July 1, 2008
Lucinda / Ain't going down to the well no moreREVIEWS:
Down in the hole
Falling down
All the world is green
Chocolate Jesus
Cemetery polka
Get behind the mule
16 shells from a thirty-ought six
Hang down your head
Trampled rose
Dirt in the ground
Black market baby
Raindogs\Russian dance
On the nickel
I can't wait to get off work
Invitation to the blues
Lost in the harbour
Circus
Hoist that rag
Lie to me
Anywhere I lay my head
Singapore
Cold, Cold Ground
Make it rain
House where nobody live
34 comments:
The nice thing about this tour and the setlists is that we learn which songs Mr. Waits likes himself or which songs he thinks are (still) worth performing (as he has no new record to promote).
If you didn't guess, "On the Nickel," "I Can't Wait To Get Off Work," and "Invitation to the Blues" (amazing!) were the Tom on piano songs. The Anywhere I Lay My Head/Singapore/Cold Cold Ground trifecta was one of the best sequences I've ever seen live. I was impressed with how well the stompy/screamy stuff like "Hoist that Rag" and "Lie to Me" played--they were highlights of the show.
A little weird at the end--after "House Where Nobody Lives," the light went down and stayed that way for about 2 minutes. It seemed like we were going to get one more song, but then the house lights came up and we were on our way out. A little bad tech timing made for the only down spot of the night.
I have never seen TW live, and have been a fan for as many years as I have listened to him...got tickets to Birmingham and Atlanta and cant wait. Start driving tonight from Iowa!!! The set list in Jacksonville was off the hook, only one encore IS odd though!!! I was thinking TW might like to bust out Pony off of Mule Variations in Birm or Atl.....Peace
Paul - in response to your comment about the ending - at both the shows I went to it was the same way... after the encore the hall stayed dark for 2 min before the lights came on. Not sure why he ended that way, but it is consistent.
Tom started strong and just got better. After Dirt in the Ground I thought it couldn't get any better. But the bare lightbulb that descended to the introduction of Circus ("this is about a job I used to have") began a jaw-dropping 7 song sequence I've not heard the equal of. If you're without a ticket in Mobile, Birmingham or Atlanta it's time to bribe a southern politician.
Another great set list!
In regards to the decision to keep the lights on for 2 minutes after the show, it could be the old stage trick of keeping the audience in their seats until the performer has had a chance to get to his limo and out of the theatre, so as to avoid the crowds at the stage door. Obviously a guess on my part, but it happens.
I also know that union stage hand rates go through the roof if they're required to work past 11:00pm. You can check your watch when the performer leaves the stage, and if there's not at least 7-8 minutes left before 11:00PM, you can pretty well bet the show's over. Of course, there are exceptions...but you'd be surprised how often you can call the end of the show just by seeing how close you are to the bewitching hour...
lights stay down until waits leaves the builing. I learned this first night in phoenix when as soon as we got out the bus was half way down the block. sooooo second night after he left the stage and the lights were low I ran out to his bus and sure enough I saw sullivan and kathleen and tom get onto the bus. bonus! I've always wanted to see what kathleen looks like.
scott- Wow! Are you sure it was Kathleen? That's like spotting the Yeti!
Harsh.
Well, that's reasonable. Tom is known to be a *very* private person.
In Columbus, we got to encores (total song count still at 25, I think, don't hate me :) ). The second encore was Time, and it was pretty obvious this was going to be the last number, especially having gotten a second encore. The lights didn't stay out very long after that - I guess Columbus Theatre must have a better escape route?.. :)
Jacksonville crowd - I am so jealous! Invitation to The Blues, Singapore *and* Hoist that Rag?!. Wow...
Anybody recorded Singapore? Invitation To the Blues? Please... I'll reimburse any expense and will be forever grateful.
wazowsk@gmail.com
Is Mr. Marc Ribot playing guitar on this tour? Does he ever tour with Mr. Waits?
Anyone know of any recordings out there from this tour?
