Todd in AC last night. All rockin', all the time! If you want pretty ballads, you won't get 'em; these guys are out to tear up the joint. Their intentions were clear from the beginning, and by the third song,we knew we were in for it - "Black Maria"! Todd looked great, seems to have lost a little weight, and was very chatty between songs. As usual, it was hard to understand everything that he said, but we all got the reference when he announced "Fasten your seat belts, New Jersey!" A sick fellow, OH! Tony Levin was a treat, as always, but for me the big surprise was how much Jesse played, and how well. Todd actually deferred to Jesse for a number of solos, though Foamy got quite a workout as well. "I Saw the Light" was especially well-done, and the twin guitar solo just killed. Perhaps the most fun for our group was "Tiny Demons", which he introduced by saying "We're going to do a few songs which we've never played together before." If true, it wouldn't have made any difference, because they nailed it. In fact, all the songs were quite well performed, despite that it was the first show of the tour.
A reviewer of the late 2006 shows referred to "the monochrome sound of two guitars, bass and (drums)" as being a drawback, and I have to compliment and agree with his description. A keyboard would have helped, but, to me, the limitation comes from Todd's basic crunchy and grinding tone, which Jesse also shares. Having two guitars with the same (lack of) tone paints the band into a very tight corner. Oh well, no problem, he's still Todd, and I've yet to see him put on a weak or even mediocre show. Now, where are those Philly tickets.....
