The band was relaxed and had fun. The guitar playing was at times sloppier than on the previous shows I've seen this tour, but at other times much more inventive. On a bunch of solos Todd tried things I've never heard him do before. The solo on Open My Eyes, for example, had nothing to do with any previous solos he'd done there, but it worked great.
The venue was excellent -- fairly intimate with good acoustics. The sound system was excellent too but for a totally inept sound crew. For the first two songs Kasim's mike didn't work at all and Todd's mike sounded very thin. The sound guys fiddled around with the board and giggled wires. Finally, Todd diagnosed the problem with one kick of his foot -- a mike cable extension box that was faulty. The kick sent a giant boom through the sound system but fixed both his and Kasim's microphone problems. Throughout the night the band constantly complained that they couldn't hear themselves or each other. Thankfully, the sound in the audience was really good.
Speaking of the audience, the crowd was surprisingly loud and rowdy. I got the feeling that most of the people closest to the stage were season ticket holders who didn't really know what they were seeing; basically zero enthusiasm. From the 5th row back, though, was solid Todd-heads yelling out obscure requests and playing along with Todd's banter.
And speaking of banter, enough blabbing, here's the song list (*surprise for the acoustic choice BTW):
1) I Hate My Freakin' ISP [Y] 2) Couldn't I Just [Y] 3) Love of the Common Man [R] 4) Black & White 5) Trapped 6) Fix Your Gaze 7) There Goes My Inspiration [Y] 8) #1 Lowest Common Denominator 9) Love in Action 10) * I Don't Want To Tie You Down [T] -- absolutely beautiful 11) Bang the Ukulele Daily 12) Yer Fast 13) Secret Society 14) Hammer in My Heart [B] 15) Buffalo Grass 16) One World - - ENCORES - - 17) The Ikon 18) Open My Eyes 19) World Wide EpiphanyFor all interested fellow guitar nerds, unless otherwise noted, guitar used was Foamy, else, [Y]=Yamaha EX-502, [T]=Takamine acoustic, [R]=Rickenbacker John Lennon, [B]=Blade Stratocaster.
