Thursday, July 03, 2008

Birmingham setlist

Alabama Theatre, Birmingham, Al.
July 3, 2008

Lucinda / Ain't going down to the well no more
Down in the hole
Falling down
Hold on
Chocolate Jesus
Cemetery polka
Poor Edward
Lie to me
Hang down your head
All the world is green
Black market baby
Frank's Wild Years
Misery is the river of the world
Tango 'til they're sore
On the nickel
Always keep a diamond in your mind
Innocent when you dream
Jockey full of bourbon
Make it rain
Jesus gonna be here
Cold, cold ground
November
Hoist that rag

Singapore
Dirt in the ground
Come on up to the house

REVIEWS:

29 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow - the set list just keeps getting better...and longer! I hope Tom enjoys a nice BBQ somewhere in Atlanta tonight and is rested and ready to share some of these jewels with us Saturday night. I've been to over 100 concerts, easily, but never had the pleasure of a front row seat. Tomorrow night, I do, and that it is for Tom Waits just makes it all the more magical!

Coupey said...

That is a fantastic setlist, if we get that at Edinburgh in a few weeks I'll be very pleased indeed!

Dave said...

In his most recent email to me, Tom asked me what I wanted him to do for his third encore in Edinburgh. I said "Kentucky Avenue", followed by "Cold Water". Then I woke up...

ruben remus said...

If anyone willing to pick up a Waits Interviews Waits ChapBook at the show tonight please let me know. thanks/

David D. said...

I drove from London, Ontario to Buffalo at 5am then flew from there to Birmingham to catch the show at the Alabama. Was it worth it- Absolutely- I couldn't have seen a better show if I had picked the set list myself. From the Opening notes of Lucinda to the closing chorus of Come on up to the House, this was a kick ass show in a damn near perfect setting.
Anyone who has tickets for future shows is in for a real treat and if you don't- sorry about your luck. I had hoped for a closer venue myself, but I guess you take what you can get and make the best of it.

Leah said...

Great set list! I can't wait to see him tomorrow night at the Fox!

Jill said...

Another great show! We heard some people after the show complaining that the setlist was too similar to Mobile, but I don't think it was any different than the pattern of other setlists from the second half of this tour. I do have to say I thought the acoustics were better at the Saenger Theater, but otherwise I loved both shows equally. So happy to hear On The Nickel-that was on my wishlist!

Unknown said...

I've been slowly making my way back home to Atlanta. Started in Jacksonville, Mobile, then Birmingham last night. Looking forward to the Fox to put a cap on the whole thing. I have to say though, it has been the most interesting, amazing journey I have ever been on. Fittingly, I'll be in the pit tomorrow night, a nice way to wrap things up.

Unknown said...

Jill- I agree, the sound at the Saenger was better (I was in the balcony there and it sounded fantastic) but every show is different...if it was exactly the same it wouldn't be a real live show.

I actually thought he did change the setlist quite a bit, doing Poor Edward and November...and I really enjoyed Innocent When You Dream again. I think it's cool to hear some of the same songs again because there are little nuances, little subtle differences. Come On Up to the House was a great way to end the night.

People who want to complain usually find a reason to do so. No complaints here.

Jason said...

Great set list!!! Were there any tickets available? I'm thinking of going to Atlanta on a whim to try to pick up a single ticket, but I don't know if that's a reasonable expectation in view of the ticketing policy.

Unknown said...

Actually, in a way, the policy also makes it easier to get a ticket. At every show, I've talked to people who ended up with too many tickets and were trying to find someone to use their extra. Since its paperless, if you end up with a seat you don't need it's harder to just sell it. I would think there's a very good chance you would get in.

olivia locher said...

does anyone know are posters being sold at any of the shows? columbus did not have any.

Unknown said...

Poor Edward!.. Jockey Full Of Burbon!.. Closing on 60 different songs total this tour?!.
Does anyone have a Birmingham recording to share?.. please...

Joey T said...

Hey, new fan here, at the show last night. What were the three songs Tom played on piano? Thanks for any help.

strange weather said...

a few things need to be cleared up. The current band for Glitter and Doom is dramatically better than his band in 06. Yes, the reed player was incredible, but the piano/organ/keys/accordion player was out-of-this-word. Omar Torrez held his fucking own. I don't give a shit what anyone says. That cat had grit and beauty, feeling and energy. Duke Robillard couldn't shine Omar's shoes. Specifically, when they performed hoist that rag, the Latin piano voicing and 4 bar trade-off solos between guitar, piano and sax blew me away. I mean seeing Waits is an incredible thing (in and of itself), but having those musicians back him was an added boost. They were a pleasure, unequivocally. Too, the seemed eerily tight. In Mobile, during the middle of Eyeball Kid, everyone stopped playing and Tom controlled the beats of the band via hand-direction, like he was tossing an elastic cannon ball out to the audience and catching it back into his hands; he bounced "it" on the floor, into the crowd and even caught "it" with his hat. Amazing! Any show on the tour that doesn't get a performance of Eyeball Kid is really missing out. All that get to take part in this tour should count themselves lucky. It was beautiful.

Unknown said...

x2, I felt the same in Columbus. Just be easier on Duke, will you?.. :) Hoist That Rag and Eyeball Kid (and Lucinda!) suddenly became my favorite TW songs. On Hoist That Rag, I know exactly which moments you are talking about!..

