While I am quite sure Todd has not gone and done all this (Camporee, new band, new record, etc…) on my account, he has answered my call from years back in the ‘solo’ tour days to “get a band together and come back to Dallas.” He was here (at the same HOB venue) several months back, and was very good then. Now it’s on a whole other level.
It was great to hear some familiar tunes up front, and then on to the new stuff. Unbelievably, he did a digger pretty early on and went completely off the front of the stage as he was ending a song with his trademark jumps. From the balcony it was actually scary to witness, but he popped back up, made great light of it, and kept the show going. After realizing he was OK, I laughed to myself for a good 5 minutes, as it was truly a ‘Spinal Tap’ kinda moment. He was no worse for the wear on this night, and I can only hope he truly is OK – it was the craziest thing I have seen in a while (and I just saw The Tubes a month ago live!).
Nothing else of substance to add that hasn’t been said – I was blown away by the energy, commitment, and technical acumen on this night. This guy is unparalleled, and this band is stout. Prairie and Jesse are such known quantities and always impress. Rachel and Matt rounded out the group, the former fairly stoic and steady and the latter playing, bouncing around and having fun. Really good new songs, too, although they kinda ran together after a while – looking forward to the release to sort them out properly.
Tix for balcony seats were unbelievably $95 apiece ($86 plus TM “service” charge), but this one was worth every penny. Thanks for making good on that “down payment” from last year, TR.
