Lancaster, PA April 30, 2004 review

Any major Todd Fan must see this show. All the accolades, all the incredible reviews are justified. At this point in the tour everything seems polished ( in fact after the show Todd said this one was "perfect") , although the setlist is not written in stone. In fact it was fun to watch Todd cross each song off as they performed them. Yes the show did start 10 minutes late but once it did there was no stopping for the next 2 hours 10 minutes. There was Todd doing solo electric ( no acoustic on THIS tour!) , the Liars doing some serious jamming while Todd took a breather, plus some crazy mutation of a jazzed-up "Born To Synthesize" wrapped around some Cartoon theme songs. What to expect next! Word of advice: this is a show to have a good time with, just watch and don't expect to hear everything you know. Halfway through the playlist, when Todd returned to the stage in his Soul Brother snazzy duds to join his equally-attired bandmates, he seemed more animated. And maybe it was just the type of songs he sang but the show picked up after that. There was such a variety of material included, great older stuff like "Want of a Nail", that I seriously doubt any true follower could say they didn't hear something they loved. I can't claim that the new album as a whole is on my favorite list. Too much of Todd's pre-Utopian and Utopian days material is brillliant. But, as concerts go, you can not imagine the effect the light pods in the background have when Todd is belting out "Liar". I remember thinking to myself, as I'm experiencing this from the 7th row, I can only wonder if Todd knew when he wrote this song how it would look in concert. Well, let me assure everyone, when you hear it live it will flat-out scorch you in your seat! There is almost no way to wish for more. This show truly does reinforce the musical genius-level Todd possesses!