Covington/Cincy show

[cmarlow]

Anyone planning to meet up before the Covington/Cincy show?

[maybellene]

Hello? Is this thing on? Certainly someone went and has news to share...

[A Regular]

Maybellene said:

Hello? Is this thing on? Certainly someone went and has news to share...

I went and had to get up at 6 and go to work, though MichaelB is convinced that I HAVE NO JOB.

2 second summary---solid show but I thought PW was either tired or distracted. More occasions of singing the wrong verse than normal, though he did have fun with alternate lyrics more than once. Highlights for me were IOU, Knocking on Mine (again), and Mind to Give up Living... There were no antics, just straight performances with no huge surprises.

Highlight after the show was watching my 14 year old get his guitar signed by PW and the rest of the band. He might still prefer the Ramones and Green Day by I'd say PW is gaining on them

[kgp]

A said:

Highlight after the show was watching my 14 year old get his guitar signed by PW and the rest of the band. He might still prefer the Ramones and Green Day by I'd say PW is gaining on them

Awww. I hope he had fun.

Well, you've sold him on the Ramones, that's more than most 14 year olds can claim.

[smoothdoggy]

I have to agree with A Regular. Highlights were Mind to Give Up Living and IOU. Paul also did a great solo version of Souveniers followed by a botched Skyway. He then wondered aloud when Kevin and Jim were going to "put down the crack pipe" and come back and join him.

At one point Kevin went up to the mic and said that this was the most respectful crowd they'd seen all tour (boooo hiss). Sadly the crowd was a bit lethargic at the beginning, but really got into it after a bit. I have to admit it was nice not to hear some clown screaming in my ear all night for some song that doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of being played for a change. Last tour I had to put up with some jerk in Indy screaming for Paul to "play some rock and roll" all night. It took every bit of restraint to keep from giving him a quick elbow to the ribs - if you know what I mean.

Overall a good show.

[tjones]

First post! Woo-hoo! Anyway, here's a brief recap of the Covington show that I e-mailed to a couple of friends who couldn't make it:

Good show—even great at points—but this was probably the most lifeless crowd I’ve ever seen at a rock show. Just seemed like they (we?) weren’t into it at all. Totally different from every other time I’ve seen him. Heck, even when he played the solo show a few years back, the crowd was much more exuberant. It wasn’t Paul’s fault—he was rockin’. Maybe all of us Replacements/Westerberg fans are getting older and had to get up early for work today? I know my tolerance for standing for 2-3 hours—especially on a work night--isn’t what it used to be, but still, the crowd was disappointing. Even the old classics didn’t provoke much reaction.

Good show, though. Uneven in spots—there were times when it seemed to drag a little bit, with the slower acoustic-type songs. But it always returned to loud rock ‘n’ roll. He played I’ll Be You and Kiss Me On The Bus early and then stuck mostly to his solo stuff for a long stretch.

His drummer used to be in Prince’s band. Big, fat black guy, sitting behind a dinky drum kit, laying down the big, big beat. He was quite good.

It was a 2 hour 15 minute show, so he didn’t skimp or shortchange us. Highlights:

--Live Forever (a cover of a song by someone named Billy Joe Shaver; good song)

--I’ve Got A Mind To Give Up Livin’ (that blues song that’s on the bootleg from last November in Minneapolis; Paul played a great blues solo)

--Makin’ Me Go (ever notice how most of his recent rockers all sound like yer basic Stones riff? Not a complaint, just an observation)

--Valentine

--Psychopharmacology

--Acoustic solo set: Waitress In The Sky, Skyway (in which Paul repeatedly and completely blew the lyrics), Souvenir

--Love Untold

--Different Drum (yes, the old Linda Ronstadt song. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the Partridge Family cover—I Think I Love You—but we got this one instead, which was cool)

--Knockin’ On Mine (which rocked)

--IOU (ditto)

Then, a 3-song encore: Now I Wonder, Left of the Dial and Alex Chilton (and yes, those last two also rocked hard; Paul broke several strings on Alex Chilton)

By this time, it was almost 11:30, so rather than wait to see if he’d be meeting and greeting afterwards, I split. I’d had 5-6 beers; not drunk, but a little buzzed. On my way out of Covington, I noticed a cop behind me. OK, be careful—and all of a sudden, his lights go on. AAAAHHHHHHH! I nearly wet myself. What the hell? I didn’t do anything wrong! Luckily, he was just making a quick u-turn—not after me at all. But it put the fear of God in me, for sure.

