go into a nice theater like that, you step it up.

"The show will be quieter," he added. "There will be craziness, but not loud craziness. A classy craziness, fitting the theater."

Pat Dailey performs at 8 tonight in the Valentine Theatre, 400 North Superior St. Tickets are $15, $32, and $40, and are available at the box office or by calling 419-242-2787.