Asbury Park, NJ 3-5-10

[angel.]

Too tired to give the show a proper review at the moment, but I figured I'd better post the setlist before it wears off the back of my hand. If he played much longer, I'd have needed a bigger thumb. ;p

I'm also too tired to verify the names of the songs, which is not a strong suit of mine. Apologies in advance. But I'm sure you'll get the idea.

Nothing at All
Panic
I Don't Care What You Call Me
To Hell with the World
She's Not the One
Waiting for the Storm
Requiem
Song for the Road
State of the Union

Encore: There Is a Light

Hope to comment more tomorrow. For now I'll just say I had a great time--as always.

Nighty-night!

angel.

[Lalla32]

(03-06-2010 05:38 AM)angel. Wrote:  If he played much longer, I'd have needed a bigger thumb. ;p

Ah ah, Godd job Angel! Waiting to hear more about the night. Thank you for now!

[angel.]

(03-06-2010 01:45 PM)Lalla32 Wrote:  

(03-06-2010 05:38 AM)angel. Wrote:  If he played much longer, I'd have needed a bigger thumb. ;p

Ah ah, Godd job Angel! Waiting to hear more about the night. Thank you for now!

---

OK, I'm (relatively) awake and caffeinated, so it's time to elaborate on last night.

Walking into the venue was a bit jarring. Thursday night in NYC boasted probably the largest venue I'd seen him headline in in the States, but last night was surely the smallest. And that wasn't the only contrast. While the NYC and Philly shows had been hosted in somewhat upscale venues with tables and food and fancy drinks and whatnot, the Saint was a classic Jersey Shore dive bar (though with much better sound than you might expect). The walls and doors were covered floor to ceiling in posters and stickers of bands that have played there before--mostly hard rock and metal, from what I observed. It seemed to be an SRO/club-style venue for the most part, but for this show they'd put up about 12 beat-up folding chairs in three rows immediately in front of the stage and left the rest of the room (or what was left of it. Remember: SMALL!) for standing and milling about. The stage was small, but adequate. It felt grimy, as a rock club should, but the welcoming nature of the staff gave it a certain charm.

Two acts played before David--Jessica Rose and Chris Hartford--both were acts that I wouldn't object to sitting through again but wouldn't necessarily seek out on purpose.

The crowd filled in nicely right before David's set and continued to grow throughout. I got the impression that a lot of people were club regulars who hadn't heard David before, so I was nervous that they'd be, well, more rambunctious than we're used to. And they were, a bit, but not nearly as much as they could have been. On the one hand, David's onstage persona tends to draw people in, and on the other, I heard that Mr. Wibberly was feverishly trying to quiet the drunken chatterers in the back for some of the show, which I'm sure helped as well. So potential disaster averted.

No surprises in the setlist except for the Smiths encore--a request from an audience member (waves to John). "Nothing at All" is such an interesting opener--it's both completely unwelcoming and intriguing at the same time, like he's saying "if you came here expecting your everyday sensitive singer-songwriter guy, you're at the wrong damn show." I love it. Probably the best "Panic" yet, and a better "SOTU" than in NYC despite a sour note in one of his keyboard loops toward the end. The errant chord actually ended up working well in the "final calamity," though. Another strong thumbs up for "She's Not the One." In this particular setting it kinda took on a tent-revival feel, which was awesome. By the time the na-nana-nanas came round at the end, I was expecting people to start throwing up their hands and jumping out of their seats. They didn't, but I wish they had: I was keen to join them. I know people loved "Decimate" for lightening the vibe of his admittedly sometimes heavy-feeling shows, but IMHO "She's Not the One" is leagues better for the purpose.

The venue runs a pretty tight schedule, so I didn't think he'd be permitted an encore. Happily, the audience was so insistent that the sound guy let him do one more. (My apologies to the later acts that might have been cut short because of it, but I sure wasn't ready to let Mr. Ford go yet.) I'm generally loath to hear my favorite artists take time out of their sets to play something that someone else wrote--I feel kinda bad about that cuz if they're covering it, they want to share it with me, so a little patience probably wouldn't kill me--but I'll admit that I enjoyed "There is a Light" live more than I have on record. It's my favorite Smiths song, and he brings a lovely poignancy to it. So while I'll admit to secretly wanting to strangle you when you kept yelling your request out, John, I gotta admit--it worked out well. LOL!

There wasn't as much onstage banter last night. No new stories I can remember, and those he told were fairly truncated--to cram as much music as he could into a relatively short "headlining" set, I presume. But he seemed in great spirits overall.

And that's my report. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll be sure to bring my hand-slash-notepad with me tonight as well, so you can expect another report shortly.

angel.

[monkeyinahat]

Brilliant report, thank you. Sounds like Ford is taking on the US fifty people at a time... but those are often the best shows anyway.

Keep 'em coming! If we're lucky we'll get a relay team of reporters from throughout the tour.

[davidcotyalex]

very well done Angel!! and to suggest you are not a scribe.........lol

[ChrisFlynn]

(03-06-2010 03:54 PM)angel. Wrote:  "Nothing at All" is such an interesting opener--it's both completely unwelcoming and intriguing at the same time, like he's saying "if you came here expecting your everyday sensitive singer-songwriter guy, you're at the wrong damn show." I love it.

Spot on, and great review - thanks!