The overall sound quality was very good. You could hear every instrument and vocal. Todd's voice is in great shape and his playing the best ever. I personally believe that the rigors of the New Cars tour brought his singing and playing up to another level (at least one good result from that gig!) Todd was truly in absolute top form.
The new material is very good. It is "all of a piece", more monochromatic than Liars. The style seems designed for a 2-guitar band (Jesse has become more than Todd's sideman over the years). Surprisingly, given that Todd has been known for his lush keyboard wall-of-sound approach, there is very little for the Keyboard player on the Arena songs.
Rachel did a good job on bass and fooled around with Todd a bit on stage for some comic relief.
The new song Courage is destined to become a TR classic. Todd seems to know this, since part of the act is for him to offer a "double your money back guarantee" on the concert "if you don't like this song". You can hear this song on YouTube -- and it's true, hearing this one song alone is worth whatever it takes to see the show.
Several of the other new songs are also very good, including Weakness, which has a moment of sublime vocal harmonies in the middle of what is essentially a low-gear blues. They nailed it perfectly.
All in all an excellent show. At 60, Todd is better than ever. Don't miss this tour!
