Let's not forget the very entertaining version from Tommy of "My Generation" and Bittersweet Heart was thrown in during the encore, as well. I agree with you all that the encore was by far the highlight of the show and I agree very much with what Judith said. I, too, wanted to just shout out "Hey Dave, it's all good! We're all having fun no matter what's happening with the guitars" But we all have those days, right?

Any night at a Soul Asylum show is a good night.

No worries...Dave seemed to bounce back just fine. After the show when he was talking to the fans, he was nothing but smiles, talkative and friendly.

Only bad thing about it now is just how fast it's over and done with. My ears have already stopped ringing.....

phillpgar.....I am with you on the "no tribute" to Karl. I will be honest....I think that is one of the coolest moments of the show and I kept waiting for it last night. I think we have all lost someone in our lives at one time or another and we find ourselves talking to/with them. In Chicago a few weeks ago, Dave said something along the lines of..."this one's for Karl...who couldn't be here tonight." A true sign of long-time brotherhood and a cool moment indeed.

Back to Dave and all....I was at the show with my wife, who has seen them maybe twice before with me. Even she commented to me about Dave. I can understand about the perfectionism and all, but hey, it's live and stuff happens. I am not sure any of us minded, because we know those things happen. Throwing the guitar down and walking off stage, to me, was very Axl-Rose-ish. I had to throw that in there, since Tommy played with with them (and maybe still does?) and probably is not fazed at all by lead singer antics.

I did enjoy the show, but I am not sure I would ever go back to that venue. I am not into the booths and tables and all. I know it is a casino, but Soul Asylum is a rock band, not a cigar bar act. Yes, I am guilty of sitting in a booth with my better half, but the other 10 times I have seen SA, I was in the front rocking out.

I heard a few songs I now enjoy from their back catalog and I am looking forward to another Chicago show soon. By the way, a while back, I saw a show listing for the Double Door on 10/9. What ever happened to that one? I would love to see them at Durty Nellies in Palatine. Great venue and it would fill up for them-the way it should be.

When are they going to bring We 3 and See You Later back into the set list?!?!?!!

This wouldn't be the first show where Dave's popped a gasket because the guitars/mics/gear weren't working right. If I remember right there was a show last year where the guitars and mics (only his!) were whack he was huckin' stuff around the stage and firing people publicly. And then kind of bitched to the audience about it as well!

And he was visibly irritated a couple of times at the Gretna show when things weren't right.

And while I completely agree that the whole idea is to make it look like it's working to the audience and be professional about it, ie: suck it up and not throw a fit and just play as if all is well, it's also absolutely and completely understandable that things not being ready when he gets onstage would be well beyond annoying and easily into infuriating.
This is a professional band who have been doing this for a long long time, with techies who have been doing this a long ltime as well and know what the expectations are.
I'd be pissed as hell if things weren't right too.

I think his music is kind of his kryptonite when it comes to keeping his cool. I once said the wrong thing (I don't know to this day why it was wrong) to him after a show and got my head snapped off quite thoroughly.

Oh the humanity.

And it's not just Dave. Maybe it's a fitty kind of week

Let us not forget Tommy refusing to play another note till they fixed the sound issue he felt he was having at Gretna.

Because it's totally appropriate to yell into the mic, across the stage, exactly what your sound problems are and what you want done about it and plan to do if they're not taken care of.
Super professional.
And thanks to Dave for diffusing and making a joke about it.

Did any of you get things signed, chat with the band, etc. after the show? I have some nice photos I enlarged from the recent Chicago show I was hoping to get signed. However, they came after we left for the show. Oh well, next time!

Miss Fitt 2 wrote:... but it was just awful to see him phone it in on several songs -- skipping his usual Davisms and looking like he just wanted to get through it and get out of there.

Rebel Yell5 wrote:

philipgar wrote:5. Black Gold - before this song some girls in the audience were yelling out DAVE oh my god.. and so Dave goes up to the mic and mocks them with an "oh my god.. it's dave"

i was right in front of the stage near dave when this happened. dave actually didn't look like he was kidding when he mocked the yelling. It looked like he was annoyed by the yelling out of his name. It was in fun when the ladies screamed for him. perhaps he was uncomfortable by it? A strange reaction from him i thought from something so minor and in obvious tribute.

Maybe Dave is tired of his long-standing stage persona ("Davisms") and resents having to keep wearing it. Maybe he wants to change his stage persona. Maybe we should let him.

I'm a little late on my review (didn't get home until 4:45am) so I slept a "little" late and had some stuff to do during the rest of the day.

Anyways, almost everything that has been said about the concert itself has been said. Although I thought the show was good, like Phil mentioned "it definitely pales in comparison to many of the other shows I've seen them do" ; but I still really enjoyed it. The set turned out to definitely be a lot longer than I'd expect them to do especially with Dave's various guitar troubles. Despite them, the encore for me was probably the best part too (they just seemed to keep cranking them out). Dan even seemed surprised, cause Dave even pointed with his finger to him "one more" (song).

After the show, Dave was in real high spirits and hung out for a long time talking with fans. Without me even asking him, Dave had mentioned that he knew wasn't his normal self during the whole show and seemed disappointed that he was. As for Final Solution, I asked him if there was any reason/special reason behind playing it since it was new to most of us. He said, "Yeah, it's a simple song to play... I've always liked it".

