Not very many places to eat open on a Sunday night downtown, but we finally got some OK food at a bar a few doors down from the Whitaker Center. We arrived at 8 and the warmup act was already playing - a long-haired hippie type with a guitar - thought-provoking lyrics and virtuoso playing. He said, "This is the time I'd like to ask you all to buy my CD in the lobby - but I don't have a CD". I enjoyed him.
When Todd, Kaz, and Trey took the stage, sound problems marred things at first. For a while Kaz's mike didn't work, and for a while longer the guitar was too low in the mix. Also, loose connections and buzzing from the speaker assembly on stage was a problem. Todd - after warning us to hold our ears - at one point came over and kicked it.
My favorites for the show were Buffalo Grass and the the Ikon - both had a lot of energy. During "WorldWide Epiphany" I had the notion that maybe, with some small changes of lyrics about the advantages of globalization, it could be "WorldWide Efficiency." Memorable moments:
a) The four or five year old boy sitting next to us, with his father, at one pointsaid, "He sings really well." His father agreed. By the end of the show (10:20or so) the child was asleep.
b) During the "stop" in Love In Action, Todd managed to get Kaz to think the song was about to start again, and Kaz played a note. Then Todd said, "This is the part in the show where we pause to rethink our assumptions", and he chided Kaz for being "of little faith" - all in fun, of course.
c) The shouted request from the audience for "Freebird" amused us all, even those of us who weren't hearing it for the first time.
d) The solo acoustic guitar piece was "I Don't Want to Tie You Down" - Todd said it was the first time during the tour he was doing it, and he'd probably screw it up, but if he did I didn't detect it.
e) As he was bringing out the ukelele, someone in the audience asked, "Where do you live now, Todd?" "I live in my mind" - applause, then after a pause - "but my body lives in Hawaii."
f) My spouse thought Kaz was very appealing. She had seen him before, on the Tiki Lounge tour, but he wasn't as memorable then - this time he was outstanding in his field (or at least, on his side of the stage).