For those trying to get their fix of TW live, I just came across, there are now 3 videos from the 2006 on iTunes store, $1.99 each. I bought All The World Is Green but will probably skip others. Check them out, there are 30" free previews, you'll see what I mean. This tour's band is so much better!.. There was no winds in 2006, and any critic of Omar Torrez is specifically advised to check out those 2006 videos...

Also, when they release videos from Glitter & Doom (I'd bet it is *when*, not *if*), I do hope for less close-ups and more full-figure shots, where we can see all Tom's stomping, gesturing...

strange weather said...

I guess my harsh take on Robillard stems from my frustration that people don't seem to get Torrez. I guess it doesn't matter. The thing is, I'm from Louisiana, and I get easily bored with straight-blues guitar soloist. I get sick of hearing penatonic solos, over and over . . . and really, that put Duke in the weird position of trying to nail these Polka Minor Key inspired songs. He seemed a little lost at times. Then again, he was at the top of his form on the Blusier numbers.

Either way, Tom commands the stage, and he brings you into this imaginative bliss that is uniquely his own. He sets the bar so high, every other conceivable show is a matter of lesser degrees . . .

Splomo said...

Great banter with the audience. Discussuing Family Reunions...
TW: For you to be able to call it a reunion, they have to go AWAY. What do you call it when they never leave?
Third row: Relative humidity.
TW: Good one.

Hirayuki said...

Our closest concert (in Columbus) sold out, but we got tickets for Birmingham--and did a nice old-fashioned road trip down there from metro Detroit. Twelve hours one way with gasoline at about $4 a gallon, and absolutely worth every second and every penny. We were lucky enough to see Tom in Detroit in '06, and agree we'll be traveling just about anywhere to be able to take in his fantastic, theatrical performance.

AdamBomb said...

Diamond In Your Mind! Man! I wish we got that one in Jacksonville. I love that song.

Demon Hamster said...

This was an amazing concert, just draw-dropping from start to finish. I also saw him on the last tour (in Memphis) and I agree that his band this time around is miles better, possibly one of the best bands he has ever had. I encourage all Waits fans to see him on this tour no matter how far they have to travel or how much they have to shell out for tickets.

Unknown said...

strange weather--thanks for explaining your opinion a little more. i agree with you 100 percent on Duke's talents and shortcomings. the orphans tour definitely was more of a 'blues band', whereas this band is being challenged to really cover a lot of territory very quickly--and by and large, they are kicking ass. the guitar player spot is the obvious one for us fans to argue over because it is such a big part of tom's sound. omar is awesome, and i think that as the tour goes on and he finds his groove he'll have taken tom's sound in a new and refreshing direction.
now, about that collaboration with tricky...

Unknown said...

Nice warm review of this concert, linked to this blog entry.
"... sparkly charcoal-gray suit (made of material like faux snakeskin), chocolate-brown shirt,.." - was that so?.. I've been to the shows in Columbus and Knoxville and had binoculars, the suit appeared to be of the typical "suit cloth", and I wouldn't describe it as "charcoal", and the shirt was green, that's for sure.
Well, Tom certainly has more than one change of costume, by now. I'd add that there was a tremendous sense of style in his attire - nicely matched by what my antiques dealer wife identified as $300,000 watch on his wrist...
Truly great show, a feast for all senses.

Unknown said...

Re: guitar players - I just always think what if the guy reads such comment, you know :) The chance is small, but not really 0 chance. From those 2006 videos, Duke seems a nice guy to have a few drinks with, but/and a phlegmatic and rather slow fellow :) Where I grew up, there were restaurants with staff bands (same every night), their guitarists played like that.

To Nora and others: yes, absolutely. We drove from MD to Columbus, then to Knoxville - and I was regretting we hadn't gotten tickets for St Louis as well... Tom seems to be in great shape, hopefully it won't be too long before the next tour. My wife has asked me to watch out for it now - she who came to the Columbus show "dragged along"..

strange weather said...

a $300,000 watch! Jesus! That's like Master P or something. Did it belong to Hitler, made from the ashes of Christ, chiseled from moon rocks and the teeth of Caesar. That seems obnoxious to me. Then again, if I got 3 million from Frito Lay, maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal. Aghh, he's still my hero. At least where his work is concerned.

Splomo said...

In B'ham, he played "You Can Never Hold Back Spring," didn't he? I don't see it on the setlist, but I enjoyed it very much.

Unknown said...

Re: Tom's watch:
I don't really want to start a false rumor here, so just for WIW, OK? Binoculars or not, we of course could not see it exactly, the shape was just very similar to a well-known Longines design. We just thought this would've been plausible and compliment Tom's great style nicely. It is quite possible (sh-sh-sh!..) that my wife got it wrong :)

verdecalavera said...

@mike. The suit was different in bham. My wife and I thought he had on leather pants and jacket. At least that's what it looked like from 16 rows back. Different than Mobile and Atlanta, where he had the clothes you describe, green shirt etc.

Mike M said...

This looked like a coolest song selection of the second half of the tour! I agree with Strange Weather's posts about the guitar work, Duke R was great for the Heart attack and Vine stuff in 2006 but is a blues based player and does not jam in the same way as this band does.I have seen him play with Roomfull of Blues, and his own band for years and can tell you, the guy can play! That being said,this band is amazingly tight and gives Tom Waits the sound
he needs to do the Raindogs/Mule Variations/Real Gone material justice.Wish we could have seen ALL these shows!! MM:)