so I saw DMB in Bristow last night~~~
It was...a bad show. Maybe that’s unfair. It started out pretty good, but then the set just fell off a cliff, and since the end of a show tends to stick with you more than the beginning, I walked away thinking, “that wasn’t so great.” Moreover, it was a short show: they took the stage a little later than usual, I think, and it ended 10 minutes before curfew. That sort of thing irritates me. I know the band doesn’t promise to play a certain amount of time, but when the show doesn’t start for 20-30 minutes after the time advertised, there’s really no excuse for ending the show early. If you start late, and the curfew is 11:00, then play until 11.
Let’s get into this thing (for reference, here’s the full set: http://dmbalmanac.com/TourShowSet.aspx?id=453065409&tid=2154&where=2016)
Squirm opened the show. People seem pretty divided on Squirm: some like it, some don’t, some hate it as an opener. I love Squirm. I think it’s one of the few songs from Big Whiskey that really came into its own live, and I think it’s a great opener, so no problems here. Then Dave announced Jon D’Earth, and I was filled with despair because I figured Jimi Thing was a lock. But then, lo, Seek Up! It was pretty great. I could nitpick and complain that it went on for a little too long - they should’ve just given D’Earth the solo in the beginning rather than have D’Earth solo and then have Jeff and Rashawn do their horn duel - but Seek Up running a little long is hardly a tragedy.
The show stayed pretty good all the way through Samurai Cop. Then Joe Lawlor came out and I thought, “huh, he just played on Rhyme and Reason last night. I guess they’ll do it again.” I’ve heard R&R twice before, and once with Lawlor, but it’s a solid song, so I’d have been fine with that. Then they started playing Cornbread and I was like “oh ffs” because I hate Cornbread. I like Joe, but Cornbread is not a song that needs to be jammed out, much less ten whole minutes. Joe’s solo was fine, I guess. This song sucks.
The set never really recovered from that. Grey Street and The Space Between are okay, but they’re pretty generic. Sugar Will is great, but it just wasn’t enough to save the set. D’Earth came back out to play - Recently, maybe? - no, of course not! Jimi Thing >> Sexy MF. It was bad. Then the band walked off stage and I thought, “damn, that seemed like a really short set.” Dive In/Warehouse is a fine encore, but, again, it wasn’t enough to save the show. We needed a really great encore here, and instead, we got a merely good one. And, as aforementioned, the band left ten minutes early.
When I got home, I saw the printed setlist and noticed there were four songs cut: Bob Law, Drive In Drive Out, Rapunzel, and Dancing Nancies.
Think about that for a sec.
Those would have been four of the best songs played, and they all got cut. The original encore was Dive In/Nancies>>Warehouse. Since they ended with 10 minutes to spare, there was totally enough time to play that; no reason whatsoever to cut Nancies. As for the other three, I have no idea why they cut those. Was it really so important to play Grey Street for the millionth time that they just had to cut Drive In Drive Out? They couldn’t shelf The Space Between for Rapunzel? I swear, this band...
So, all in all, a pretty weak show. I’d say the only reason to download the tape is Seek Up. That being said, I think I, personally, had more fun than the show really warranted. Bristow is the only show I go to all tour - hell, it’s the only concert I go to, period - so I’m kinda guaranteed to enjoy myself. I definitely had more fun in ‘13 and ‘14, which were great shows, but I don’t regret going or anything.
