couple quick thoughts on last night's hoboken show...
going in, i feared that this show would too similar in vibe to last year's
wetlands gig or _glorious & idiotic_ -- but i needn't have worried. similar
structure, yes (start slow, build up...), but not as much of a similar
setlist as i would have expected and a really smooth pace. i think this
show was the most fluid jbc gig i've seen. it all ran together effortlessly
and pat, max owen and even steve seemed to be enjoying it all very much. i
suspect the lack of a broken amp may have contributed to the state of flow. ;)
i was enjoying too much to keep close notes on the setlist, but it ranged
from the usual suspects to some unexpected treats (well, unexpected to me
since i haven't been paying close attention to the posted setlists).
noteworthy event: for the second song of the encore, steve, for some
reason, neglected to appear. pat jokingly asked for a volunteer and he got
what he asked for as one audience member hopped right up on stage and
manned the bass, professing to know both A and F. with some trepidation,
they kicked into "zombie love" and ... it was fantastic! the guy could play
and even knew the song. pat and the unnamed bassist even did the
ol'guitarists-leaning-on-each-other-while-playing thang. pat, max, owen and
the audience alike were pleasantly surprised.
a soundboard of the show was made (not by me). if/when a copy falls in my
hands, i'll let y'all know.
woj (woj[at]-remove-smoe.org)
I can only second the praise for this show. At an objective and sober
distance it still strikes me that this was a helluva gig. What I thought
was particularly striking was the difference between this and the Boston
show; that was good, but sometimes a little hesitant (Bigfoot Motel, She's
on Drugs, Mr Odd in particular didn't sound totally "natural") but here,
after nearly a month on the road, everyone was so clearly more familiar and
flowing with each song. I really enjoyed the way certain songs had gained
new verses or instrumental passages, Bigfoot sounded like the "original"
Hamburg version - i.e. maniacally energetic - I thought Owen sang really
strongly on his Don't Let Me Keep You, and Mr Odd and She's on Drugs were
awesome here. Diamorphine is a great song from the new album (no wah-wah
this time, when did that drop out?) , Niagara sounded a lot stronger this
time around, the sound was very good (I swear this was one of the loudest
gigs I've ever been to, but then again I was standing 3 feet from the main
LH speaker) and everyone had a great time. Pat thanked the crowd at the
start for coming out on a Tuesday night - certainly it was a good turnout
(200+?) and enthusiastic too.
Except perhaps Steve...Owen told me afterwards that he's been having pretty
bad nosebleeds for a while, which explains why he didn't come out for Zombie
Love - and after the show Pat came out and a little self-consciously asked
if there was a doctor in the house. There wasn't (so what happened with the
JBC drawing an educated crowd??!) so he went off to hospital. I only hope
for his sake, and for tonight, that he's better - congratulations to his
stand-in on Tuesday, who did really, really well and looked to have the time
of his life - but I don't think they're all just A & G!
So, if you had any doubts, if you go to one concert this year, get yourself
to the Mercury tonight...
Christopher Post (chrispost[at]-remove-surfree.com)
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