and night two
Two nights, two states, same band, and two very different concerts. After night one in Boston, we made the short drive to Tarrytown, N.Y., (site of the Magical Josh Ritter Glowstick Night that gave this blog its name in 2010) on Sept. 30 for the second Wallflowers show.
The setlist was similar, but if you think a seated Sunday night theater show filled with middle-aged suburb-dwellers mostly there for “One Headlight” creates quite a different mood from a sellout standing Saturday night show in a tiny club filled with city college students and young adults mostly there for “One Headlight” … you would be right.
The danceability factor of the new songs makes staying still especially tough, and the distance from the stage to the seats inhibits that sort of energy connection (whoa, made-up hippie term) with the band that can be forged in those little clubs. But there’s also value in being able to sit back and really listen to a bunch of music that’s still essentially brand new. The seated soak-in, we’ll call it.
The super-animated Jakob from the night before did not make a repeat appearance, but he still seemed very comfortable and happy. Who doesn’t like to see that? Something apparently went off-kilter during “It Won’t Be Long (Till We’re Not Wrong Anymore),” which I admit I didn’t even notice at the time, but as he explained it afterward, “I got excited and got to the bridge a little too early.”
He also mentioned that it was the band’s first appearance in Tarrytown and how “great-sounding” and “majestic” the room was before launching into “How Far You’ve Come.” (Always a welcome inclusion in the setlist. Note to band: Can we please throw in some pedal steel from Stuart? Please?)
Hands-down highlight: “Shy Of The Moon,” the opening track of their self-titled 1992 debut album. It’s made very occasional appearances on stage over the years, and this was only the second time ever that I’d heard it live. (First was in Pala, Calif., in February 2008.) The loose, rollicking sound, complete with tons of organ and piano, was kicked up a further notch with some country-style guitar work. And some slightly flubbed lyrics.
“Witness,” played faithfully to its album version rather than reworked like some other old songs, was another notable addition. And “Letters From The Wasteland.” Basically, you can’t go wrong with anything from (Breach).
Random notes: “Standing Eight Count” had a Pink Floyd-ish intro. Brief, but very cool and unexpected. “Everything I Need” is back to its original rocking version, not the slow, bitter version that started making appearances during the Rebel, Sweetheart tours. The second half of the second verse was dropped entirely (forgotten lyrics) in favor of an extended piano-heavy jam. That works.
He did, however, remember all the words to “One Headlight,” unlike in Boston the previous night. Congrats! ❤
Setlist:
The Devil’s Waltz
Have Mercy On Him Now
Hospital For Sinners
Sleepwalker
Reboot The Mission
6th Avenue Heartache
It’s A Dream
Misfits And Lovers
Closer To You
Letters From The Wasteland
First One In The Car
Love is A Country
Three Marlenas
Witness
How Far You’ve Come
Standing Eight Count
One Headlight
It Won’t Be Long (Till We’re Not Wrong Anymore)
— -
Shy Of The Moon
Everything I Need
The Difference