[rbourlan]

Just got home and a quick review with pix to add later.
Good show but not real energetic due to crowd that didn't really seem to be into it that much. I thought Louisville was better and I wasn't real wild about the venue either (at least in comparison).
Hanging out on the bus during the meet and greet was one of the coolest experiences of my life. Michael Bland (the Ebony Rhythem Budha) got a picture of Paul with a switchblade to my throat (jokingly of course) but unfortunately it was being put away when it flashed. I gave Paul a piece of a meteorite (as in, part of a rock from space that fell out of the sky, I collect and sell them on the side) as a gift and he said his son will love it and seemed genuinely appreciative. I've always loved the song "Don't Get Married" and wondered how it worked out so I asked Paul if she ever did get married. "Yeah, she did. Also got divorced too!!! And then went on to live happily ever after." Cool beyond words.
I was able to get video of a few songs with my digital camera but audio sucks. I'll try to post a link later for downloads and will definitely put some pictures up too.

[hahnk_35]

rbourlan -
I'm wondering if you're the one I hit on the arm while you were recording. I saw security checking you out and wanted to warn you. Didn't mean to mess up your video. Were you standing all the way to the right, up one level from the floor while you were using your camera?

[Martian]

First time poster who is going to try to give memories from 4 shows spread over two weeks. Couldn't figure out where to post profile (or how to get on site for nearly a week), so here's a quick one:

I'm 42 years old and currently living in Greenville, SC.
'Mats fan since hearing Color Me Impressed on late night radio in 1983. Saw the 'Mats three times with Bob, then once in '87, and 5 times in 1991 including last two shows ever - 7/2 in Detroit and 7/4 in Chicago.
I had seen Paul solo three times before this tour.

After seeing East coast schedule and reading the reviews on the band, I immediately Detroit tickets and set about planning the 11 hour weekend jaunt from Greenville, SC. to my hometown (and the greatest r-n-r town in the world).
The only show near the 22nd in Detroit was Covington, so I planned to my drive to see this show.

Most Vivid Memories:
-Screaming of "Kiss Me" by Paul, Jim and Kevin during the chorus of Kiss Me On The Bus.
-As Far As I Know looked and sounded like a song that was practiced a lot. The drumming shook the building.
-Someone Take The Wheel - Paul's constant looks at Jim or Kevin waiting for them to "take the wheel" and join him in singing the song.
-Mr. Rabbit - Paul got more droopy with every verse , almost letting his body mimic the rabbit getting tired.
-There was not much of the crowd singing along with Waitress in The Sky or Skyway , so Paul started messing up the Skyway lyrics.
-Different Drum - I was thinking this song was a good fit for Paul. Thoroughly enjoyed this rendition.
-'Mat's classics: IOU, Left of The Dial and Alex Chilton were great tunes for the final song and the encore and were played with an incredible amount of energy.

It was by far the hardest I had seen Paul rock on his own and the band was excellent , but the crowd was dead. (I guess they didn't understand that had just witnessed the return of a rock-n-roll legend to his roots.)

It was no big deal to me though, I was on my to to the Motor City and knew if Paul rocked like that, the atmosphere would be decidely different.
(Story continued on Detroit talent show thread.)

A couple of last thoughts, a big thanks to Kathy and all of the other Westerheads, who have started and participated in a site that gives fans an outlet to share and express. (And brought this lurker out from the shadows,)
Also, I don't know how to post a quote, but this seems to fit the MWT site, "Those who agree with us may not be right, but we admire their astuteness."