So far over at Dimeadozen there's Phoenix the first night, Dallas and El Paso torrenting. It seems that not alot of taping is going on - is this due to the search levels on the way in or what?
In the 2 minutes when houselights are down, he already took a shower ?
I think they wait with houselights to give the band a few minutes to decide " are we gonna play 1 more, or is it over ?"
I can confirm he uses those few hopeful minutes near the end to get to his bus. We waited over an hour after Columbus for him to come out, only to realize he was on his bus the entire time. The most fortunate part of that realization was that he actually came out and greeted/shook hands with the few of us (10-15) who were patient and crazy enough to wait around. The show and after-show encounter will remain one of the highlights of my life.
Regarding taping, the security in Jacksonville was not too tight. My wife's purse was checked but I walked right in with a camera in my pocket. Once inside, taking pics was a little harder as I was front row orchestra and security was near and was moderately enforcing the no camera rule around me. I did see a mic stand set up by the soundboard as well as video cameras set up in several areas - so perhaps Tom is planning a live audio/video treat for us in the near future?!? Keep looking at Dime and other bit torrent sites for more shows.
Regarding Marc Ribot, no, he is not playing this tour (he did play lead in 2006). Omar Torres has taken over lead guitar, banjo, etc. and is doing a fine job, I must say.
Um, Rhode Island's own Duke Robillard played lead guitar in 2006.
Omar is obviously incredibly talented but nobody is going to match Marc Ribot or Smokey Hormel....
My mistake regarding Ribot. My first show was Atlanta from the Orphans tour, and I was (and remain) in complete awe of Tom. Django Reinhardt could have been lead and it might have escaped me.
The way I understand it, they cannot really thoroughly search you because they are not police. My wife and I were turned back when we said yes we had a camera. Stood outside, went through another guard in 5 minutes, answered "No, no camera" and were let in. Silly...
The great sound of this tour is largely due to the expanded role of wind section, not just guitar. There were some great keyboard passages, too - not because of technical prowess but because of great interplay.
RE: guitar players, it must be terrifying to have to step into the waits canon of music, which has such a singular role for the guitar, and try to find your own voice in there. And apparently, Tom throws the songs at his band pretty quick...judging from the show I saw, they are hard-pressed to keep up sometimes!
hi, did anyone get good close-up photos of this show? I was in the balcony and would love a couple pics to go in the scrapbook with the ticket stub.
mesoplodon,
there's a link in the post, this one:
http://www.muzzleofbees.com/2008/07/02/review-tom-waits-moren-theater-jacksonville/
Re: guitar [and bass] players
I saw the Columbus and Knoxville shows, and noticed that Omar and Seth never appeared relaxed, they were very focused all the time, especially Seth. The guys on winds and keyboards were more relaxed. And everyone looked more relaxed in Knoxville.
mike--i noticed the same thing in columbus...seth was like performing surgery keeping the band on track, especially on the drum-free or drum-light songs...and Omar seemed to be really pushing himself. his playing was remarkable when he seemed to be being himself, i thought--that is, adding a latin flourish. but he seemed really challenged by the blues. i'm sure they'll all get more comfortable as the tour heads overseas...
"... like performing surgery keeping the band on track, especially on the drum-free or drum-light songs..." - exactly! His lower jaw was sticking out, closer to the end of the set :) Well, I don't know much about all this, how they do it, but just to imagine it - it appears he was called in at the last moment or near that, and the playset varies 25%+ each days, 24-26 songs per show, 54 different ones played already. He must be a really good musician. I don't think I could tell any tension just by listening, and some of the numbers had just unbelievable synergy, like Hoist That Rag...
Mesoplodon and others - I posted some crappy cameraphone pics here:
http://flickr.com/photos/mogroith/sets/72157605974971315/
I was fourth row center, and unfortunately a lot of my photos are "washed out" with too much light. But, they are what they are, and it was a great show I'll remember forever. BTW, the WSJ review linked on the front page is so full of errors I don't know where to start. Do a little research, especially if you are writing for a national publication. Main thing that jumped out at me was getting the bass player's name completely wrong. Was he even THERE to listen to the band introductions. Makes me wonder whether he even stayed for the full show.
