Great show tonight. As I told Nicole, this will be a long write-up.
Nicole and I were lucky to hear much of the soundcheck after dinner. We heard:
Lately
an upbeat jazzy riff
Easy Street
Whatcha Need (yes, Nicole, I wrote the title non-grammatically correct)
String of Pearls
Never Really Been
Sometime to Return preceded by a weird countryish jam
"jazzy riff"
Shortly after the soundcheck we spotted Dan and Tommy wandering through the casino. I wondered if they were going to try a little pre-show gambling.
The guys seemed to be in great moods...very happy, sometimes silly, lots of energy. They seemed to be having a blast in my opinion. Dave started off by saying in a loud deep voice, "the hills are alive with the sound of music!" Here's the setlist and other assorted goodies:
Easy Street--Cool to hear this as the show opener!
Misery/Silly Love Songs--Dave's facial expressions were hilarious following the "what's wrong with that?" lyric
Lately--preceded with Tommy declaring people standing were winners, people sitting were losers, and Dave saying "Who Dat" as a reference to the New Orleans Saints
All is Well--Dedicated to "Laura" according to Dave, but "Laurie" according to her friends who were sitting at the table behind us. The guys thanked people for coming to the show despite the snow, but noted that snow was no big deal where they come from.
We then learned that there was a possibility Michael was going to cut his mohawk but decided not to. Tommy said that shaving was NOT a Saturday night thing, but rather a Sunday morning thing.
Bittersweetheart--Nice hip swivels from Dave. For those interested in the holey jeans, there were holes at the knees.
Dave wished the audience a happy Mardi Gras and then made more references to the New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl (instead of the New England Patriots, the closest local team). Then he dedicated Black Gold to the audience.
Without a Trace--In the key of G for Good. Dave said this was dedicated to Karl Mueller, who couldn't be here tonight, but Dave said he was sure Karl is "smiling upon you." I liked that thought.
String of Pearls--Dave told more of his bad jokes, but the guys noted these jokes just get worse. Dave really played up the gestures during this song.
Slowly Rising was introduced as another of Dave's "pro-woman songs." He also had another joke: "since we're here with this gear, lets play a song" or something like that.
Oxygen was dedicated to the Figgs, Tommy Stinson, and ultimately Brett Favre's groin. (I'm not kidding. I think they were trying to find another football team to make fun of.) The "before and behind you" line was punctuated by Dave dramatically looking behind himself, as was the "follows you everywhere you go" line.
Dave then said Tommy was going to pull a rabbit out. From where? Tommy did not want to say.
Just Like Anyone--Dave did, I presumed, a Garrison Keillor impression (he mentioned Lake Woebegon), while introducing this song as a song about thoughts one has when using the john.
Cartoon rocked, and the audience really enjoyed it, and the segue into Gone Till November was pretty good too. Dave said the latter was dedicated to Haiti. He thanked anyone who had donated to Haiti, and said now people would probably donate to Chile's relief effort. However, Dave said he did not think the world was ending just yet.
Whatcha Need--Dave said this song "features...me". Some of the things Dave and Michael speculated people may need: shrimp cocktails, various other drinks, a free massage, a bass solo, and a guitar solo. We got Dave's guitar solo. I actually thought it was pretty good. Dave seemed to think otherwise. He joked that his electric guitar was taken from him and replaced by his acoustic guitar, and that this essentially means "shut up Dave." Dave also sang the Olympics theme, and then said the guys were going to form a cover band called Led Zappa.
Never Really Been--In the key of D for Dave, Dan, and almost done. Where will you be in 2023?
Runaway Train--this was a song Dave claimed they just whipped up in the dressing room. During this song Dave threw a guitar pick to Tommy, and this made him laugh, and after the song they started talking about guitar picks. Dave let the audience in on this fact and followed it with bad jokes about picks.
Closer to the Stars--first verse acoustic and the rest electric.
Sometime to Return--rocked as usual.
Somebody to Shove--in the key of Farrah Fawcett Majors
Encore:
The guys brought out Pete Donnelly of the Figgs as well as guitar tech Susan to play on Stand Up and Be Strong. Unfortunately Dave messed up on the "you might have to fight" line, so everyone who was ready to yell "FIGHT!" kind of couldn't. Oh well.
It was still a fun performance.
The guys closed with a spirited version of My Generation. It was cool to hear a "full" version of it instead of the brief version I heard last year in Boston.
Sorry this was a long post, but notetaker girl here took alot of notes! Nicole, it was great to hang out with you before and during the show. Judith, it was good to see you again as well...I could tell you were having fun.
Sarah