Not being a techno-wizard or even caring what amp tube, pedal, guitar string, etc. Todd or Jesse use, I can only say that this show ROCKS! TR can ditch the piano completely (unless he decides to stop by and play "Long Time, Long Way to Go" in my living room), and stick with being the hot, sweaty, guitar godd I've loved for more than 30 years.
After being at the RAMS HEAD, where there were, literally, table tents stating basically, "Sit Down and Shut Up," the State was a refreshing change. Friendly staff, good location, decent sound, not a bad seat in the house. Got to see Todd from the front this time!
#1 LCD, as always, left me feeling warm and squishy..... S.L.U.T. took me back to high-schools days when my friends formed the Chiz Holmz Blues Band and after incessant hounding and shouting to play a Todd song, selected that particular one, dedicated to me. (Ah, the good old days, when it was safe [and lots of fun] to be a S.L.U.T.)....
With Tony and Jesse, Todd should have dubbed this tour, "TR and the Flying Fingers!" You just don't find better musicians than this quartet. TIGHT, TIGHT, TIGHT! Like the Allman Brothers on a good nite. I do agree with the backing vocals being a bit weak, but we have been so spoiled for so long, I think it's time WE learn to adapt a bit. They need to come back this fall.... add some original Tony Levin material and do a killer show that would leave everyone emotionally drained and physically spent.
Silly stuff aside, one addition, which nobody else mentioned, was TR saying that Jesse saved his life by administering the Heimlich maneuver. This has been confirmed as truth. So, when you see Jesse, make sure to give him a heartfelt THANK YOU for being coherent and quick to react to a potentially fatal situation. I think we're all (including Todd) forever indebted to Jesse for that one. Our hero's hero.....
