...and then I'll (we'll) have to listen to Europe! Obviously, I'll revisit the five Italia shows again among others...wait, don't recommend any of these yet or I'll get overwhelmed.
I like the fact that they opened with 4 new songs here on opening night.Severed Hand is a good tune to open with,going into WWS and LW.3 of the best songs off PJ.However,IMO,Marker In The Sand falls flat (couple of mistakes dont help).Never liked this one much.They should have played this one later in the set,if at all.
GTF is one of my favorite PJ tunes,they usually play it early,cause Ed tends to go off on the chorus.He seems to hold back a bit here,maybe cause its opening night ? Good version,but it didnt jump out at me,like it usually does.
Crowd sing along well to the opening of BM.Boom's organ sound's nice in the backgound,adds a touch of class.Even Flow is always a treat.Stone,in the past,has said this is where Mike "wakes up." Solid version here.
Unemployable is an ok tune.I take it,mostly leave it.Ed mentiones about the "job situation in America".The start is butchered.They should play that tune today,and dedicate it to Obama,as the unemployment rate has been at record lows during his administration.But, that wouldnt be prudent I guess.Anyway,at the end,it sounds as if some fans are booing.Maybe they are saying Boom ?
Garden is now played.It's a classic and I love it live.This,however,is a very short version.Sounds a bit off.Doesnt have is usual effect on me.The crowd cheer after EV starts to sing.Sounds so odd.Its as if they didnt know what song was being played.Sad follows,I like it.This should have made the album.Corduroy picks things up.Good version.Sounds a bit off to me at the start,then settles down.Ed says after "getting it into gear".Ed mentions Doug Gilmore,very funny stuff.This is the start of a nice run.
Present Tense.I love this one.Crowd sings along at the start,albeit out of tune.Ed starts to get into it.Really giving his best vocal performance so far.Not holding back. A few wrong notes are heard,good version,little shaky.I really like the solo at the end.
Daughter.Sounds good.You can clearly hear Jeff's deep,pulsing bass lines in the background."The shades roll down".Tag is To Come by Lenny Bruce.Nice jam,I like it.Good version.
Greivance > NFY. I of course prefer Lukin.Shaky start to Grievance.I could do without it.NFY just sounds low key to me.For some reason,Ed sings parts of Beyonce's Check On It.Really Ed ? During NFY ? ! Shaky version + Beyonce tag + no Modern Girl tag = skip it.
Inside Job premieres at this show.My favorite tune off PJ.I just dont like the placement here.IJ should have followed Garden,and Sad could have fit in after NFY.But,what do I know.I can picture Mike playing the double neck guitar.Head back,eyes closed.Really good version.
Why Go ends the main set on a high.Its a great tune,and Im glad they brought it back bigtime for this tour, and for tours since.They last played Why Go in regular rotation in 1995.And only 2 times in 2003.I could never understand why.
Encore 1
Evolution opens,good raw version,and Jeremy follows.This classic (IMO) should be played as much as Alive.I love it,and it brings me back to the early 90's every time.Very good version,a highlight of the show.Crowd eat it up.
Come Back kills all the momentum that Jeremy built,and I like the tune.It just falls flat,terrible placement here by EV.This slow,new tune should have never seen a slot during the encores.Its a crowd killer,but the crowd cheer loudly,as it is announced.Strange.Maybe some tampering (editing) here by PJ management ? IMO,Once or RVM would have brought the house down.
Alive,the classic,does it job.Sounds very good.Goes over.Mike jams out.But,encore 1 is over already.By PJ standards,its a short one.
Encore 2
Porch.Good version here.For me,this song always seems to go on and on live,as does RVM.I prefer the shorter versions of both songs.But,it is indeed classic PJ.Without question,I take it every time.
RITFW is performed,and IMO,its so played out.Predictable.Id rather have an original song.DMB do the same thing.They always play Watchtower,drives me crazy.I get why they play it,for Uncle Neil.In Canada etc.
YL ends it.No shock there.I like the tune of course,but again,its just so predictable.I wish they would play it 5th one night in the main set.Good version.
3 1/2 stars
Highlights: opening 3 tunes,BM,Daughter,PT and Jeremy.
Good show.Shaky moments,its opening night.Solid opening 3 song run.Up and down set.Short encore.Not a show I will go back to anytime soon.
I wrote this yesterday (and will read yours, Ed, afterwards):
2006-05-09 Toronto, ON
A relatively short setlist compared by PJ standards but I quite like this show. Just like U2 did with all their shows in the ZooTV tour (and the 2009 shows of the 360 tour), I really like how PJ opened the shows with a bunch of songs from the album they were promoting. I love the semi-extended lead in to “Severed Hand” and the “World Wide Suicide/Life Wasted” combo pack a pretty good punch. Even “Marker in the Sand” (not one of my favourite songs, to be honest) sounds quite good. PJ didn’t do much of this during the 2003, Riot Act tour of when they were promoting Backspacer. “Avocado” might not be PJ’s best album – heck, it might be their “worst” – but at least they believed in it!
Now if the crowd was getting a little restless, waiting for some hits, well they got them next in three strong renditions of “Given to Fly,” “Better Man” (although no “Save it For Later” ending – that comes during night #2) and “Even Flow.”
Next comes the unremarkable “Unemployable.” I appreciate what the song is about (EV even gives a speech about it beforehand) but, for me anyway, the music itself is terrible. Did Matt Cameron write this one? I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.
Fortunately, things change quickly for the better as they pulled out “Garden” – making its return after missing the entire 2003 tour. This is an outstanding song – probably the most underrated one of Ten if that is possible.
Then come the hidden gem (well, not to most PJ fans) “Sad” followed very decent renditions of “Corduroy” and “Present Tense” – although EV’s hockey reference to the latter song is quite cheesy.
The crowd seems quite grateful to hear “Daughter” (no “It’s Okay” tag, however – an essential part of the song for me now) but then comes “Grievance” – a good tune, mind you, but the momentum seemed a bit curtailed but then re-established by ripping into “Not For You” which is a classic, even though no “Modern Girl” tag was included.
The second half of the show (or the second disc, anyway) is full of well-played hits which include “Why Go” (making its somewhat-permanent return to the setlist), “Do The Evolution,” “Jeremy,” and “Alive” as well as “Inside Job”(first time ever played live – solid tune) and “Come Back” (not one of my favourites – sounds like it’s from the 1950’s) from the new album.
A pretty standard closing for the show – “Porch,” “Rockin’ in the Free World,” and “Yellow Ledbetter” end it. However, I think this finish would have seemed much fresher then compared to now. I have been listening to A LOT of shows from 2009 to 2012 over the past twelve months and feel the YLB ending just might need to be changed – blasphemy, I know! However, all three are classic-PJ and I would be happy hearing them during a PJ show.
One thing I will say is that I think taking a bit of a break from the more recent PJ shows might be a good idea. Why you might ask? Well, because I think it’s safe to say that I have had my fill of “The Fixer,” “Got Some,” and, yes, even “Just Breathe” – but not “Unthought Known” (I still love that one).
Yet I don't really like putting number ratings to my reviews - but I will for you, Ed.
Four Stars - a very good show, although a bit short and missing a few essential tags. Highlights: the opening three songs and the sort-of-return of "Garden" and "Why Go."