I was there for both nights, night 2 was incredible. I did almost the same thing as you, toward the end of watchtower I started heading out and was walking up to the bridge when Halloween came on and we ran back down. I would never have even imagined Watchtower into Halloween.Nitro1515 wrote:A little SPAC review. I decided last minute to go and damn am I glad I did. I really like balcony seats there, they give you a better view than being on the main floor. It was also pretty cool to see The Hold Steady open, I love that band and they sounded great live.
Shake Me - Song is a solid opener. In the grand scheme of things I'm not really a fan because the lyrics do blow, but it gets the crowd rockin' live so I can't complain.
Typical - Awesome, Dave's voice was on the whole night which was nice because hearing some clips from previous shows he sounded kinda shot.
Alligator Pie - Do not like this song and it is an absolute mess live.
YMDT - I really wish they would put this back on the shelf. I do not care what they add to it the core of this song blows. Jamming it out an extra 5 minutes makes it that much worse for me.
Dive In - Not really a good live song. They finished it and then started back up again from the beginning with Boyd doing a solo for a few minutes, it was kinda dumb.
The Stone - My favorite song and quite possibly the best version I have ever heard, just incredible stuff. This made the trip worth it alone, but little did I know what I would be getting later.
Funny - Meh, its a nice short pop song, but I would be fine if I never heard it again.
LITHOG - Love the song, but it doesnt really translate live. Tim and Jeff need to branch out a little bit more on it. They play exactly what is on the album version which makes it kinda boring.
Lie In Our Graves - Excellent, good solos. I am so glad they stopped doing that thing where they finish the reprise randomly after a different song.
Why I Am - This song smokes live and its cool when the whole audience goes nuts whenever he says GrooGrux King. The crowd chanted Leroi after it was over.
Jimi Thing - I usually hate this song live because it drags on and on, but they've tightened it up considerably and I was loving it last night. He did the sexy mother fucker outro. Also someone threw a mask on stage and Dave put it on and was dancing around with it like a psychopath during Jeff's solo. Brian posted the video two posts up.
You & Me - Song sucks and it brought the whole crowd down.
The Song That Jane Likes - They always seem to play this at SPAC and I am very happy that they do. I think this is one of the most underrated songs they have. I don't think I would ever get sick of hearing it.
Crash - Just a standard version, but its always good to hear this song.
Time Bomb - I can't get into it, the ending just doesnt sound like them. Its like Dave is doing an Eddie Vedder impersonation. He also played the Taylor on this instead of the Veilette like he was doing earlier in the tour.
Two Step - Excellent main set closer, I don't remember anything special about it, but I definitely enjoyed it.
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#40 - Short little version, it was just Dave
Granny - Love this song, and I like the placement in the encore
Watchtower - We started to walk out when we heard this and just as we were about to start walking over the bridge to leave I heard Carter keep drumming after the song was over. I quickly stopped my friend and told him they were going to play Halloween. The crowd had been chanting for it before the played Two Step. We ran back to our seats inside just in time.
Halloween - Brought the house down, the balcony was shaking from everyone jumping around. Dave went nuts and his voice held up for it. This was my first time seeing it and damn was it worth the wait.
It was a really solid show overall and I'm happy I ended up going. Highlights for me were The Stone, Typical, STJL, Granny, Why I Am and obviously Halloween. As for the new songs I think they are pretty hit or miss. They aren't bad songs, but honestly I would not care if I never heard some of them again live.
I have differing opinions on some of the new stuff live though...
Shake Me - about the asme on the album, cool opener I guess but it is what it is.
Alligator Pie - it has energy but I just hate the lyrics to that song so much that I can't really enjoy it that much.
Funny - Surprisingly, both night 1 and 2 I found myself enjoying this more than most. I was pretty meh towards it on the album cuz I thought it was mediocre, but I really really like it live, definitely one of the better songs imo.
LITHOG - I thought it translated perfectly... beautiful song, such a nice groove and so much jam potential. Loved it both nights.
You & Me - FLOP.
Time Bomb - Loved it, its one of my favorites off the album so I guess I just got into it quick, thought it was awesome.
All the old material they played was just amazing, there were so many nice surprises that I wasn't expecing (Stone, STJL, Typical Situation, even LIOG and Jimi). Carter tore the shit out of Two Step so it was really great even though I've seen it like 14 times live.
I always love #40, Granny was awesome, and then AATW--->Halloween was just the icing on a sweet ass cake. I think that was the best single night at SPAC I've seen.
