Orlando

[Laura]

Where was he metting people? We looked around the building and didn't see him. And when I asked a few of the employees all I got were rude responses and something about the tour bus being parked inside the building.

[jerome99RIP]

Wow.

I just woke up after a weird, wonderful, wild experience last evening in Orlando.

First, the show... it was amazing. Despite technical glitches throughout, the band was incredibly tight. Highlights of the show (for me at least) included an incendiary version of MPLS, a rousing version of "Can't Hardly Wait" and PW having a meltdown and smashing his guitar to bits midway through "Merry Go 'Round." Personally, I would have lost it much earlier, but I have to give the roadie (sorry, don't know his name) credit for perservering through the show. He finally got Paul's amp working, even though it took him about an hour to do so. (LOL!) On a side note, he wore a t-shirt with "Failed Musician" on the front, which for some unknown reason, I found hysterically funny.

I thought the acoustic break with Paul playing the 12-string was a nice touch as well. My wife and I were singing "Skyway" to each other (I'd like to apologize to anyone who saw, or even worse, heard this embarrassing display).

A few minor disappointments... the "crowd" was tame and seemed strangely disinterested throughout long stretches. Of course, this is common in Orlando where I've literally been told to sit down and be quiet during other shows (Springsteen was one if you can believe it). What saddened me more than anything was the sparse turnout. PW is, in my opinion, the best songwriter of his generation, yet only 500 or so people in the Orlando area could be bothered to show up for the tour finale??? Pretty lame, even for Central Florida. Also - the House of Blues felt like the North Pole last night. I understand that's it's the deep south and it gets warm, but was it really necessary to have the place be as cold as a freezer? Brrrrrr...

Anyway, like I said, the show was fantastic, warts and all, the band was tight as hell, and Paul was Paul. What more can you ask for?

PS: Driving back to Daytona Beach on a little stretch of Hades we call I-4, we ran into a massive traffic jam. We left the HOB @ 10:15 and didn't get home until 1:00 AM (usually, the ride is only about an hour and fifteen minutes). Still, it was a small price to pay.

[FreeRider]

Wow, approximately only 500 in attendance? What's the capacity for the HoB? That's too bad that the venue wasn't packed for the tour finale. Maybe cuz it was on a Sunady night?

Paul definitely deserved a nicer send off than technical glitches and low turn out. Maybe next time, the tour will be better planned and booked. I saw him three times on this tour and I've come away with lots of good memories. In Boston, I told Paul "thank you for everything" and I'll say it again to him and the band:

Thanks for a great tour and for all the great music.

[tpok]

I'll agree with the above comments. Great show, weak crowd.

Here's the setlist:


Stain Yer Blood
Achin' to Be
AAA
Once Around the Weekend
$100 Groom (lyrics changed and seemed to reflect marital problems)
Makin' Me Go
No Place For You
As Far As I Know ( Michael Bland rocked and broke a drumstick)
Now I Wonder
Merry Go Round (Started, had tuning problems with guitar, stopped, broke guitar)
Folk Star
I'll Be You
I Will Dare
High Time
Psychopharmacology
Valentine
Don't Want Never
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Lush and Green (solo)
Man Without Ties (solo) "I'll see my little boy soon, until then, a man without ties is king ..."
Skyway (solo)
What a Day for a Night
Lookin' Up in Heaven
Love Untold
Black Diamond
Knocking on Mine (with parts of Anyways Alright and Mr. Rabbit thrown in)
Can't Hardly Wait (At the break, Paul took off his guitar and set it down and went to the drums. Michael took over on bass and Jim picked up Paul's guitar and finished the song.)
Encore
MPLS
I Think I Love You
Little Mascara
Alex Chilton
Left of the Dial

[Harry]

jerome99RIP said:

PW is, in my opinion, the best songwriter of his generation,

Kool Aid is yummy

[FirstAveFiend]

Very good show. This was definitely one of the professional ones and yes sober ones. The House of Blues holds a capacity of 2300 and we were hearing that just before the doors opened they had only sold 300 tickets. I know there ended up being more people that that but it wasn't close to being full. Really sad. In fact I think the majority of the front row of people, if not all, were from out of town. I met Meri, Maybellene and Hansi.

UaBH and I wanted to make sure we got up front and we did. Front and center, though the stage was really high so it felt kind of odd. We made sure we were moving the whole time and so the front of the crowd was getting going a bit. In fact at the meet and greet Paul told us that he saw us dancing or whatever and that he appreciated it and its what keeps them going. So it was nice that he noticed and pointed that out to us. We were able to chat with Michael B too quite a bit which was really cool and Jim introduced himself as well, really nice guy.

But the set list was great getting to hear Once Around The Weekend, Don't Want Never and Man Without Ties was great. Also the addition of Lush and Green which hadn't been played in a bit. The show was two hours almost on the dot. When the curtain raised at just a minute or two after 8 I was shocked. But it was a great time, a short trip, but definitely a memorable one.

edit: I realize there are countless typing errors in that and I'm sorry but I stayed up all night last night, hopped a plane and then came home and went straight to work so I'm still a bit out of it.

[Kathy]

worth the trip just to hear them rock out on "Black Diamond"

I stood with FAF and UaBH and upfront, the crowd seemed great. Everyone up front was bopping and singing, a couple of guys were going nuts the whole night, so in the upfront area, there was a great deal of happiness and I thought the crowd seemed very responsive. But I was operating on 4 hours of sleep so my judgement may be impaired.

