Alright, I was trying to save my energy for writing a lengthy review like I did for Winnipeg, but I just don't have it. Much like I had no energy left for the TB show after the Winnipeg show, and I think that applies to the band as well. I couldn't believe how exhausted I was before the show even began. I didn't have a voice and my body ached all over. I knew that if PJ could match the previous night's show I'd be dead before it was over. As it turned out, it seems the band needed a breather as well. Our tickets this time were in the 7th row dead center. I'm 6'3", and i swear two rows in front of me were 6-7 guys, all of whom were taller than me. Add to this the guy directly in front of me being as tall as me, and this was likely the first time I had to constantly move in order to see. I was glad we had a wide aisle behind us otherwise I would have felt bad for the people behind me.
Eddie surprisingly came out for a preset of YGTHYLA, though considering it was the SS's last night opening and the overly zealous security holding people outside for longer than necessary I think it was a good idea to get as many people inside the arena as possible. He fumbled the lyrics a bit, which took away from the performance, unfortunately. The crowd was quick to forgive, however.
The SSs invited Mike up onstage to trade licks with one of the guitarists. Then, after the song where they toss the bass around, Ed came up again (sans mask and jacket) to sing Poor Girl. Naturally I thought this was going to be the end of the set, but surprisingly Ed said one more and they broke into Miracles. Great song to hear in this situation. Now, for the third show in a row that I've personally seen, Ed brought up a fan to sing. The guy, who was brought up I'm guessing because of his Ramones shirt, seemed oddly uncomfortable, but I guess who can blame him! This was no doubt a dream come true. Ed even jumped on his back. If it was me, I'd have ran all over the stage with him, but the guy just kind of stood there not knowing what to do. At least he was close enough to the mic to sing again. During this time Mike came back out and was taking several polaroids of the moment.
To hear Present Tense as an opener was great. For the 2nd night in a row I was shocked at how they decided to open. The song was definitely a fan club favorite judging by the response in the area. The seeming staple of rockers came next- Corduroy, Save You, GTF- with Animal thrown in as well, all hands upraised for the 1-2-3-4-5... parts and a nice singalong. At this point I sensed the energy from the band just wasn't the same from the night before and knew we were in for a lower-key performance. The appearance of Cropduster seemed to bring what momentum that had been built down significantly. The only guy I could see singing along was two people down from me. Even Flow picked things right back up, though, and I thought Mike's solo was better on this night, if not a bit shorter than what we're used to. We got to sing along to the chorus when he was done, too.
Ed made a brief speech thanking TB for sending a boat all the way from mid-Canada, around Florida and to the gulf, then said we should appreciate and enjoy where we are at in life. A nice little speech, I thought. This led into Small Town and Light Years. I'm not a big fan of either song, so I watched the crowd a bit and you could tell the difference between the interest in both of those songs. People sat down for Light Years.
I think PJ were trying to set the speed record for Lukin this night as I doubt they surpassed 50-55 seconds. Eddie almost couldn't keep up and, really, for all we know he's not even trying! I don't think you could tell. They launched right into SOLAT but Eddie didn't make it to the mike for the first verse so the crowd took over. Dunno how this will be on the boot, but people knew the words. Probably the crowd interaction highlight of the night, IMO. Not a song I'd expecta general audience to know that well, so there were a LOT of fans there that night.
DOWN! I didn't dig this song until hearing it on a couple boots, but I was really glad I got to hear it. This went into the driving beat of Driven To Tears which seemed to puzzle a lot of the crowd but I was going apeshit. They played this in St Paul in '03 and didn't seem comfortable but they nailed it here. The musical highlight of the show for me. Maybe. I'd be surprised once again in a few more miutes. Jeremy once again got the crowd back into the show, but due to size couldn't quite muster the same loud singalong that occured the night before.
Now, to be frank, I haven't listened to Binaural in ages. Not because I don't like it, but just because I tend to listen to boots when I'm listening to PJ, and when I do listen to an album, it's usually not that one. So Breakerfall came completely out of left field for me- I certainly wouldn't have picked it to be played at all. Its one of the highlights of the album, IMO, and one song I hadn't heard live yet, so I was stoked. And it was good as I could have imagined it to be.
I thought Porch should have been played at Winnipeg, so I was glad to hear it here. The jammed out big time during the middle. Stone even got to solo for an extended period of time. If there is one thing that I wish PJ would do more of it's just jam. It's the prog fan in me, I guess. They've started to do a lot more of it these last couple tours, so I hope it's a trend that continues. The crowd got very into the call and response at the end of the song, capping off an awesome performance. I didn't think this was going to be the end of the main set, but it was. I turned to my friend and said "Was this much shorter than yesterday's main set?" and she said "I think so".
During the set break they started bring out stools and the acoustic instruments, so I thought we were going to be treated to a mini-acoustic set, when they came out an sat down I definitely thought this to be the case. However, after playing great versions of Nothingman and I Am Mine, as well as Black with an awesome McCready solo (I could listen to one ANY day, and more often than not they could make me cry), they seemed to give up on that idea and went into Alive.
When they came back out for the second encore, Ed made mention of how there's a small club in the back of the stage and did something I'd never have expected- he went in to the crowd, near the back af the arena, and sang Last Kiss. I saw the one picture where the girl next to him looks like she's deathly afraid and I can assure you it sure seemed that she was. He put his arm on her at some point and she looked as if she wanted to be anywhere else. WTF?
Ed invited the SS's back out for RITFW featuring Eddie Spaghetti's little kid screeching throughout most of the song. Like Ed says, that kid is going to be a rock star some day- he already has more stage presence than some big name acts out there. The bearded guy in the band came out with Ed's ukelele for the song, which I thought was hilarious. I doubt we'll be able to make it out, but the boot should be interesting because of that and the kid's yelling over the song. My hopes of escaping my two show run without hearing YL were squashed when it closed the show. I really like the song, but it's up there with Corduroy as one that needs to be shelved for a while to give it some new freshness.
Well, I said I wasn't going to be long but I guess I changed my mind. TB was a solid, but unspectacular show. I don't think it'll be remembered in a few years, to be honest. Winnipeg was too good, and Kitchener and London seemingly have outdone it as well. You could complain about the shorter set, but I can't blame them as I know that I was tired, so they had to be even moreso than me. The temperature in the arena did us no favors, either. I am very glad I got to hear Breakerfall for the first time, and Present Tense as well. All in all the two-show trip was well worth it for me and I can't wait until the next time.