Dustin -
It appears there is only a single 125 mb wav file there. Is the rest somewhere else?
@ fred: I downloaded it, the whole 2:16 concert is there in that file. For those who've been to other shows and just can't get enough, it is very listenable.
@miked: I read the WSJ "review" too. Thought the guy was to busy showing of how discerning and knowledgeable he is. The whole attitude was looking down on Tom and us, I didn't like that at all. Typed him a couple of lines, pretty much what I just said here. Never heard back. So much for good old WSJ...
Mike -
Thanks, not sure how he got 2:16 of music into 125 mb file. I loaded it into a wave editor and it is 2:16 long.
Hey Dustin,
thanks for recording. Great show, off course. I will watch Tom in Barcelona and hope to listen to an equal setlist.
But anyway, I love all of his songs, so he can't disappoint me. Although..."Invitation to the blues" would be great...just as many many others...
We saw the first show of the "Orphans" tour in the Tabernacle in 2006, which was a great, bluesy set of songs featuring Duke Robillard on guitar and Larry the Mole Taylor on bass.The Jacksonville show was LIGHT YEARS better in every way, which is not putting down what we saw in 2006, just saying that this time around Tom and the band,(especially Casey Waits on drums) are a lot more comfortable up there and just letting it rip nightly. After the third song finished, my wife and I looked at each other and said exactly the same thing,"This is WAY better than Atlanta!!".Highlights for me were, "16 Shells",ON THE NICKLE!!,"When I get off Work", and the tour's only "Circus", complete with a bare light bulb hanging eerily by Tom's face. Except for one loudmouth yelling for "Jersey Girl", before and during the start of "Invitation to the Blues", the crowd was respectful, and there were several standing ovations from sections of the crowd at the end of different songs.One classic exchange occured between Tom and a guy who, "Wanted to have his baby!", but you had to be there for his reply!The Ticket-less plan worked a bit better this time around and even the small glitch that delayed the show's beginning was tolerable as it gave us a chance to have a drink, people-watch, and visit with fans who came from all over the US AND Europe to see the unforgettable
Tom Waits experience.To my eyes, the Captain Beefheart/Tom Waits comparisons were never more obvious than at this show, with the reed player venturing in to "Free jazz" territory, and the songs being stretched out elastically behind the singer's improvisations.One thought that has stayed in my head since seeing the show a week ago and returning from the vacation that followed it,is how truly MAJESTIC he sounds, putting every bit of soul and heart he has into his performances of the music.I have been following the set lists from every show, and while it would have been great to see some of the "treats" from the different stops, the real treat is seeing a one of a kind performer putting it all on the line nightly for his followers.And unless you can find a time machine to ride back into the 70"s, these shows are proof that Tom Waits is a matchless performance artist, at the peak of his performing powers.I would say this ranks in the top 3 shows EVER for me in my 35 years and 1000 plus concert experiences.Even though we only got one encore song at this show,I can't believe ANYONE could leave feeling less than blown away by what happened in the 2 hours and 20 minutes previously;he truly gave us all he had this time around.Catch him while you can people,it's SO worth the trip.Thanks to The Eyeball Kid for documenting the shows faithfully.Cheers from Florida, Mike and Janet:)
It was fantastic indeed. I saw 2 shows, 6/28-29, and only now am starting to be able to focus on other things :)
Can Justin or someone who downloaded the show he posted re-post it. I missed it and the link doesn't appear to be working anymore. Many thanks to any who might help.
FYI, the Houston show is now up at DIME (www.dimeadozen.org).
MPP
Dustin:
Thanks for the tip, but the message I am getting says "Oops! This page appears to be missing. HTTP 404 - File not found". I will keep trying though, maybe the site is down.
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