It was COLD, but you've already heard this. The Moon employees did have compassion and let us wait inside a lobby area until the doors officially opened. Once inside the auditorium, we found our seats at a front row table.
It was incredible. Royston came on stage and dove into his set with incredible energy. He was an adequate guitarist and used some open tunings, I think. What struck me was his vocal range. He really has a good voice. Then, when he began playing piano, I knew that Todd had made the right choice for his opener, family connections or not. Royston explained he had been living in NY for a while but that he was from Yorkshire or Leeds; I can't remember. He showed great humility that he was opening for TR, then apologized later for a song titled F...You with My Love, as if we, the audience, might hold it against him. One of my favorite tunes was You Can't Go Home Again. Royston ended his set with I Do Believe Your Day Will Come. I think I understood this was his second solo performance. He did a great job. It was great seeing Todd again. There are always "margins of error" when TR does a solo performance, but I never forget that the man created these songs, so if he gets lost on the piano, I am not shattered. It's kind of nice to know the man is Nearly Human.
The set went as follows:
Love of the Common Man Cliche Drive Lystrata Tiny Demons The Viking Song I Don't Want to Tie You Down Free, Male, and 21 It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference Bang On the Drum (on top four strings of guitar; no ukulele) Hide Your Love Away With a Twist Medley: (TR plays a mean Florida orange) I Saw the Light Influenza Can We Still Be Friends I Want YouI was elated to hear Hawking. It is one of his most beautiful songs. I hoped he would consider keeping it in the set during future shows. After the program, we waited for TR and sure enough, he came out to see his fans. I had a picture Lee had taken of TR and me three or four years ago, and TR signed it for me. We explained we would be seeing three more shows on the tour as an anniversary present to ourselves. When TR heard it was going to be our 21st anniversary, he looked at Lee and said, "That's like having the seven-year itch three times." He then signed Lee ticket stub with a Congratulations! I know the wind was blowing freezing air on us when we left the show, but we were basking in our afterToddglow, and anticipating the Orlando performance. Stay Tuned for more....One World Encores: Hello It's Me The Wheel Hawking [I think he meant to play A Dream Goes on Forever, Twist-style, but the band (mp3 player) would not cooperate. ]
