2009 Dec. 5th - The Venue, Fargo, ND

Talk about the latest gigs, publish your show reports, and reminisce about past performances.
dells
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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

Post by dells »

I did make it and had an awesome time. My bad, here I begged for a setlist ASAP for the First Ave show but I fell down on the job of posting the Fargo setlist right away. My friend hit the sack as soon as we got back to the hotel so I couldn't have the light on to type by, and then we had to book it out of town this morning because it was snowing pretty good. I started typing my post as soon as I got home and first thing I did was get my laptop out of the bag. But because I'm easily distracted these days, it litterally took me the rest of the day to finish writing my novel, and I see that my info is already old news. Oh well, I'm gonna still post what I wrote, or I'll end up wasting a ton more time editing it to not be redundant. I'm sorry my post is so embarassingly late, but I guess better late than never. :/

First, the show really rocked (but I agree that the crowd sucked this time around, so it's awesome that the show was so good in spite of the poor crowd.). All the guys were on fire and gave 200%. Even the usually fairly reserved Dan got up on a gear case and jammed, although he did pause his jamming long enough to move some water cups into a safer location after he got them dangerously close to tipping. Dave was back to his "old" self for the most part, rocking hard on every song. Still missing was his classic fancy footwork during Without a Trace, but since it was played toward the end of the set and he'd rocked all night, he was probably just too tired by then to pull that dancing off. He did, however do a pretty good mostly full body vibration during Shove this time. :D Needless to say, I was very happy. :P Dave was very personable with the crowd, chatting to the crowd between songs much more than usual, even if it was just to introduce a song. He rarely actually indtroduces songs so the number of song intros alone was abnormal in a good way. but when he does introduce them, in my experience, he has always gotten such a kick out of introducing Closer to the Stars in some clever way. Last night he announced that "this next song is about a... caterpillar!" with his trademark "pleased as punch" grin and chuckle as he revealed the subject to be a caterpillar :D . For Wacha Need, he happily announced that "this next song features... ME!" Again with his cheesy grin.

Dave must have been still feeling the inspiration of participating in that recent New Orleans (words and music?) gig, because he recited a short poem between songs once. And they injected a lil bit of the New Orleans vibe by doing "Who Dat? (I think Dan mentioned that Who Dat is a number by the New Orleans ?? (Sheryl might be able to fill in the missing part of their name, I hope) "for those keeping tabs." bless his heart for helping us to report the setlists accurately and completely (It would help if I didn't have trouble clearly hearing & understanding the things they say in the onstage banter, but I often don't hear what they're speaking clearly enough to get it. I didn't understand a single word of Dave's poem.)

Dave was even having enough fun to bust out some scatting to a lil jam session (not sure, but that could have been what the teaser 2nd RT start turned into, which would explain why Dave was having such fun with it.). That was awesome to see Dave having enough fun to start making shit up on the spot, even if it's just scatting gibberish as part of a joke on the crowd.

I did good, I was able to stay standing at the rail directly in front of Dave for the entire regular set, singing along and rocking out to the best of my ability with my weak leg. I knew if I'd sat down for a rest, I'd lose my spot at the rail, so I stayed standing until my leg was on the verge of giving out. Finally at the end of the regular set, I figured I should rest while the crowd begged for an encore and, sure enough, my spot on the rail was taken over immediately, and even annother row of ppl between my scooter and the ppl on the rail, so when they came back out for the encore, I was stuck sitting in my scooter, with no room to stand back up, and it'd have been too risky for me to have tried and risked getting knocked over and trampled, as my balance is bad enough without the jostling of a crowd of enthusiastic fans and rail rushers. It's an ironic bummer that I was able to stand and rock out for the entire show EXCEPT during the song TELLING me to stand up & be strong, lol. I still don't remember ALL the lyrics to the songs on TSL, and missed an occassional word or line here and there on some of the others, but for the most part I was able to sing along to every song and Dave noticed, smiling at me as I was singing along to all the Silver Lining stuff especially.

I waited an hour(until my friend came back in to drag me away) near the backstage curtains for them to come out, but they didn't come out by the time I had to go (I'm sure they were exhausted after two back to back energetic shows, and probably having to get up much earlier than they'd have liked on Saturday am, to get on the road to Fargo in time for soundcheck) But a roadie came out and gave me a copy of the setlist, as well as a sheet of unfamiliar lyrics for a song they didn't play. Then the roadie came back again to give me a mangled pair of Mike's autographed drumsticks :D Yes, it really does pay to behave like an actual fan instead of a groupie wannabe. There was an annoying woman who kept barging her way up beside me and screaming Dave! Dave! Dave! over and over again. Dave kindly refrained from mocking her like he did those other Dave! screamers earlier this year. He chose to just ignore her and continued smiling at me while we sang the songs she apparantly didn't know :P Oh snap!, lol, I just couldn't help saying it. ;P An evil lil part of me hopes she finds this post and gets pissed (I mentioned she annoyed me, right?)

