Set List:  (thanks Charlie's page)
junk bond trader
son of sam
bled white
everything means nothing to me
pretty mary k
la
stupidity tries
living in a cage
happiness
color bars
ugly before
amity
a question mark
in the lost & found
still here
cant make a sound
encore
wouldnt mama be proud?
just between us
cupids trick
ballad of big nothing
independence day
easy way out

"Happy Voodoo" suckmagic@hotmail.com

Amazing.
I was wowed like I've never been before. This was my second time seeing
Elliott. Though the last time he played songs more familiar to me, [though
songs on Figure 8 are pretty familiar to me now...] this show was the one to
be at. I've never heard him sound better. And the fact that Elliott had
his own sound people, made him and his band sound superb. I cannot stress
enough how good the sound was last night. Elliott sounded so good. His
voice.. God. I sound stupid right now because I am searching for words and
they just aren't coming.

I got a pretty good recording of it - minus 2 songs because they got fucked
up. I don't remember the setlist order, but I can remember most of the
songs, I think.

junk bond trader.
son of sam.
bled white.
everything means nothing to me. [he hit his high notes!]
happiness.
independence day.
LA.
stupidity tries.
pretty mary k.
can't make a sound.
a question mark.
amity.
color bars.
wouldn't mama be proud?
cupid's trick.
ballad of big nothing.
then he closed with...
easy way out. alone! and it was the highlight for me. i admit to getting
a bit watery eyed. his voice was so on! last night.

also - he played 3 songs I did not recognize. I think there were 3, maybe
there were 4. A group of fellows kept trying to get him to play 2:45 am.
He said that he couldn't because they didn't know it. Considering that this
was the first show of the tour, they only know a handful of songs. Mostly
consisting from Figure 8 and XO - and the rockin' out songs. No requests
were taken, but that is definitely understandable. Maybe they will have a
longer repertoire when they hit their other dates.

I am telling each and everyone one of you - if Elliott is anywhere NEAR you
this tour, GO SEE HIM. Make no excuses. There are none. Go now and you'll
thank me a million times over.

And all I am wishing right now is to be in Austin tonight. Damn.

Erin.

P.S. Oh yeah. I highly doubt anyone saw me since there were a million and
a half people inside Trees, but I was on the balcony to the right. [the
small one] most of the show. There's a couch up there and I stood on it.
My spot was choice! I wore a black shirt and converse tennis shoes and
jeans... Um, I got brown hair to my shoulders and brown glasses. And you
know what? I don't think I've described anything that is pertinent at all.
I probably sound like a lot of people that were there. Anyhow, I was with 3
guys - one wore a Waterloo Records shirt. One looked like Drew Carey. The
other one looked like.. well, I dunno. I realize this doesn't help at all.
So.

Shit! I forgot to mention.. YES. They have shirts.

2 designs - one is black and is the Figure 8 album cover. The second is
white and has a red 8 on it, Figure 8 style. I wonder what Elliott thinks
about shirts?

the black shirt is very much a shirt
with his picture and name emphasized on them. The white shirt, on the other
hand.. is incredibly subtle. Just an 8. No name, no nothing. I wish the 8
was black, though. Otherwise I would have gotten that one. I hate white
shirts.

If you don't have Figure 8, buy it at the show of course... Nice vinyl
prices. And - as for Wiskey Biscuit? I wasn't down with them. But they
weren't bad. I'd probably like them in a few years....

From: Jill Van Laningham walkunafraid09@icqmail.com

The Trees show was my first time seeing Elliott live. After four years of
waiting, the night finally arrived and it was the most amazing experience.

I had a really good spot...3 feet to left of Elliott. But before the show was
the greatest moment of my life. Elliott was inside doing a sound check. My
friend and I were standing outside in front of his bus, waiting to get in.
Then, I heard the back door open and who comes out? Elliott! And he walked
right by me!!!!! I didn't say anything to him because I didn't want to bother
him. But, I can't get over the fact that he walked right by me!!!!!

