I guess it's not a good sign when Todd announces the only reason he's doing this tour is to get the IRS off his back. In other words, he'd rather be back in Hawaii lounging around. Todd's voice was not in good shape last night. Apparently the sudden cold spell gave him a sore throat. He was drinking water all night and it didn't seem to be improving.
Regarding the songs, the set list was basically the same as other nights, except no "Wheel" or "Hawking", Those songs should have been used in place of the TIRED tiki/lounge act. This is the 4th Todd tour in a row I've seen (not counting the great Power Trio Tour) where he used the bossa nova "twist" on his songs. One or two songs would have been fine, but 7 or 8 (or more? I lost count, I was zoning out). Todd can also zone out. The MP3 player just plays, and Jesse plays (great, I might add) and Todd just sleepwalks through these songs. There are a number of songs that would have been a lot better on the piano (IWHMAD, CWSTF, A Dream Goes On Forever), but I guess that would take effort. It's hard to believe this is the same guy who used to give us a different show every tour. We love him for his originality, his integrity and his innovations, but it seems as if he's become complacent in this stage of his career. Does he write anymore? And if he doesn't, give us, the hardcore true fans who show up time and time again to support you an effort worthy of our dollars.
Alas, like many other fans, you can count on me being back the next time Todd tours. Maybe they'll be a new CD? There's always hope.
