Sunday, June 22, 2008

Houston set list

Jones Hall, Houston Tx.
June 22, 2008
Lucinda/Ain't Goin Down to the Well
Down in the Hole
Falling Down
November
Dead and Lovely
Lie to Me
Day After Tomorrow
Hoist that Rag
Get Behind the Mule
Cemetary Polka
Trampled Rose
Jesus Gonna Be Here
Lucky Day
Tom Traubert's Blues
House Where Nobody Lives
Innocent when you dream
Make it Rain
Murder in the Red Barn
Come on up to the House
Dirt in the Ground
Eyeball Kid

Goin' Out West
All the World is Green










Picture by Jay Lee.







Pictures by Jim D.

19 comments:

stephen said...

"Dirt in the Ground" was actually before "Eyeball Kid," which ended the main set. Otherwise you're right on the money.

OH! and fantastic show, of course.

Jay Lee said...

Great show in Houston. I even got some pictures. Let me know if you want to use any here. All I ask is a credit.

http://www.baldheretic.com/2008/06/23/tom-waits-glitter-and-doom-houston

blue valentine said...

I'm curious to know if anyone else is noticing a significant difference in the style and arrangement of the songs played in Glitter and doom as comapred to say the Orphans or Mule Variations tours. Tom Waits is and has been my absolute favorite musician for more than a 15 years, so much so that I feel strange bringing up the changes that I'm noticing. In keeping with normal habit, he has changed the musical arrangements, pace and feel of his stage repertiore, but whereas in the past I've been pleasantly surprised by the outcome, here, I'm just not sure . . . anybody else haering what I'm hearing?

blog girl said...

I think that alot of that has to do with the band. They are obviously not as familiar with the songs as bands in the past have been, and they do not take too many liberties. Also there are not as many "intros" to the songs as there used to be, and maybe the song stylings are not as emotional or expressive. Kind of more "going through the motions"--but I get that way at work, too--and I'm not a performer.....it's just the way we all get after doing a job for a long time...:) Wow, we're really being critical of this poor guy--he's still the best in the business and when he is done performing (when he RETIRES, which will probably be SOON) I don't think that I will ever enjoy seeing anyone else on stage. I sure wouldn't travel halfway across the country to see anyone else!

Jebadiah Ramshackle said...

i flew all the way from alberta canada to be there and it was a dream come true. this guy in line said to me 'man, i couldn't imagine a guy like you in a little house all alone in canada with a blizzard blowing around you 365... listening to tom waits. that is how serial killers are born'. hmmm..... all i could do was laugh quietly. i chuckled again when i stepped off the plane in calgary to some gorgeous weather. anyway, i am grateful i finally got to see tom live. what an amazing night.

hehe... "i thought i told you to wait in the car"

Unknown said...

The show was great - the crowd sucked. Thank God I'll see Tom in Paris in front of a crowd with a bit of life in 'em.

Shauneh said...

Nice work on the setlists - it's nice to have a single place you know you can trust to find them all :-)

It's over a month before I get to see the great man in Edinburgh, but I'm already so psyched ! I'm doing setlist CDs of all the shows to listen to in the car, and keeping a spreadsheet of all the songs played, their order and their frequency. Yes, I do have too much time on my hands ;-)

Glad to see Tom Traubert's Blues got an airing in Houston. Only 5 songs have survived the first 4 nights without being dropped - Lucinda, Hoist That Rag, Jesus Gonna Be Here, Trampled Rose, Down In The Hole. I'm hoping he's saving the tour debut of Heartattack & Vine for Edingurgh :-)

herge65 said...

"I'm curious to know if anyone else is noticing a significant difference in the style and arrangement of the songs played in Glitter and doom as comapred to say the Orphans or Mule Variations tours...."

Although I'm in the UK I've heard a couple of the shows and like the new arrangements. I think he is just reworking the songs and giving them a different feel. Although they do sound a little softer! But its good that we don't get the same thing. Tom has always evolved and this is probably just a part of that process.

Rubiao said...

I might be nuts, but I thought I remembered him playing Always Keep a Diamond in your Mind, the one from the Kronos Quartet show.

Also, the guitar player on the Orphans tour worked a lot better for me.

Doug said...

I've been seeing some chatter speculating about to whom Tom will "pass the baton", and someone here mentioned retirement ... where is this coming from?? Tom is obviously still in his prime, and I for one am looking forward to decades more of productivity and innovation from him.

kmartini said...

I like the new arrangements, and I think he does it to keep himself interested in his own songs.
So jealous he did Tom Traubert's Blues, but happy to see he did it. And as for retirement...I doubt it!

WallaceESL said...

Strange that he did Fannin Street in both El Paso and Dallas but not in Houston - home to that "crooked street in Houston town"

Unknown said...

I think the main difference in his arrangements may have something to do with the limited capabilities of Casey on percussion.

Please don't stone me for suggesting this, but I don't think the kid is quite up to the task. His drumming is so incredibly plain and without the least bit of ornamentation that he sounds very much like a beginner.

Every other musician onstage displayed brilliance at one time or another; Casey was clearly not in their league.

blog girl said...

Yes, Rick--I totally agree--the percussion element of Tom's more recent songs is extremely important and Casey really is not a very good percussionist. For anyone who attended the 1999 shows (which were fabulous), the 2006 shows were a huge letdown. I've heard that Casey's skills have improved somewhat since 2006 so I'm anxious to see how things unfold.

I didn't mean to ruffle so many feathers by mentioning the possibility of "retirement"! But we all have to agree that Tom's singing style is harsh on his throat and is not likely a style that he should continue forever.....Not only that, but do we really want Tom to be Mick Jagger #2--every time I see the Rolling Stones I always think "why are they STILL performing?" Everyone has to enjoy the fruits of his/her labor at some point! Performing and touring are very physically demanding tasks.

Troubled Times said...

You also are missing Waltzing Matilda. It was the first with him on the piano. For certain.

Jay Lee said...

Lee: It's on the list. The song title is actually Traubert’s Blues

erinnthered said...

I take issue with the person who said the crowd sucked. I thought the crowd was great! Did you expect screaming and jumping up and down in a symphony hall?

There were several standing ovations and the audience participated in the songs, and the calls for another encore - even after he started more than half an hour late and had played for over two hours - were loud and strong.

I've seen bad crowds in that place, and this was not one of them.

I do wish he'd done Fannin Street though. Would have been appropriate, and the crowd would have loved it.

D. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
D. said...

I don't think the crowd sucked, but I think people need to learn when to make noise and when keep their big traps shut. I find it very inappropriate to hear a whoot or a hollar in the middle of a song like Tom Traubert's Blues. And that stupid fucker who shouted "play some skynyrd" should've been ejected if not beaten mercilessly.