Happened to think, I'll check the Todd bin at the record store that doubles as the Ticketmaster outlet in Bloomington and I couldn't believe it. TODD'S NEW RELEASE WAS THERE! Needless to say I bought and as a result was able to listen to a few of the new tunes on the ~1hour drive to the show.
Not only that, this was the first real "date" I've had with my wife since our daughter was born about 3 & 1/2 years ago (that is first night out without coming home). That's right, those of you that know me (that's you Ray), Tori got to see the show too.
I waited until the day of the show to get my ticket - wasn't sure I could make the show. And had to pay day of the show prices - 50% over the otherwise steal of a price of $10. (Eat your heart out SF!)
It's a large C&W bar (complete with extra large dance floor for line dancing). Looks like it was a former skating rink, national guard armory or similar industrial type building (you know rectangular building with arched roof/ceiling).
Dedicated, but certainly small (particularly given the square footage of the venue. Didn't even do a count for a ballpark estimate, but it doubt if it was more than a few hundred.
Theme for the night, "Wicked Guitar!" I can remember reading some posts wishing that Todd would (to quote Frank Zappa), "Shut up and play guitar." If you ever had this feeling, this is the tour for you. The Power Trio is a throwback to good old garage rock & roll. A minor downside is Kasim's immobility (spent most of the night sitting); on the other hand, bass players aren't exactly known for their frenetic movements.
As other shows have noted - starts right on time, our show length was in the 2 to 2 & 1/2 hour range (didn't check right at the end of the show).
First few numbers were "muddy," but the sound guy was moving around the room; checking things out and they quickly had it corrected. Given the configuration of the room I was impressed by the sound.
While only a few songs added or deleted from the last few play sets (I had a copy of the Mohegan Sun show as my basis), there were many changes in the order of the show. Here's the list with a few minor comments on some songs:
I Hate My Fricking ISP
(muddy sound, didn't do it justice)
Couldn't I Just Tell You
(to cheers from the crowd - the old tunes do get the crowd going better)
Love of the Common Man
(the muddy sound seemed worse, perhaps the low point of the show - included the
new lyrics, "Back light numerous times as Todd, prompts the crew to get their
act together)
(at this point Todd digress a bit and discusses his most (formerly?) most common club venue for Indianapolis, "The Vogue." Which, he notes, "has the world's worst dressing room")
#1 Lowest Common Denominator
(1st of the many wicked guitar solos)
Love In Action
(good as raw rock and include a long "stop" during the song which included a
"We are the Champions," "We are the Mushrooms my fiends" (or at least "The
Champions of this small part of Indianapolis) digression from Todd.)
Then the changes began
Hit Me Like A (Freight?) Train - I'll be honest I didn't recognize this one, and it wasn't on any set list I've seen, leads me to think it's a later Utopia tune - can I get a confirmation on that one?
The Ikon
(including crowd pleasing solos from all involved, really got the crowd going,
many were surprised to hear it this early in the set)
Open My Eyes
(really glad to hear this one - had heard it on the radio within the last
couple of weeks and it was great to hear it live)
Trapped
(are we returning to the set list? - another good song for the raw rock sound
of the night)
Cliche
(Todd does this solo with acoustic guitar as the "band" takes a break - nice
fairly quite interlude)
"Hawaiin War Chant"
(aka play the ukekalele (sp?) daily - after a long & humerus lead in OH plays
"Bang on The Drum on Day" on a (baritone) Uke to a Hawaiin War Chant beat =
LOVED IT (also had just heard it for the first time on the way up on the new
CD)
Black & White
Another good garage rock song - less slide on the guitar than most versions
I've heard/seen, but that made it all the more interests - what will Todd do
instead of the next slide?
Yer Fast & I Like It
So is the song & so did the crowd (for the most part)
There Goes My Inspiration
(no notes, did I go to the men's room?)
Secret Society
(Again no notes, but remember hearing it - was it just that uninspired?)
Temporary Sanity
(Recognized we had a new tune (to the set list) from the Individualist in the
first few notes/beats, however, the overall effect on the crowd was similar to
Prozac - we got really subdued. So, much that even Todd noticed and after the
song commented, "We must be crazy for doing that song.")
Buffalo Grass
(Another tune from the new album and it served to get the crowd going again for
the last leg of the show)
One World
A real crowd pleaser - everybody's rocking and the band leaves the stage before
the (as expected)
1st encore:
Hammer in My Heart
(may have been the best of the garage rock & roll songs of the night)
2nd encore:
World Wide Epipheney (sp?)
(One of my favorite new songs to hear live, gets rid of the electronic/synth
(and somewhat "tinny") sound of the generated versions on NWO) Crowd love it!
Show ends - finish the beer, buy a couple of T-shirts (me, my wife & daughter) and a TR-i baseball cap before heading to the "Comfort Inn West" Which had a least a few other Todd heads crashing there after the show.
