|
|
 |
|||
|
IN THIS ISSUE:
2004 Christmas The Bootlog Some Ezra Sights From New Orleans Listening Party Update / Book Review
News & Links TTOY Hall of Fame Cowbell Hall of Fame BTE Impressions
Volume 2
|
THE WEBSTER THEATRE
By now many BTE fans have witnessed the new cowbell “audience
participation” show segment. Editors’ Note: For more information see
here. I’ve seen a few cowbell performances by this time. Some people
fail to deliver the goods and get replaced. Others do a good, solid job.
Some are really good. And then there’s Megan... So let me tell you how
this night went, shall I?
“Extra Ordinary” then lit up the crowd for a singalong. At one point
Kevin, going into falsetto mode, pointed to the front row and said “you
wish you could play guitar like this!” As the song ended his searched
his mind vainly for a Connecticut band to cover. He began to sing Kansas
“Dust in the Wind” and asked the crowd slyly “isn’t Kansas from
Connecticut?”
|
Taking a moment to contemplate, Kevin did an impromptu cover of Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy” which seemed to surprise even himself. After a soulful “Get You In” he asked Tom when they had last played Hartford. As the crowd shouted back “1999,” he said “2001." As if to reinforce his error, he adopted a goofy grin, pointed to his own head, and said “No, it was 2001, my mind is like a steel trap.” OK, it might be a steel trap, but it’s getting a little rusty...
“A the Stars” was next up with both Jim’s “trippy Bonaroo” moment and KG’s cover of the Dead’s “Friend of the Devil.” “A Lifetime” followed with a crowd singalong and Kevin pointing far to the back of the venue as “the sun came up.” And next a drum huddle of Jim, Travis and Tom preceded a particularly fast and rocking version of “Sincerely Me.” Barely pausing for a moment, the guys kicked into the classic “In the
Blood,” this night it would host the cowbell “audience participation”
segment (the first I’d seen). Mid-song Kevin called for a volunteer to
“take the crowd over the precipice,” someone with rhythm to “to take us
over to the Dark Side.” The volunteer? The Amazing Megan.
After this climactic performance the band left the stage to thunderous applause. Hartford was coming alive. The room had gone over the precipice. Up next? Kevin emerged to begin the acoustic portion of the encore with his solo cover of The The's "Love is Stronger than Death." A delightful and meaningful tune. Crowd favorite "Porcelain" came next, also done acoustically. Travis left his normal perch on the drum riser to come down to play his new-fangled mini-kit. This wasn't the same old classic version of the song or the "Voodoo" or "Toe Curl" version fans had also come to know and love. In fact, the song was a sort of hybrid of the two. Jim Payne's laid down some soulful keyboard work as the backdrop for a more or less classic acoustic rendition of the song. The result was pure magic. As the guys switch to their electric instruments and regular positions, KG upturned his collar to adopt the classic "Valley Girl" look. He chuckled and said that they should really kick into "Melt With You" by Modern English but "no, I shan't do that!" Too bad, last time was saw that move was in New Orleans at the 2003 Christmas shows. Never a group to leave a crowd disappointed -- and definitely a group to leave the crowd wanting more -- the band finished their set with a rousing version of "Desperately Wanting." Mid-song featured a "Bruce Throwdown" along with KG's "lunar walk" plus a cover of Nelly's "Ride Wit Me." After all the fun and games, Kevin got the crowd "jumping up and down like this" as BTE made Hartford really glad they had come back to town after such a long absence. Great show.
Click here for a recap of the setlist. |
||
