STATE THEATER, PORTLAND, ME 5/5/04

My wife and I made the 3 hour trip to Portland last night to check out this highly talked about tour. This was my 14th time seeing Todd. For my wife, it was her first "Todd" experience. A couple things about the theater. Looking at it from the outside it doesn't look like much, and if you sneezed while driving by, you may miss it. Inside, it looks very old, kinda scummy, and the bathrooms were disgusting. We had seats in the 3rd row from the stage. The sound was ok, not perfect. In fact, it seemed when Todd was really close to the mike while singing, the sound seemed a little distorted. When he backed off a little, it sounded better. But like a couple of the other reviews, maybe because we were so close to the speakers, it just seemed like the sound wasn't great. The setlist was the same but no Unloved Children. The show was great. Todd's voice was in fine form. I especially enjoyed "Liars." How he screamed that out, I do not know. The band was tight (and looked like they were having fun), and for me one of the best songs was "Born to Synthesize." Todd's solos were reminiscent of his solos with Utopia back in the 80's....Just awesome....Overall, in spite of the dungy look, I did enjoyed the intimate venue. The well behaved crowd and they got into it at the end. I wouldn't say this is my favorite tour, I would rate Nearly Human at the top of my list. But the new songs are fresh and sound a lot better in concert than on the cd. Get the cd, and check out the show if you can. It is well worth it. Todd performs like the true professional that he is. Oh, and my wife, she loved the show.