what a difference a PA makes. slim's can now be considered warm-up gigs as the boys blew it out tonight. solid playing, clean changes, and no technical problems.
the venue is an old converted movie theatre with several rising levels of tables and a balcony. rounded side walls lead to a high ceiling full of ornate moldings and sculpture. reminds me of the overdone duomos in tuscany. a $20 dinner coupon gets you a plastic seat at a picnic table and an involuntary paper plate of bad barbeque food. really.
the bad news: the same crew is working the show as was in slim's.
the good news: they seem to have learned how the equipment works.
what's gone: 'hit me like a train'. a new new is cut. this toon did slow things down in SF, and is visibly difficult for TR to sing. as a result, 'wwe' directly follows 'trapped' to end set one.
what's new: 'lost horizon' after 'i want you' in set two. nice full sound with the house PA and thick background vocals. TR gestures a lot, though remains seated for the entire toon. WaT set two pavlov's dog.
kas' big moment: 'trapped' is halted after the first line as jesse isn't ready and guitar problems exist. he exits stage left as if to be disappointed, only to return smiling for a second try.
kas pushes the boss: 'dream goes on forever' is disastrous as TR gets out maybe 4-5 lines in the whole toon because he's laughing so hard. kas had pushed him from the back upon execution of the 'firing' joke [see below].
good fan: lani throws OH a lei. her friend kari scales the stage and leis TR directly, the yellow and maroon flowers match the gold suit.
bad fan: a venture capitalist's wife from santa barbara scales the stage for no other reason other than to hug TR. she repeats the process several times in the second set, ultimately leading to her 'firing'.
we've been waiting so long: tonight's show started at 9:15pm, and ended past 12:30am. this gig was seated and everyone's still dog tired at it's completion. a pre-show 59er is absolutely in order.
worth the wait: patrons are back! mary lou escorted around ten lucky patrons to their onstage seats for set two. no bar, so the small drink tables were lined with bottled water.
water: TR asks for water several times during set two, every time receiving a bottle from an onstage patron.. and, everytime a slower crew member follows with a useless paper-cup full, soon thereafter.
wine: TR mentions in set two the next gift he gets better be a cocktail after receiving the leis, hugs, and a surprise gift bag from an adolescent. he gets a martini from paper-cup boy with no garnish. OH is appalled.
the bossa nova in set two almost worked tonight, but is still way at the other end of the energy continuum from set one. i haven't seen TR with this much energy since some utopia shows in the eighties.
i schtuped her.. she peed on me
romo
