I think the fans that were after a 'greatest hits' set should realise that things move on and if someone is still producing new music and moving into new areas of technology you should respect that and either get into it or stay at home and listen to your old CD's (or maybe you still have the vinyl version).
I knew what to expect when I when to see the show, I made sure I was familiar with all the songs in the set list so that I could get the optimum enjoyment from the gig, I would recommend doing this to avoid the disappointment some of you seem to have had.
The people around me certainly seemed to be enjoying the show anyway and were singing along to every song.
The sound from where I was sitting (5 rows from the front, near the right hand PA speakers) was fine, any louder would have been uncomfortable, the mix was also very good, the drums in particular sounded excellent, maybe Todd's guitar could have done with a bit of extra volume during his solos (it was fine on JOV) and considering there were no guitar amps the modeling technology seemed to do the job admirably.
Todd's singing is the best I've heard from him, he just seems to get better with age, the slower songs really showed how soulful he can be, showing all the new pretenders (as mentioned in Soul Brother) how it should be done.
I couldn't really single any song out as being weak, I thought every song was really strong live, the Liars material, which is mainly computer based on the Album came across very well, and the band were as tight as you would expect from such great players, there are not many musicians that could play such a diverse range of material and make it look easy, as well as having to sing some really tricky backing vocals.
The stage set made for a nice intimate atmosphere, it isn't just designed for looks, it also has a very clever set of built in functions, pull down keyboards for Kasim and Jesse, Laptop stands, individual monitoring and LED lighting (which I believe has not been used anywhere before).
As for the cover versions, WMGGW was excellent, Lunatic Fringe was good, but maybe the one song that could have been swapped for a Todd original. Green Onions was something for the band to have a bit of fun with, yes, there was quite a bit of tongue in cheek going on, don't take it all so seriously guys!
Born to synthesize for example was great entertainment, Kasim's bass solo picking out Hammer in my Heart and 7 Rays did make me laugh, at least a couple of the other reviewers got the joke too.
