Fillmore/State Theatre - Detroit, Michigan - 8.20.10

Back to the two setters for the first of a three-night weekend run kicking off in the Motor City.  Jim Leyland and the Tigers were at home Friday night so there were a lot of Tiger jerseys walking around downtown everywhere.  Ordonez, Cabrera and Damon jerseys to the left and to the right.  (Tigers 6, Indians 0) Probably a few less Damon jerseys after the events that have unfolded in the past 24 hours...but this is not a baseball blog; we're here to talk tour - so let's get to it.  



                                                                         First, the marquee...

On to the show - fantastic mellow Cold Boy Smile opener.  Just a nice, smooth, warm way to begin the evening.  It was relaxed, confident and in no hurry to get where it was going.  Jealous swung and Goodtimes was good times.  The next moment that really grabbed us though was the always welcome Wings -> Bring On escape from reality.  This combo of songs is one of those treats you love to get and it was well served by the acoustic treatment.  


The next wave of the first set turned into a hoedown hootenany with Jeremiah and Hotel Illness, again with Steve out front banging away on his big bass drum.  Speaking of big bass drums, Bob Dylan wrote a song about a girl whose spell was so overwhelming that he predicted you'd buy her a drum for Christmas, and when Leon Russell covered it on Shelter People he kicked the line up a notch to big bass drum status.  Here's another Leon clip for you to enjoy.

Back to the show...the first set wound down with Under a Mountain completing the Three Snakes first set trio followed by She Talks to Angels and the Morning Song gospel breakdown, during which four tambourines were counted being shaken on the stage.  That's a big red carpet rolled out inviting you to shake your ass right there and believe me, people's asses were indeed shaking.   Joe was on one of the four, with Chris and the girls on the other three.  As always, Joe was shaking and tapping things all night, as he has been every night, and his contributions have been a really nice addition to the sound.   Plus it's cool just to see him up there and watch him during certain songs.  We'll hold off for now on our epiphany regarding his hair being a conduit to spiritual liftoff and wellness, as well as its connection to the pyramid.  Next time.

So after a short break it was time for the rock, only tonight the rock was a little reserved to start.  Soul Singing kind of echoed the reserved beginnings of the evening but Share the Ride came in to kick it in gear.  Oh Sweet Nuthin' and Darling of the Underground Press are two other songs that are always welcome, and as was the case in KC, continued the re-unveiling of music that hasn't seen the light of day since San Francisco in December of '09.  Nonfiction, Ballad > Wiser and Thorn minus any form of Progress all served to put some meat and gristle on everyone's plate and finish out the second set.  The jam between Ballad and Wiser was a motherfucker.  No other way to put it.  It was and it is a highlight of the night.

As for the encore in Detroit, as underrated as I Ain't Hiding is, it's probably safe to say people were expecting something along the lines of a rare cover or an old chestnut.  It's also safe to say that the crowd in Detroit, for the most part, was easily one of the top five worst crowds of the past three years.  You had people in the balcony sitting on their ass complaining to the folks who wanted to get up and dance...literally yelling and pointing at people who were up dancing while they sat on their ass like it was dinner theater.  You had fuddy duddys on the floor standing around with their hands in their pockets like they were listening to the keynote speaker at an insurance convention.  The vibe was, shall we say, lacking.  So even though there were obviously good people scattered about, Detroit may have gotten a little karmic return with the encore.

We're moving on to Chicago...again no comments from the fans here as we're trying to play catch up and get up to speed.  Don't ask us what beer was for sale at the Fillmore in Detroit City because we put our heads down and went straight for the double vodkas all night, which may explain why portions of the evening were a total blur the next morning.  On to the next show...