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COLUMBIA, MO: NOT YOUR I was lucky enough to discover that the Columbia, MO show at The Blue Note not only fell on the weekend I was out of school for Fall Break but also on a weekend in which my husband didn't have to work. Armed with that information, as well as an extremely long list of Ezralites who would be in attendance, I began begging and pleading. At one point during the conversation, my husband remarked that he had no interest in seeing a show he'd seen three times already. "But it's not about the show this time," I wailed. "It's about the people!" Little did I know how true that statement would be. The Friday morning of the show started off rainy and grey, but as we traveled further north, the clouds cleared and the sky brightened to the type of blue only found in Autumn. We dropped our bags off at the hotel and met up with Ezralites from California, Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana, and Tennessee (as well as our own home state of Kentucky) for some pizza and great conversation (as well as a rather strange game of video football) at Shakespeare's Pizza. Although our original group had dwindled from 25 to 9, we still had a blast getting to know each other and discussing the upcoming show. We headed down the block to The Blue Note at 6:30pm, marveling over the distinctive college atmosphere of downtown Columbia. Imagine our surprise when we found that the line at the venue had already wound around the side of the building and halfway down the alley. We took our places and prepared to wait for the doors to open at 8:30pm...
By this time, I was a little concerned about getting a place near the stage which was my main goal for this show. (I blame my husband for the previous shows and our distance from the stage, as he doesn't like crowds very much. But I knew I had him outnumbered this time). The band’s sound check was audible outside the building and conversation reached a fevered pitch as "Normal Town" was heard. "Do you think they'll play it?" "Oh my gosh, is that Normal Town?" "Surely they'll play it if they sound check it." Needless to say, the curiosity kept us all on edge as we stood on line. After many strange conversations, new-found acquaintances, and blinding camera flashes, the doors opened. My stomach lurched momentarily as the line started moving, but I calmed myself, as I knew we had a few more hours to wait before Better Than Ezra would hit the stage. My fears about getting a good spot were thankfully unfounded. Most people in line ahead of us headed straight for the balcony seats. I ended up in the second row, center stage, with an excellent view of all four band members. There was more mingling in the crowd as message board Ezralites recognized each other from pictures or descriptions. This helped to pass the hour that followed before Kill Hannah, a young Chicago band, came on stage. Kill Hannah's set was enjoyable, although the lyrics were hard to make out during many of the songs. I'm sure that many BTE fans became Kill Hannah fans that night, and Kevin Griffin later commented that the band would surely make it big soon.
More waiting time followed before the sound every Ezra fan waits for – the cock crow that signals Better Than Ezra's arrival on stage. By this point, my stomach was flipping in excitement as I marveled over the fact that for my fifth BTE show, I was close enough to literally reach and shake hands with the band, had they shown any inclination to do so. The crowd, myself included, burst into screaming applause as Kevin, Travis, Tom and Jim strode on stage, readied their instruments, and launched into "Recognize," which I've always thought is a perfect way to get the crowd moving. The guys were in fine form, with Kevin doing his Charades-like interpretation of the song, closely mimicked by many fans in the crowd. "Misunderstood" and "Good" (touted as a new song in a moment of banter) followed. Other setlist staples followed such as "Rolling" and "Live Again." One of the highlights of the show was the realization that yes, "Normal Town" did make it onto the set list as we had hoped. Kevin mentioned that Tom had suggested they add something new to the setlist, as many of the fans who traveled to Columbia for the show have seen other recent concerts. It's so nice to know that the guys are always thinking about us. What we didn't expect, however, was a beautiful rendition of "WWOZ" (incomplete but still stunning). Tom and Travis appeared a little surprised by the inclusion, but stepped back and let Kevin take the spotlight for the serenade. |
Then the band was off and running again, with "Extraordinary" and a slowed-down bit of "Ms. Jackson" (featuring a mid-stage booty shake by Kevin Griffin, see photo) and "King of New Orleans" which concluded with a Led Zeppelin snippet. A cover of Beck’s "Debra" also made an appearance, with Kevin mouthing "It's a joke!" to the young girl he pointed out in the front row. Two new songs, "Special" and "In a Little While" (my personal favorite of the new songs in current rotation) gave fans a tantalizing glimpse of the new album's possible content. Most of the covers that fans have come to expect during the show were noticeably absent, but the inclusion of new songs and unexpected old songs more than made up for it. The guys were in great form, moving back and forth across the stage to interact with the crowd, although there was less banter than at some of the other shows I've attended.
At one point, Kevin made a point of declaring that "Mr. James Arthur Payne, Jr. is the glue that holds this $@#%#*@ juggernaut together!" As proof of this, Jim stepped out from his customary position behind the keyboards for the ending of "Rosealia." Unwilling to let him out of the spotlight so quickly, Kevin pointed Jim back to center stage for a classic rock star ending, jump and all. More songs followed: "Get You In," "At the Stars" with a Grateful Dead cover added in, and "A Lifetime."
Travis got his moment in the spotlight and a chance to tease Tom during a new addition to the show: "Travis' Words of Wisdom." Rather than wow the crowd with deep introspection, Travis took the opportunity to announce that Tom had recently scored (pardon the pun) the soundtrack to a porno movie. The crowd burst into screaming approval, and Tom grabbed the mike to defend himself, stating that it's not "your wacka-wacka porn soundtrack," but is rather a "sensual" set for an interesting movie entitled "Vampires in Lust" (Must be that New Orleans/Anne Rice kind of vibe).
The set ended with the Ramones’ "Sedated" intro to "Sincerely, Me," followed by that ever popular BTE tune known as "Running through the Wet Grass" (or more appropriately, "Desperately Wanting.") The guys exited the stage to thunderous applause, only to have Kevin emerge a few minutes later by himself. He introduced the next song as a new one called "Avalanche," which was incomplete but interesting. "Daylight" followed, led by Kevin's introduction of the new tambourine player (no more picking on Travis's grandfather, apparently): an 80 year-old homeless man on who wanted payment in beer rather than money. Hey, at least it wasn't an eight-foot-tall albino this time... Perhaps the band could introduce a new "audience particpa-shon" event during "Daylight" by drafting a crowd member to play tambourine? "In The Blood" complete with the Blue Oyster Cult cover ended the show, with the crowd singing along at the top of their lungs. The venue emptied out quickly, and after begging for a setlist, we headed out back to wait for the band to come outside. After waiting for an hour, we finally succumbed to the cold and headed back to the hotel. After all, we had another big day ahead of us on Saturday: Randallpalooza! The Columbia show definitely worked its way to the top of my list of favorite shows (although I'll admit that list is rather short) and was an excellent start to a great weekend! This was Dharmabum’s first review and a jolly good one at that. We hope she’ll be contributing to the SERENADE again very, very soon. |
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