3-2-01 - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Asheville, North Carolina

Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 17:11:00 -0500
From: benjamc@CLEMSON.EDU
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Review of 3/2/01, Thomas Wolfe Aud.
 
This was absolutely amazing. Some of these songs may be slightly out of
order. I got the setlist from another MB. All I can say is that this tour
seems to have more of a group feel to it than it did in 99. The horns add a
really nice flavor to all of the songs and never seemed overpowering. I was
lucky enough to see Trey at Thomas Wolfe in 99 so I was glad that this tour
happened again in this city. Trey made the comment during the show that
this was the one venue and city that they made sure to come back to from
the first tour. I guess Asheville's more bitchin than I thought. This is
one of the most amazing shows ever to be seen. 7th row tickets help but the
size of Trey's grin and his comments will make this one of the shows to get.
 
Saints go marching in...the lights go down and then a commotion from the
back of the room. We turn around to see all six members marching toward the
stage following Trey carrying a huge bass drum. They were all wearing the
marching band hats and having a great time. Completely unexpected but great.
 
Mozambique...I just remember thinking how great the horns sounded on this.
Everything fit like you would expect it to. Great grooves.
 
I Done Done It...Pretty bluesy. Jennifer Hartswick added some great vocals
to this.
 
Ooh Child...Beautifully played. Completely different jam at the end than
two years ago. Trey wasn't really wanking the guitar, mainly just playing
extended chords that fit well.
 
Jam...Don't really remember this, but I saw it posted somewhere else.
 
Push on Till the Day...Rocking. Recognized it from Conan. This was
obviously drawn out much more than on Conan. I don't remember much about
the specific jams other than thinking how great it all sounded. It may not
have been exploratory, but I don't think it was supposed to be. It was all
about how much could be done within the contexts of the groove. The entire
band did a great job filling the groove. I think this segued into TubeTop
Wobble, kind of a slower reggae feel.
 
Sunday Morning...Great song. Don't remember the jam.
 
Come On Baby, Let's go Downtown...I had heard this was a cover of the Neil
Young song from "MirrorBall". It's not. This is so much better.
 
Burlap Sack and Pumps...Mostly instrumental except for the repeated line of
Burlap Sack and Pumps. Great horn work in here.
 
Happiness in My Pants...If this is the song I'm thinking about it was
acoustic with Russ using brushes. Fast paced song, similar to the original
acoustic versions of "Back on the Train."
 
Mountains in the Mist...Beautiful Acoustic work.
 
At the Gazeebo...As much as some people have bitched about this song, I was
surprised. Beautifully played. I even noticed some of the event staff with
their mouths open in amazement at what they were hearing.
 
Set 2
Drifting...I recognized this as the song with the line "we got the moon and
the stars above." Other people had said this was a cheesy song in previous
reviews. I disagree. Maybe a little on lyrical content, but Trey can make
it fit with the right music. Slightly poppy but good.
 
First Tube...Holy Hell. Can you say I was spent. I haven't heard the
version from Cleveland that has been called the greatest version yet, but
this was amazing. I wasn't sure if my ears were bleeding at the end of
this, but I don't think I would have cared.
 
Higher...As a song I probably wouldn't care for it alone too much, but
Trey's band kept upping the intensity on this. It wouldn't stop.
 
Rainy Day Women...Everyone singing along to this one of course. Great fun.
Trey was obviously having fun.
 
Gotta Jibboo...This was the most mind-blowing version of this that I've
heard. Probably close to 15 minutes, maybe more. Once again, Trey
continuously upping the intensity. He wouldn't stop. Tony changed up his
bass lines a good bit toward the end of the jam. Probably as exploratory as
this band will get, but it was still amazing. Much more intense than the
first tour.
 
The Way I feel...Mostly instrumental with the title repeated a few times.
Great horn work in here. After this Trey makes the comments about coming
back to this city. Says he's been writing some cheesy pop love songs and
they're going to play a brand new song, how much fun they're having in this
venue,  and a lot more music.
 
Till I met you...Only Trey can make you enjoy a poppy love song like this.
It sort of segued into Windora Bug.
 
Windora Bug...This is where the Bombs were dropped. I was hoping for it
ever since last time around. Once again Trey can't keep from laughing at
Tony who added some lines about "is it a slime, or a slug?" Treys key work
wasn't boring. He kept dancing around to the reggae vibe a little bit. He
would saunter back to the keys and then hit "the note" that shook the whole
building. I was watching Tony at the time and didn't know what the hell had
happened until I saw the grin and watched him do it a few more times. This
could possibly blow some speakers once the tapes start rolling out. Huge
Bass Bombs.
 
Aki Ki Kimmbo...I don't remember this other than digging it a lot.
 
Encore
We knew something was up because they brought out an additional microphone
and chair. One of my friends had been standing behind Mike Gordon earlier
in the night and didn't even notice him. Sure enough, Mike and Trey come
out to huge applause. They've both got acoustic guitars.
 
Heartbreaker...This isn't the Led Zep song. This was more rockabilly
bluegrass style, possibly a cover.
 
Possum...Still just Trey and Mike. Amazing. Mike takes some great leads in
here. Trey does more amazing leads. We're all singing along. They finish up
and Trey says they're going to noodle for a moment. If you've ever heard
"Guitar space" from the Pizza Tapes than you know what kind of style they
noodled in. Somewhat atonal, but still amazing to see and hear.
 
Yellow Submarine...I think Mike took the lead on the vocals for this. The
rest of the band standing in the wings in the uniform stuff again. The
horns filled in perfectly for this song just like they do on the original.
Eventually they wrap up and leave the stage marching back out like they
came in. Mike was carrying a set of crash cymbals. I think most everyone in
the auditorium was still clapping and singing the song as they left.
 
Overall...Amazing. This is much more of a group effort than it was before.
The horns fit perfectly. Everyone had a great time. Trey especially. I have
a hard time believing that anyone could find a fault with a show like this.
These tickets would have been worth double the price to see the performance
that I saw. This is not Phish. It's a groove machine. I almost have
reservations about going to Atlanta for fear they can't outdo this show.
Granted I haven't heard the other shows, but this is definitely the best
show I've ever seen period. Definitely beats the other tour even as good as
that one was.

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