The lyric sheet of the unplayed song was of lyrics I've never heard, so I'm thinking it's one of the new songs that they'd considered playing and even prepared for but then finally decided against it. From the lyrics, I'd guess that it's title is "Don't Need A Cure"

If they were prepared enough to have printed lyrics ready for Dave in case they chose to go ahead and play it, I'd think the chances are good that the new material will make it into a setlist soon, so let's hope for more dates to be announced ASAP.

And now that the review/personal experience portion of my novel is done, here's what you wanted, the setlist (I know it's old news already, but I have a few of my own notations on some songs, so I'm keeping it in my post):

Bus Named Desire (not on the printed setlist, I confess I usually skip this one, but I enjoyed the hell out of rocking to it live, and it was a good way to know immediately how much of the crowd really counted)
Just Like Anyone
Bittersweetheart
All Is Well
Whatcha Need
Never Really Been
String of Pearls (this actually got a good reaction from the crowd when Dave announced he wanted to tell us all a lil' story - according to my friend who was behind me, more in the crowd)
Closer To The Stars
Sometime To Return
Oxygen (I'm so happy, I'd wanted to see this live for YEARS, from way back when we referred to it as Shock Treatment, but this was the first time I got to enjoy it live in person)
Somebody To Shove - I Got to see Vibrating Dave again!! And it appeared to be a genuine possession by the instensity of the music, rather than being forced so I'm glad Dave is really experiencing the song's intensity again. :)
Cartoon
Easy Street
Runaway Train
Black Gold
Without A Trace
Misery
Lately
Slowly Rising - Another one I don't actually like outside of a live show, but I do love to see it in a live setting.

Encore:
Stand Up And Be Strong
My Generation (NOT on the printed setlist, but was played instead of Final Solution, which WAS on the printed setlist, they were joined by the bassist from The Tomatoes and also by Susan, I think. (there were two rows of ppl between me & the stage at that point, but I think I saw her up there for this tune)

I don't recall where in the setlist Dave's poem and the scatting improv occured, sorry
We also got Gone till November, but I have no clue where it was in the setlist.

At one point I got all excited because Susan gave something small to Dave and I thought from the shape of Dave's hand closed over it that it might be his harmonica, but alas... it must have just been a fresh guitar pick, because He didn't bust out into Stranger like I was hoping might be coming. :( Oh well.... someday...

I got all pumped up again when they broke out in an intro that sounded like it might evolve into Rhinestone Cowboy (I was already hoping to hear Rhinestone Cowboy, so I didn't notice if this waS actually the false start to a 2nd RT that dissolved after just a few bars - this MIGHT have been when the scatting happened, but I was so hoping for Rhinestone Cowboy that I didn't even notice the fake RT tease:( I seem to have developed a bad habit of hearing what I WANT to hear instead of what's actually happening (I'm gonna blame it on my brain damage, lol)

I'm sorry, but I ended up not being able to even take pics with my Blackberry because my pants didn't have a pocket to keep it in, so I had to keep it in my coat pocket, which got abandonned on my scooter just a few songs into the show and since there were ppl between me & my scooter, there was no way I could retrieve & then restash my phone without losing my spot, or even prossibly falling from ppl competing to shove their way into my spot on the rail the second I took one step toward my scooter so I didn't even try to get it. Plenty of ppl were snapping pics though, so maybe some will turn up online somewhere.

Again, sorry for the delay in posting my own 2 cents, but I guess better late than never.

Shoutout to Charles and his friend who took a moment to come over before the show to say hello before they went to snag rail space in front of Dan. Thank You for looking for me to say hello, it was very nice to meet you both!

Also Hello and Thank You to Eric, a fellow North Dakotan from closer to Fargo who had recently discovered this forum, and lurked enough to remember he'd read about me planning to be up front when he saw my scooter, so he chose to come over and say hello. If you're reading, Eric, please don't hesitate to go ahead & register on this forum and become a member of our little Soul Asylum fan community. You'll find that this is a friendly bunch without any of the problems of many other online communities. We love meeting each other at Soul Asylum shows, and you've already established that you like to meet other good fans, so you'll fit right in, I'm sure. :)


dells
Last edited by dells on Mon Dec 07, 2009 9:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

SeeYouLaterAlligator
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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

Post by SeeYouLaterAlligator »

Great review dells...it was nice meeting you as well.

You mentioned Dave smiling when seeing people singing the Silver Lining stuff...
I got big smiles from Dave for singing along to All is Well, Easy Street (Not Silver Lining but how could you not sing along!) and Lately! Priceless!

The crowd was a bunch of leaches..trying to suck into any area possible. We were dogged by a 4 pack of drunks behind us who just wanted to get on stage. Not cool...people should give it a rest.