Even though there hasn't been a performance that I've been to that I've ever felt disappointed about in the end, I might have to say right up with the concert, the best part of the night also had to be before and after the when I got to talk to the band and many new and old and/or long time fans (whether they're from the site or not). I definitely appreciated their comments about the site and how talkative everyone was.

As Wendy pointed out, "Soul Asylum fans are the coolest and nicest people on earth!", I couldn't agree any more than that... I spent at least 4 hours of conversing with probably a half of dozen new people and at least a dozen others whom I've met before. The time went by so quickly after the show though that I didn't realize it was already after 3:00 am.

Again I want to thank everyone and really appreciated all the comments made about the site; as always was great to see all the familiar faces again.

To sum it up in my opinion:

Good show; great time.

I've been lurking on the SA boards forever, getting info about my favorite band, but never posting. The odd evening that was the Milwaukee show has prompted me to join in and give my opinion/solicit opinions on the evening's performance. Many have posted about the show already, but I’ll add mine for shits and giggles, since I feel it elicited a quite different feeling from me.

This was probably the most uneven, and for the most part, unsatisfying SA show I think I have ever seen of the 20 or so times I've seen them, including most of their post Silver Lining shows around the Midwest (I live in the Milwaukee area). Let me start with the venue. It's a terrible place to see a rock band. The tables up front--I can't understand why they were there and they weren't there the last time they played here. The sound is poor. I started out on Tommy's side of the stage and all I could hear was the vocals. Don't know if there was a mixing problem also, but I went to the middle of the stage and it was better but still sounded poor, I thought. Sad to have them play here when Milwaukee has other worthy options like the Pabst theatre.

Dave's voice sounded hoarse, flat, and off-key right from the start. My wife, who is a fan but has only seen them a few times, shot me a glance that said, 'wow, that sounds terrible'. Just my observation but it seemed like the rest of the band was struggling with not only Dave's attitude but also his performance.

I go see SA because I love their music and their performances are energetic and entertaining. For 3/4's of the show they were neither. There was little interaction within the band and none of the fun parts that we love. I go to the shows to see great performances from artists I respect and admire, not to see brooding musicians walking off stage mid-song and giving a half-assed effort. I paid money to see a show, I expect more than that. Yeah, equipment/techie problems happen but I've seen Dave's equipment blow up before and they’ve made the best of it.

I could be wrong, especially after reading some posts that said Dave was great after the show, but it looked as though Dave was kind of shit-faced. I have no problem with that--they usually play well even if they’re drinking a lot, but it didn't seem like that was the case this time. I've never seen so many missed lyrics and guitar parts from him, and there were also clearly times in the show when he missed a transition from one song to the next. So I wonder what role that could have played?

All this being said, the last part of the show was really good. Dave seemed to get it together and the encore was awesome, especially My Generation (loved Tommy's lyrics). Finally, the band was having fun, we were having fun, and there was none of that tension that someone brought up in their post, which I thought was a dead-on assessment. Then, it was over, leaving me feeling good upon exit, but ultimately feeling a little under whelmed. I'm not as worked up as I probably sound...it's just a rock and roll show. I guess I just expect more from SA. They’re still the best live band I’ve seen and an average SA show is still better than most other shows. Peace. Thanks for reading my rant!

Great last picture Phil. Bittersweet was in the encore. They skipped it in the beginning and came back with it. As far as how shows go. I think it is about so many factors and Dave and his level of enthusiasm is just one factor. So he was having a bit of an off night, happens to the best of us right. But the point is he did shake it off. It is hard to see him getting annoyed, but I think when he is pissed off he always manages to channel it back into the music and end up smokin.

Other factors:

The venue is awesome!! Love the stars in the back of the stage and the lighting was great... see Phil's photo above. I know they did not let us take many photos but still. It is a great place so intimate, and pretty darn classy!

I actually got paid by the casino to come to the show! Ticket was $23, if you signed up for the frequent flyer card. I had a coupon from the casino for $25. I made $2 on the deal (not quite enough to cover my beer but still!)

Michael and Tommy are starting to really step out and seem to be letting their personalities come into the the band. Not just a rythme section for Dan and Dave any more. I did notice that there was not a dedication to Karl, but we all know that song is for him. I think Dave was just off on his stage banter...

My friend Irma came... she really liked String of Pears ( which I also love). Scot and Phil where talking about it being Cheesey (in cheese land) So it is nice to have some support!!

Phil and the light up hoola hoop!!

Dave must have hung out for 2 hours after the show in the bar. Just talking with everyone, opening band members, fans, very causal. And Nice!

Great to see all of you!!!

I sure had fun!!

Seems like many people got to talk to the band afterwards. Is there any news on maybe a new album or new songs?

Were they hanging out in the Sports Bar in the casino? I am just curious if I ever attend another show at that place. Too bad we had to leave. It's always nice chatting with Dave and Dan afterwards. Oh well, I can get my photos signed the next time I see them.

As a side note, Dan told me after the recent Chicago show that they were heading to the studio to record stuff that week, which would have been the week of Sept 21. Anyone know if another album is coming down the pipeline?