First night of the tour in Milwaukee at the Riverside Theatre. Capacity 2300. Sellout: No. Two sets clocking in at just over 3 hours. New backdrop on display behind Steve tonight with a giant pyramid that may or may not have been built by extraterrestrials. Joe Magistro on percussion throughout the night. Musical cubicles in full effect on stage. Say hello to the return of Thorn's Progress, which had been on vacation since '06 and was shuttled in from Neptune in time for the second set. A new jam rose up out of Let It Be Gone that no one saw coming. Trailing behind the Money Waster > Jam > Thorn's Progress > Thorn > Jam > Drum Solo > Thorn trek across the multiverse that made up the first half of Set Two, this portion of the show no doubt served as something of an endurance test for the uninitiated. Get your torrent here and thank taper MarkE for his efforts.
Couple of factoids from opening night: First acoustic/electric double setter since August 1, 2006 in Columbus, Ohio at the LC Pavilion (formerly the Promowest Pavilion) and the first acoustic Ballad > Wiser since February 22, 1997 at The Garage in London (which is back in business by the way, after being closed for three years).
The majority of reactions as a whole seem to be directed more at the pedestrian setlist than the actual performance. After all, we're talking about Black Crowes fans here - they'll complain about setlists ad nauseum night after night until they finally get one filled with the covers and unreleased tunes they crave and even then, they'll complain that something wasn't played the right way. They're like women; give 'em what they want and they still aren't happy. But guess what? They keep showing up at the gigs. Freaks.
As will be this blog's policy moving forward, we'll attempt to represent multiple points of view here while breaking down each show during this tour. You'll see comments and remarks from folks who were in the building enjoying the show (or being disgusted by it) and we'll also include quotes from Crowes fans that were sitting at home in front of their computers all night typing furiously to share their thoughts on the setlist via various messageboards. It'll be a balancing act around here to include a little of this and a little of that...pure unadulterated honesty, good old fashioned complaining, out-and-out hating and of course unbridled joy. So, on to the thoughts of a few show attendees, beginning with one patron's musings on the return of Thorn's Progress:
I am a complete sucker for the Thorn's Progress Jam. Put on 8/10/05 (in which it is labeled "Jam" prior to TIMP) and just feel the power of that song. I mean really listen to it. Last night they brought that jam back. I was floored. Even with Luther, that thing still has some real musical and emotional muscle behind it for me. I remember thinking as it ended "wow, that totally made sitting through a 20 minute Thorn-with-indulgent-drum-solo worth it."
Same gentleman's thoughts on the setlist...
...this is pretty much what any knowledgeable Crowe fan should expect from a tour opener in Milwaukee. It might have been different in a major market like Chicago, LA, NYC, Philly, etc...is this the setlist I or any of us would have written? Nope. Did I get 3 hours and 6 minutes (less a 12-15 minute set break) of music that was pleasing to my ears (except for STTA)? Yes.
Random observation from a fan who was situated on the floor...
i heard somebody scream '''''MOBY DIIIIIIIIICKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK" during the drums segment.
And now another fan's thoughts - one who was not in attendance - illustrated quite colorfully by his strong feelings upon waking up Saturday morning and jumping online to check the previous evening's setlist...
Fuck this band.....god I hate waking up to see such lame setlists night after night. You may see my Chicago tickets up for sale later next week if things don't get better. 7th row.....although I'd feel bad selling someone a shit product.
Check craigslist for his tickets in the coming days if you are into buying shit. Back to the comments, with the following remarks coming from a fellow who was in the building...
I was on the floor and it was packed. after 3 hours of music it's hard to complain. HARD TO HANDLE ENCORE!!!?? and no bone thrown for the diehards? thats sucks. Seriously just any song from band/tall and it feels so much better
...at first I thought it was a pyramid, but as the lighting got a little better and the night went on, it's actually a beam of light coming out of a crow's eyes/face - there's a ball of light with a couple of wings coming out of it, and the beam forms the pyramid shape.
Well, I was in Milwaukee Friday and walked away from a 3-hour performance that lacked the energy I was really hoping for. Many, many high points but a safe setlist and way too much jamming during the electric set. In the end it was simply my expectations that were too high. In retrospect, it was super solid, but yeah, safe.
A description of the new backdrop...
...at first I thought it was a pyramid, but as the lighting got a little better and the night went on, it's actually a beam of light coming out of a crow's eyes/face - there's a ball of light with a couple of wings coming out of it, and the beam forms the pyramid shape.
More testimony from a witness...
Well, I was in Milwaukee Friday and walked away from a 3-hour performance that lacked the energy I was really hoping for. Many, many high points but a safe setlist and way too much jamming during the electric set. In the end it was simply my expectations that were too high. In retrospect, it was super solid, but yeah, safe.
And finally, the words of an Obi Wan-like wise man who gets it...
Opening night of a very emotional tour for the band. Did anyone expect them to pull out old gems or play anything unexpected? Just as in past tours, they will vary the setlist as the tour progresses.
Overall, a mixed bag of observations and opinions on the opening night of Say Goodnight To The Bad Guys. We'll see where things go as the bus rolls down the road and pulls over for the next gig.
I leave you with a few pics courtesy of http://twitter.com/ssalvation -
And one from Lv2rokk - behold the majestic pyramid of mystification...
A front row camera vid of the opener Remedy that includes some extra cymbal tapping from Steve and a missed change by Luther during the solo (we mention both the highs and the lows here). Sound quality falls somewhere between awful and terrible -
Whoa whoa...almost forgot a key piece of information for those keeping score: Beers for sale at the Riverside Theatre concession stand included PBR and a local microbrew. Don't ever let me forget that again. Ok...now we can all move on to Walker, Minnesota and the Northern Lights Casino.
No comments:
Post a Comment