Sometimes kicks it off,really good version here..European Tour 2012 Mix opener Matt ?.....Animal and GTF sound great........Got Some kills the momentum for me (as it always does) and I will refrain from my usual barbs about it....Small Town is solid..the band sound good..show is crisp...EV voice sounds raw,and he really gives his all during GTF ...but I belive this is where his voice started to go...
God's Dice has the usual intro mistake.I have to say,they screwed this song up 75% in 2000.Decent tune,IMO it doesnt do much for the set...as they still cant play it 12 years later.....
The Fixer,Iam Mine,Corduroy,Even Flow run really gets the place going..loud cheers for Iam Mine..love the tune..should be played more...Corduroy has some extra vigor to it...EV is really pushing it....he's starting to sound very hoarse now,but it actually adds some good harshness to the rockin tunes (Even Flow,NFY etc)
Setting Forth is ok,NFY sounds good,even though the band are a bit off,and EV is tryin to kill it..but he is struggling with the harder lines,and his voice sounds as if its giving out...the band go into nice jam in the middle..great Modern Girl tag at the end..I always need that outro..EV is gassed...
A very funky sounding Push Me Pull Me is dusted off....really like the curve ball here in the set,this one has only been played 5 times,since I caught it live at the epic NYC 05.21.10 gig ...the classic Garden follows,these 2 are my main set highlights..love it..Garden is an alltime great,its an underplayed gem....the song has only been played 11 times,since I saw it live in Philly,10.28.09...I love this one...
Admittedly,a pretty good version of 1/2 Empty (Full) is played..but it kills the momentum again IMO (sorry Matt)..the band have so many other classic tunes from the Big 3,No Code and Yeild..why play that song ? How about a rockin version of Red Mosquito instead ? I dont get it..DMB do the same thing at times...
A very shaky version of Unthought Known is played.The ending is awful.Ed just stops playing his guitar,and the band are way off during the whole song..and someone (EV ?) is out of tune..skip it...
I like Wasted Reprise/Life Wasted together.. they flow much better than the Wasted Rerpise/Better Man combo's we had over and over each tour...good versions....
Solid version of Why Go ends the main set...The first 3 tunes,and Iam Mine-Garden is a very nice run,but the set could have been much better..Got Some,Gods Dice and 1/2 Empty (Full) are average tunes at best,and need to be dropped forthwith,these are tthe same average tunes as they were in 2000,2003 AND 2009,they are not better now.Replace Got Some with Red Mosquito,Gods Dice with State Of Love and Trust,and 1/2 Empty with say Spin The Black Circle,and we have a solid set with a nice blend of old and newer tunes...
Encore 1
I have always been a fan of Of The Girl,and the band playing it here as an encore,is yet another nice curveball...this tune actually wasnt played live since it opened my Newark gig,05.18.10.,which shocked me...as I love it...and it needs to be played more..
Really good version of Just Breathe,and it flows nicely into Crazy Mary.I like the Angie snippet.Once is just off the charts...Ed's voice actually sounds stronger now than it did half way through the main set..strange.....really great version here......Mike and Matt are kickin it....Evolution sounds great..listen to Ed's voice..how is it this strong now ? I love the "Oh oh oh oh's"...even with a small flub during Evolution,these are keeper versions of Once and Evolution...solid first encore.
Encore 2
WWS is really a shock to me here.Good tune,good version.But it absolutely has no business showing up in an encore 2 slot.Jeremy anyone ?
Better Man,Black and Alive are a classic PJ run.These are without any question slots for these 3 epic tunes.Ed finally asks the crowd to sing for him at the start of Better Man,as his voice is gone again.....
EV struggles playing the intro to Better Man on guitar,decent version,solid snippets,crowd eat it up,as they always do.......
Black is.... well...Black.....it is,without question (IMO),PJ's best song .....Mike going off,EV nailing it...........We DIDNT Belong Together ....whats that all about ? Great version as always...
Alive (really good LOUD version),Baba and YL end this really good solid show.
Baba is a bit subdued.Eds voice is gone,and he still goes for a Who song.I have to say,he has balls.Its actually a decent version.
For a 1 nighter,I would have been pleased.
4 stars
Standout tunes..Sometimes,Iam Mine,Corduroy,NFY,Push Me Pull Me,GARDEN,Of The Girl,ONCE,Evolution,Black and Alive.
2. The 2012 Euro mix will be done - hopefully by Christmas - but you know I will have to incorporate ALL of the classic openers into the mix. I am just finisihing up a SIX-DISC (!) 2009 mix where it disc is its own mini show. I prefer this option over starting Disc 1 with a bunch of openers - like I did with my 2000 and 2003 mixes.
3. Although I probably like "1/2-Full" more than you. I don't like it THAT much. I think you're thinking of "Save You" - although the lyrics are a bit sophmoric, it still rocks.
