Detailed reviews with the surprising setlist will follow, I just wanted to report before I go to work in a few hours. As mentioned before, Todd spoke to his fans tonight. He did it with words and music. Sure, there were a few missed notes, and maybe a word, but they meant nothing. The show was fantastic. The crowd seemed much larger than the last two at Ruth Eckerd, and far more appreciative.
As I had wished, Todd played Hawking, and I thank Todd and a Guardian Angel for that. There was a momentary glitch but it was nothing. I hope everyone gets a chance to see and/or hear Todd sing like that. It was pretty funny when Todd started into Bang the Drum and I was dabbing my eyes with a tissue.
Joe Jackson was great. I saw him turn a page once the whole show. During the encore there was a moment where he was obviously alerting the technicians to a problem. I couldn't tell what it was because everything sounded great and he smiled through it. I had never seen Jackson perform before, but I was familiar with his hits and loved hearing them, as well as some new songs he introduced. The crowd reaction to Joe Jackson was appropriately loud, and really helped set the table for Todd.
It was pretty wild to see Ethel shredding their bows to Black Maria. They're very tight, and almost sound prerecorded.
Let's admit we were all worried about this show yesterday. It's really exciting to have it turn out the way it did. The folks with tickets can rest easy because something good is coming. Someone may come along and point out some problems, but I'm no art critic.
