From: "Dave Weil" <mmpunk46@hotmail.com>
Hey everyone - I am so glad I sat for 4 hours on a bus to get from Boston to New
York...this being my fourth Elliott show and by far the best...He played
everything near-perfectly and beautiful as always. The set was just like
Boston's, but without Angeles and Coming up Roses, which were replaced by Junk
Bond Trader (so great), Between the Bars (my friend almost cried), Cupid's
Trick, and Plainclothes man (a heatmiser song off of Mic City SOns and one of my
favorites - I had been guessing the setlist and hoped he'd play this!!!!). There
were subtle differences between the shows - New York's a better crowd but they
wouldn't dance until Elliott absolutely begged them - it was fuinny being in the
back row dancing by myself. Don't Fear the Reaper was amazing, even more so than
the night before, except they didn't set up the flashing bulbs...but they did
have several dancers, the skull guy (with a scythe this time), and Elliott and
CO. (Sam, Sean, John?) making BOC proud. I wish there were some new songs
(somebody's baby, etc.) but oh well...who can complain after a night like
that...and for some reason, Can't make a Sound, of all the songs, was bouncing
around in my head the whole night. Have fun Pittsburg - you're getting him on
Halloween - Don't Fear the Reaper should be great then (enjoy Kub).
Dave
PS - the Beacon is a great place to see a show, even better if it didn't have seats, but the Troc in Philly is still th ebest place to see him.
From: mount gay heaven <abe_dukenheimer@yahoo.com>
i saw the E-man play when he came to town even though i expected the worst. It
turned out to be a fun show, even though i think some of the things he's doing
nowadays are increasingly shitty. the crowd was different than usual. Memorable
moment: This older woman held her lighter to the sky during the intro and bridge
of "son of sam"--that was amusing. Also, this older hippie fellow
asked me to dance...i told him i couldn't waltz very well.
anyhoo, the show opened with three songs from "s/t" (hooray!): in the hay, coming up roses, and clementine...clementine didn't particularly strike me as too good of an idea either, but it was all in good fun...it seems like Smith & co is having too much fun lately.
after those three dishes of pure girth, elliott went into some of the better tunes from F8 including "sos," and "happiness." Some jocular, out-of-place, elliott-first-time-concert-attendee (i could tell) screamed "you go Smith!" when "S.o.S" was over and done with.
Other songs played were: division day, big nada, bled white, independence day, waltz #2, can't make a sound (which was one of the best), junk bond trader (which was bluesy), stupidity tries (much to my chagrin!--ick.), Honky bach, and then finally everything means nothing to me...(which was much better the last time i witnessed it)...Elliott's voice was not as sharp as i have come to know from live performance, but it wasn't really bad...just gruffer, and he sang out-of-tune at moments (which is way cool anyway). YOU GO SMITH!!!
then for the encore he did "color bars" (again, much to my chagrin--i say scrap that shit!), then "say yes" (which i thought was deplorable--the song came off as a sort of emotionless romp though an old tune, which made it seem like kind of like a tragedy because that is a song that shouldn't under any circumstances come off as contemporary hogwash..it did then. I think it kind of ruins the song for me...there are definitely some songs that he should quit playing given his new demeanor and disposition and full-band sound. It came off kind of like a fucking song from the Dawson's Creek soundtrack or something, and even though i like Dawson's Creek just fine, i don't think that is a proper direction for Elliott and a good vision to be having when that particular song is being played. The next song was "Between the bars," and this was even worse...it was forced and, to me, was almost like a trivalization of the song. i just think it is in bad taste to play now just because it is a fan fave. Probably, he thinks that now he has new fans, and they never got a chane to hear these songs live before...so might as well cater to the audience. But i think that is a bad idea considering how the songs are changed for the worse. It was kind of like watching someone do somthing, and not being able or wanting to tell them that it just doesn't work. It just doesn't do justice to some of the songs which i think are great...i mean, he was playing those songs on a 12 string, which was perfectly in tune that a roadie had just handed to him...the whole encore ordeal just seemed very Edwin McCain to me. and that's terrible, but that's how it is.
but i tend to concentrate on the negative aspects...this was a very entertaing show, and it was old fashioned, rock n' roll fun...especially with Coomes up there. That guy is a true Mack.
They closed with a cover of "don't fear the reaper" like in the last report from Steve. Which is kind of revealing into the whole aesthetics, sounds, and vibe of the the evening: good times and classic rock.
When the E-man and his troops exited the stage, the Stones blarred over the sound system. sweet!
yeah, and Grandaddy actually wasn't all that bad...seeing them with Bright Eyes made me want to leave, but they were an appropriate opener for Elliott and one of their pals gave me a Grandaddy Bottle Opener on the way out. What a nite.
happy halloween kids, pablo tha horse.