big crowd. lots of black winter coats, cigarette smoke, sweat and hairspray saturated the most serious group of todd fans i've seen at a show. then again, i haven't been to cleveland.
most of the audience seem to be non-liners, since the opening of the tiki bar and all subsequent 'scenes' of the show are met with cheers and loud questions and comments.
the band and TR-i's entrance are met with an uproar of applause and acceptance; the kind of riotous human noise only a new york audience can generate [IMO. no city arguments, please].
the first set sounds really good. kudos to the venue for a great sound system. the highs really cut through, and gave the band the opportunity to be heard even when laying back during lead vocals. TR-i feeds off the positive vibes from the audience with a slightly harder-driving BN set. worthy of note is 'wouldn't have made any' turning the hard-nosed crowd into an eclectic band of folk-dancing fools.
"zen orchard" turns into a play on the banana shaker becoming an arrow shot into TR's heart right before each verse and at the end. everyone i've talked to *digs* this toon, and can't figure out why it wasn't on WaT.
"love is the answer" is noted for it's rich background vocals. again, kudos to larry and the venue. ferensik and kasim are really gelling. or, should i say, ferensik is gelling with kasim.
todd calls out there is a celebrity in the audience. noted for his work in TV and movies, please give a warm welcome to George Clooney! TR motions to the front of the audience at a mortified josh chasin. prairie hits a rim shot and josh thanks todd and the audience for the applause with nods, smiles & waves. yougoboy.
set two gets everybody sweating. TR-i seems noticeably smitten with with the unrelenting applause at the end of 'eastern intrigue'. 'can't stop running' literally brings the house down. get a bootleg.
set three finds our own katy-san on stage as a flight attendant patron [see the less obvious]. after the opening 'lotcm', TR performs a perfect 'there goes my inspiration'. this gets the audience singing along and is performed really beautitiously. i've seen TR do this song several times, and i find it difficult to remember a better performance. the humidity in the venue must be acting as a voice enabling agent....
gress and ferenzik are wearing their black conan shirts for set three. 'lucky guy' and 'bts' are met with huge cheers, another sign of a surprised non-line crowd. the 'bts' jam seems to get longer and longer. 'i want you' starts off noticeably slow, speeding up after a few lines via manual control from prince's rhythm machine. it was interesting to watch the band just move together with the tempo.
katy backhands a drink into the face of the worst-played drunk i've seen on this tour. upon leaving the stage during 'dream goes on ..', TR kisses the index and middle fingers on his right hand and places them on the passed out drunk's head in a goodnight gesture.
i *do* believe in fairies, i *do* believe in fairies
romo