The snow did make the drive back tricky for us as well. The crazy thing was - I didn't bring any Soul Asylum on the trip for listening, and no Ipod. I was having the post show shakes from not listening but I am bringing The Silver Lining to listen to in the car today.

Glad you made it back safe.

Charles

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LittleTooClean
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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

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dells
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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

Post by dells »

LittleTooClean wrote:Video Clips

Just Like Anyone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0O7M3hsaZs

Bittersweetheart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZhXxlHWQqs
Thanks for finding these! The guy had Somebody To Shove too, it just wasn't titled as such, it was simply titled Soul Asylum:
Somebody To Shove
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yxz-4So ... re=channel

Be sure to notice Micheal's awesome sharp mohawk in these vids, people. Mike's 'do was stylin'! :D

dells

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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

Post by crawl »

Thanks for the post guys, Dells you totally made me feel like I was there. Don't need a cure, need a final solution. So Final Solution is what you must have lyrics for. Good for you congrats. Once had the roadie say "oh you want the set list, would you like me to get everyone to sign it for you?" that was might nice! Mike Just like anyone is beautiful. Glad you were so close for ND. Appreciate all your videos and song postings. Wish I was more techno savy and had an ipod. Guess I will figure it out.

So wishing I could have made it. Cause I can see they were still shredding it. Such an awesome band now. It is all coming together.

Happy Holidays

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Miss Fitt 2
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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

Post by Miss Fitt 2 »

SeeYouLaterAlligator wrote:lIf I had my drothers - Crazy Mixed Up World would have taken over for Whatcha Need.
I'm always struck by the tremendous variety in people's taste and preferences. I personally think "Whatcha Need" is an extraordinary song and a great part of the set. But I agree about missing "Crazy Mixed Up World." They cut that from the set quite a while back, but I always enjoyed that one. I know some critics dismissed it as saccharine when The Silver Lining first came out, but I think it's very profound and powerful despite its seeming simplicity. it would be nice to see them perform it again.
All that we are not stares back at what we are. - W. H. Auden

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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

Post by spodiba »

Hi, people!
Dells, thank you for a wonderful review, it felt like I was there!
God, I just saw these videos that Mike posted, can't believe how long Dave's hair is! Or maybe it's not that long, and it's just me not really watching these new shows lately. OMG, his hair is really, really long! And, just now, while I was watching the videos, I felt like I was watching one of the 80s shows, he was doing his thing with his hips and really having a great time on stage. Anyway, thank you all for your reviews, and please don't stop writing them, because there are fans like me who might never see them live! I sometimes feel closer to watching a real show when reading your reviews than when watching a video on youtube

dells
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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

Post by dells »

I'm happy to hear that several people enjoy reading my uber-long show stories that pass as my show reviews. Most people keep them much shorter and to the point, but I've never learned the art of brevity. When I'm writing about an event or experience, it seems like every detail I describe suddenly reminds me of another important detail that I want to write down and save, which is why my stories feel so disorganized and rambling to me, and take me forever to write. When posting my show reviews on online fanboards, I save them on my computer too, to create a written "memory book" of my concert adventures, so as I'm writing my "review", I'm very much trying to capure every detail as I remember it, so that when I re-read it later, I can literally relive the show.

You're right, Dave was definately doing his thing at the Fargo show just like back in the day. Almost like we were transported back to the early 90's, which I've felt was missing from many of the shows I'd seen in the last 10 years or so. I've never seen a bad Soul Asylum show, or one where Dave wasn't having fun, but when all the ingedients come together to really set him on fire, it makes for an incredibly exciting, fun show. I've been lucky enough to have witnessed this kind of performance by Dave for the majority of the times I've seen Soul Asylum, which is why the absence of that kind of stage antics is missed so much when it doesn't happen (He has set a high bar for himself), so I'm VERY happy to see it back and hope that Dave continues to love what he's doing so he retains that magic as long as possible. I did notice that he was drinking a beer so maybe that is the ingredient that was missing from Last year's First Ave show? I am glad that Dave has cut his drinking way down, but I love it when he has enough liquid courage to lose his inhibitions on stage and completely live in the moment :P

I think Dave's hair is the perfect length right now. long enough to whip around, but short enough to not be in his way too much. It looked so silky and stayed dry and silky looking for quite a long way into the show :D (thank you lighting guy for not using those blinding, hot lights very often)

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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

Post by mystic_spiral_3 »

Dells, I have MS word documents on my computer for almost every show I've been to since 2001. I consider them my concert memory book, like you said. :)

spodiba
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Re: new show announced - Dec 5th 2009 Fargo, ND

Post by spodiba »

Exactly, when you put down every detail, and when you read it later, that's when the magic reveals. Yes, that's what I meant when I said that it felt like I was there, you tell us every detail, and details are what make it so great.

Yes, yes, yes, I agree, his hair is the perfect lenght now (finally!, it was too short before) If he wore it any longer, I think that would be a little ridiculous, this is just perfect!

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