The Cadillac Palace is just that, a palatial old movie palace (the former Bismark Theater) redone for the theater, and it’s gorgeous. The sound was crisp and clear (and LOUD), the sightlines great . . great place for a show like this.
Ethel was a nice way to start the night; played just long enough to keep me interested . . smart and fun.
Joe Jackson . . an epiphany! I was aware of a handful of JJ material, maybe owned a vinyl record or two, don’t really remember . . but he was better than I ever imagined. There’s something about an artist stripped down to the basics, just them and the song, that I like. It takes guts to pull it off, and JJ was a total pro. Good song selection and a singer with a lot more variation and color than I ever knew. I’d see him again in a heartbeat.
On to OH . . it’s so hard to be objective after thirty years of listening and at least as many shows. It’s been my life’s soundtrack, what can you say? I guess it comes down to moments now, parts of his live show rather than whole performances that stand out for me. I’ll never understand how, after a loopy beginning of “find the key” with LOTCM, he can turn around and nail a perfect twisted I Saw TheLight . . but the song that’ll stay with me in my own personal TR history was Beloved Infidel . . never a favorite, really, not even a song I thought much about . . but the version tonight was one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard him do EVER . . a jaw dropper . . coupled with Pretending To Care at the encores, it’s two moments that make up for maybe less than perfect others in the (abbreviated? Where was “Afterlife?”) set. TR, it’s those musical moments that keep me coming back.
It would be nice sometime to see more of what WMGGW and Black Mariah (which I thought worked really well!) got going; I thought the collaborations were great and just got cooking when it was all over. Hey, more of that!
Final thoughts; the fact that two artists, that certainly don’t have to, give a damn to try something experimental like this is cause enough to celebrate and go . . . doesn’t happen much anymore, that’s for sure.