Anyway, Elliott performance was incredible and his voice was really strong. I
was standing next to the guys who were shouting for 2:45. They were really
annoying, so I started shouting "play anything".

I ran into two people from the list: Justin Williams, Tulsa, and James
Johnston, Dallas. It was great meeting you guys.

Well, like Erin, I am also running out of words to describe the night. I will
say that most of the time my jaw was to the floor.

xo
Jill

From: "Happy Voodoo" suckmagic@hotmail.com

I didn't get a setlist. Wasn't going to even try.... Not even the second setlist they put down for the 2 encores.

I liked the new band together. They seemed happy - there were a few smiles exchanged between Sam and Elliott and Elliott and the keyboard/guitar player. There were a few times when they looked at each other during certain musical passages. Make sure they were together.

Elliott switched instruments a lot. They had a roadie guy switch him though. And the other guitar player did too. During Color Bars, Sam played a second keyboard.

Elliott seemed happy - he talked a little, did his waves, blew kisses. And seemed comfortable. He smiled lots. The crowd recieved him VERY well.

After the show, he was whisked off with members of the Wiskey Biscuit. He seemed tired. In fact, he said that he was. He mispelled his own name when he signed this guy's CD that lives in my dorm. :)

Elliott stuck to his guitar. He didn't play the keyboard - during in the lost and found, the keyboard player did. He just sat there and sang with his guitar around him - LOOKING like he was gonna play, but he didn't. Sam sang and played bass though.

The setup went - Elliott in middle, Sam on right, other guitar player/keyboardist on the left.

I didn't meet up with anyone on the list. I was in a daze all night long and so anxious that I couldn't think about anything but what was to come.

Who are the members of his band again? Of course I know Sam, but who is the guitar/keyboard player? And the drummer is Scott from Sense Field...

Oh, there was a couple second intro to Cupid's Trick that I had never heard before.

"I hope y'all liked Wiskey Biscuit. They were really good."

From: PistBaptist@cs.com

Elliot Smith is getting old. Under the illusion that his recent work is nearly as intruiging his first two albums, he played songs exclusively from XO and Figure 8, with the exception of two mediocor songs from either/or. The main thing I was hung up on was the fact that he didn't play any of the songs acoustic. I know that it's his music and he can play whatever the hell he wants. It just would've been nice to hear songs like alphabet town or st. ides heaven. The New Elliot Smith is here. Your local plugged in pop band.

From: Gasmiser@aol.com

I was fortunate to see Elliot in Dallas at Trees. First of all, I never thought I would find a songwriter that I connected with more than Matthew Sweet. However... Also, it's rare for me to find a new artist to listen to that has several CDs before the one I get into. I happened to pick up XO some time after it was released, for no particular reason, and was absolutely amazed. That CD alone is enough encouragement for me to keep on working at songwriting for a long time to come... Then I discovered that he had three albums previous, so of course I went out and bought them. Four albums of great music all at once. I really enjoy the simplicity of his early work. A nice reminder that one can accomplish quite a lot even with limited means.

On to the show. Trees was my first chance to see Elliot live. I drove down from Little Rock, AR listening to his five albums recorded in alphabetical order, a traditional pre-concert ritual for me. This particular concert was the first at which I didn't practice another pre-concert ritual, however, which is to get shit-faced drunk during the opening band. For this I will always be grateful, because there is no way I could have appreciated the show as much as I did in that state of mind.

In general the band's sound was grand, amplifying and multiplying the subtle power of his songs. Elliot was very tight with his playing and very strong vocally. It was one those shows where you absolutely forget all about the outside world and anything else going on in your life at the time. I was also struck by his stage personality. Very peaceful I thought. Hearing him play makes you feel almost as immersed in the creative world as he is. Anyway, a very positive experience for me. My favorite moment in the show was when the drums came in during Everything Means Nothing To Me. Fucking huge. It made me feel like I weighed about one pound.

Ben - swissknees@hotmail.com