SOLO GUITAR/ACOUSTIC
LOVE OF THE COMMON MAN CLICHE LYSISTRATA I DONT WANNA TIE YOU DOWN HEY - YOU'VE GOT TO HIDE... ----------------------- PIANOVIKING COMPASSION TOO FAR GONE FREE MALE+21 ----------------------- DUO W/ JESSE GRESS ON GUITAR+ MP3 PLAYER (ALL BOSSA NOVA)
I SAW THE LIGHT ??? UNREADABLE NOTES!! CAN WE STILL BE FRIENDS WOULDNT HAVE MADE ANY DIFF. NEVER NEVER LAND LUCKY GUY LADY MADONNA MATED ------------------------------ SOLO/ELECTRIC GUITAR
LOVE IN ACTION ONE WORLD LOVE IS THE ANSWER (W JESSE) ------------------------------------- HAWKING (PIANO) ??? I FORGET DREAM GOES ON FOREVER (W JESSE)
Yes... as the naysayers have said - this set - we've all seen our share of it. But i still heard a couple spots where it is still developing. As noted in the previous couple of days - his voice has taken a little beating with the weather changes etc - as he noted several times this night. - "Hydration" was a key factor all night. By the end, some really cool vocals were happening, in fact.
I still see a LOT of people at shows - at least around the NY NJ area - who are going to Todd shows for the first time in YEARS, anywhere from 10 to 25 years. So - a lot of people haven't seen these sets a million times - i know a lot of reviews have noted this - but the crowds are digging the selection - we've gotta consider that..
It's Weird starting with - I think - such a tough song to sing, notes wise - as "Love of the common man" - damn - that's a tall order for ANYONE... but TR somehow made it through, with a couple pained vocal cord stretches.
Cliche was great - he was way warmed up by this one.. surprisingly - and other than some sloppy chord changes... very cool to hear. I actually don't minde the flubs as much sometimes - when the show is otherwose high energy and passionate. Besides - as a sloppy guitarist - it keeps me sane seeing someone that talented screw up once inna while....onto Lysistrata --pretty rockin, with an explanation that ".. this isn't an anti war song...it's another song about getting laid..!"
Talked a bit about the 'abbey road' tour and did "hide yr love away"...over to piano for a couple -' viking' and 'compassion' were great - for those to whom it matters - he dropped a bunch of chords in compassion - that shit is weird...always great hearing 'too far gone'. Later on "influenza" was a highlight. Voice pretty good throughout i though - just a little ragged. Notes were there though.
the MP3's place in all of it i was mixed on. Amazing sound quality - and if ANYONE deserves the ease of using these 'file players' on stage it's TR - remember - he slogged away with actual TAPES onstage - starting almost 30 yrs ago -when it was a nightmare technically!! and every stop on the way - DAT, samplers, MACs, sequences etc..and now MP3s.. pretty crazy.!! But - it seemed to drown out Jesse's guuitar at times , other times it was just just weird to hear an earnest, light jazz sax solo...from somewhere...
Mated was great...Love in Action the first LOUD rocker.. reminded me that this where the guy rules, as well. BRING BACK THE TRIO with Trey and Kas. That was just getting warmed up!
VENUE: Good system in a small theatre, college campus. It filled up pretty well to about 90% . nice smoke free, clear views room to see a show - check their schedule.
Definitely the oldest average crowd i've ever seen at a TR show - a wide range of ages tho - including several kids around 10 or 13. A fair amount of snickerers and gigglers when TR would drop a note or piano chord, then call attention to it himself with a comment. I gotta ask these people when last they played live for 30 some years, while producing a thousand records and learning all kinds of instruments and technologies.. ? None of Todd's depth of work EXCUSE him from live flubs per se - but maybe he spreads himself too thin...?? I for one am glad he has expressed himself in so many arenas - software, hardware, music production, performance, composition, etc. It's simply inspiring.
I think , being perfectly selfish here - that he should bring back the Individualist touring band and really get a machine behind it. In these DIY times - he could get some money making tours happening - and that 5 piece gives him the possibility to do some solo, duo, trio stuff within the larger set. What a band that was as regards setlist too, they did stuff from every era, just about. At least a LIVE album from say 1995 and 1999..??
This was also the first gig i saw Jesse Gress' new book - 'the Guitar Cookbook'. Picked one up. It's never too late to learn SOME of the rules and facts... check out his site jessegress.com..I've seen him live with the Tony Levin Band and it;s great!!
So - mixed show in many ways. Todd seems to not care sometimes when he's imploding on some lyric blackout or forgotten chord - but then he'll seem so psyched discussing a future project or whatever, and certain songs (most tonite) can just nail down the essence of an original voice.
Looking forward to the next tour!!
