Review of Downtown show 4/28/04 - Farmingdale Long Island

What a treat to see Todd back with a full band, doing his own material. Not that I have missed a tour in the last few years, but many of us have been hoping for a change from the comp-track background, with a twist, string breaking, lyric forgetting recent shows. This was Todd back in full force with a kick ass band. Prairie is one of the finest drummers around, and it's so great to see Kas back on stage. Would have been nice to give Kas at least one lead vocal, maybe a Set Me Free, but he stayed pretty much in the background. It seems the compactness of the Downtown made it impossible to set up the neo-light show that's been touring (this may have been for the best from what I've been reading, but I was curious to see the 3D colored optical effects). Also the Letterman gig earlier that day seemed to have compressed the show a bit, cutting out a costume change and I suppose Todd solo stuff. Again, this may not have been such a bad thing last night. The band poured their energy into a single, driving set. The amps were probably cranked a bit too much. Todd's vocals seemed a bit low, but the groove was there. I'm pretty sure that's the loudest Todd show I've ever seen (my ears are still ringing). Most of the night was from Liars. Really good live versions, including Truth, Sweet, God Said, Liar & Soulbrother (I thought Todd rocked this tune on Letterman. He seemed very comfortable this time and I think conveyed a real sense of himself and his music to the tv audience, ie. dancing/vocalizing). I saw Todd with Ringo's Band when they did While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and Todd played an amazing solo at Westbury Music Fair. So I was very happy to see him reprise it last night. It ranks up there with the best solo cover version of While My Guitar, along with the one Prince did last month at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Fascist Christ was done very well and Want Of A Nail brought the house done to close the set. The encore started with the obligatory, Hello It's Me, followed by a profou nd Just One Victory. It's been a long time since I've heard this song live, and it would've been worth the whole night just for that. Todd's solo, as always, was dead on. A hello to my new pal, Amy, her very loyal friend, and Susan from Down Under. Here's to a great, intimate show and hopefully an invigoration for TR for more new music & full tours.