Reviews by...
Joe
Fox Theater, Boulder, CO 11-Aug-00 Be My Love Heaven Knows I'm Lonely Now Been Around the World Seven Days ET Girl Sweet Potato Wedding Day How Can I Live Without You? Teen Angst Shiner Song Loser Dr. Bernice Lonesome Johnny Blues Happy Birthday to Me Sweet Thistle Pie 100 FPM Mr. WrongA very solid show, but not a great one. I think part of the problem is that I was completely spoiled by the Traveling Apothecary show back in the spring. I really liked the set list and the flow of the this show, though. Lots of songs I hadn't heard in a while.Cracker Soul Pictures of Matchstick Men James River Trials and Tribulations Low ------- Another Song About the Rain
DL came out and apologized for starting late. He said they had some "technical problems, we couldn't find all our liquor". I know it's been said before, but I do think it's pretty cool when they kick-off a show with some new tunes. It's as if they don't necessarily feel the need to come out and get the crowd going with a hit because they have that quiet confidence that says "we know we're gonna kick your ass later on."
I was taping, so I ended up on JH's side, on a rail about 3 feet above the stage. I stayed off the floor in case I felt the need to make a mad dash back to the DAT. My position ended up being a great vantage point for both the band AND the crowd. There was a woman standing next to us taking pictures who was a friend of Soraya's, so there might be some good pics coming our way. Melissa had her digital camera, but those aren't the greatest in a low-light/no-flash environment.
I do think Boulder now holds the record for "quickest broken string" in a song; Teen Angst. First chord. DL stopped the song, got a new guitar, and said something on the order of, "When you break a string on the first chord, it's better just to stop and start over." A few people made it up on stage to dive off, though I must say there wasn't really a mosh pit happening and no crowd surfing. Anyway, it seemed to piss BW off and she said as much. "The first guy looked like an asshole for getting his ass kicked by a girl and I don't usually hit girls, but the next one that gets up here is gonna get hurt." Immediately after that, DL thanked the crowd for their enthusiasm. And then played a polka to (perhaps) calm everyone down a bit.
At various points during the show, BW was introduced as "my cousin from Pine Bluff, Arkansas" and KM was from Colorado Springs.
The sound of the Strat is considerably different on many of the songs. It took me a while to get used to it, but I liked the sound a lot by the end of the show. It definitely gives a new feeling to the music. I did hear from a friend of friend that JH's smashing of "goldie" seemed to surprise everyone, including JH himself. This nameless person also said that his playing dropped off noticably at the Fillmore show after the incident. Any opinions by attendees?
JH sang lead on the ASATR encore. Has he been doing that all along? I think I missed that little tidbit. Who does it on the record? I guess I could go listen to the record, but it's easier to ask youse guys.
All in all, a very good show, as I said. I think the one image that will be indelibly imprinted on my brain is that of none other than fellow lister Soraya. There's that part of ASATR in chrous..."another song about the rain, oww-oooo", and she was absolutely engulfed in the encore and throwing her head back and just *howling*..."OWWWWWW-OOOOOOOOO". You could just see the positive vibes coursing through her body. Melissa noticed it, too. Very, very cool.
My tape came out OK. I have a middle-of-the-road Sony stereo mic and was using my friend's TASCAM. You can hear everything, but it's a little boomy at times. I'll get a CD copy of it to Cursion or Matthew or whoever so there can be a burn tree, if desired. I've never heard the other bootlegs circulating on this list so I don't know how it compares, but I would give it a B rating in relation to other live tapes I have. Not great, but not terrible either. I wish I could've gotten a board feed, but Woody was pretty adamant that wasn't going to happen. That's really too bad since the Fox has a patch bay built in behind the soundboard and you don't have to bug the sound guy at all. Oh well. All in all, a wonderful evening with one of my favorite bands.
later,
joe