[FirstAveFiend]

Kathy said:

worth the trip just to hear them rock out on "Black Diamond"

I stood with FAF and UaBH and upfront, the crowd seemed great. Everyone up front was bopping and singing, a couple of guys were going nuts the whole night, so in the upfront area, there was a great deal of happiness and I thought the crowd seemed very responsive. But I was operating on 4 hours of sleep so my judgement may be impaired.

I agree with you on the crowd. I'm normally very picky about crowds and I thought this was one of the better ones as far as movement goes. But I guess I didn't look behind me all that often. When I did there seemed to be some movers and shakers.

[cford]

FirstAveFiend said:

The House of Blues holds a capacity of 2300 and we were hearing that just before the doors opened they had only sold 300 tickets.

That's ok... I saw Patti Smith at a 2000 seater a few years ago.. I thought the crowd looked a little sparse so I talked to the doorman who said they only sold 70 tickets... The show must go on!

Cf

[jen]

Awesome show!! Drove three hours to get there and got a ticket on the way, but it was worth every minute/dollar. Have to say that I was very disappointed in the turn out, though. It's a Florida thing, I guess.

I'm always amazed at the time PW spends with the meet and greet. I've never seen another musician who was willing to do that. He was gracious and funny, of course. I thanked him for a great show and also thanked him for sneaking me into a show 20 years ago. He said "20 years, how old were you?" to which I replied "14". He started laughing and covered my mouth with his hand and said "please don't tell me what else I got you into that night". Then he leaned in and said "I didn't try anything inappropriate with you, did I?" I assured him he didn't, but that Tommy was another story. He just laughed and said "another one scarred for life!"

[A Regular]

jen said:

I'm always amazed at the time PW spends with the meet and greet. I've never seen another musician who was willing to do that. He was gracious and funny, of course. I thanked him for a great show and also thanked him for sneaking me into a show 20 years ago. He said "20 years, how old were you?" to which I replied "14". He started laughing and covered my mouth with his hand and said "please don't tell me what else I got you into that night". Then he leaned in and said "I didn't try anything inappropriate with you, did I?" I assured him he didn't, but that Tommy was another story. He just laughed and said "another one scarred for life!"

Funny Story!

I guess it was OK for Tommy as he was probably about the same age.

[GtrPlyr]

The venue was surrounded by gaudy turquoise and pink Disney attractions, a Virgin Megastore, and people in Hawaiian shirts with their kids seemingly oblivious to the rock icon who was momentarily about to take the stage. Inside the cavernous House of Blues stood about 450 fans, a quarter of whom seemed to have come from parts far removed from Orlando’s sunny and kitschy disposition. At 8:07, without any ado, the curtains opened and the band charged right into “Stain Yer Blood.” Paul looking resplendent in a cowboy hat and funky looking jacket, looked focused as he led the band through a fairly tight show...

okay, enough with the review format. I'm switching to random notes and observations mode:


There were quite a few of us boarders at the front of the stage, unfortunately right at the start of the show Paul said something like: “turn the vocals down in the monitor, I can’t stand hearing my voice.” So this made it difficult for us to hear him clearly at times. Nonetheless this didn’t hinder the enjoyment of the show one iota.

As noted above, there were some glitches, such as Paul’s Soldano Amp head, which eventually got kicked over—along with the speaker cabinet—by Paul about a 1/3 into the show. The tech was there to quickly lift it up, and for the next half hour or so could be seen intermittently working on it. Luckily Paul had his other amp to rely on, so this wasn’t too great a problem.

In response to the amp problem, Paul says “so much for sound check.”

Tuning problems end the life of another guitar, but not before Paul gives it a quick kiss on the neck. A few fans manage to scoop up the remaining bits. Later on I see a fan with a nice big chunk of the guitar body in the bus line up.

Early in the show, a fan that repeatedly yelled for “Unsatisfied” came to the front of the stage and handed Paul a pen, and her vinyl copy of “Hootenanny.” After a momentary pause, Paul reached down, grabbed it, then leaned into the mic and said “thank you all for coming, good night.” After signing this, of course a few more people try to hand some things up to him. Obviously some people still don’t know about the whole meet and greet by the bus deal. Earlier we met the woman who handed the record up to him. She was a fan that had him sign it back in 1989, and hadn’t seen him live since the mid 90’s. Needless to say she was extremely excited to see him again. She also said something about being a teacher and having to go to work the next day.

Later on, a fan yells out the ubiquitous “Black Diamond” request. Paul turns to the audience and says something like “You really want to hear this? You sure?” Then after a pause, the band kicks into the song like they’d been playing it for the whole tour. It sounded pretty solid, which indicates some actual practicing on this one. After a couple of verses, Paul nods to Jim, and Jim takes over the singing on the track. The song ends, to raucous applause from the audience, after which, Paul says “I think we’ve been playing the wrong songs on this tour.” This gets a few laughs.

Near the end of the show, I remember looking to my right and seeing this little kid. He must have been about 6 years old. He was standing in front with his hand resting on the stage, holding a pen with a ticket stub attached to the lid. He stood like this for the rest of the show. Later we saw him exit the bus with his much sought after autograph.

Some other nice surprises were the addition of “Don’t Want Never,” a great, and spirited take on “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” a nice solo performance of “Lush and Green” and the Besterberg version of “Once Around the Weekend.”

All in all it was a good show, without any real lulls. Just another in a line of many great shows from this tour. Luckily I’ve managed to catch a few of them.

It was also nice to hang out with some of the people from the board that I’ve met before: Kathy, FirstAveFiend, UaBH, Maybellene, as well as a few that I hadn’t: hansi, Meri, and of course Michael B who was a gracious host on the bus to a few of us boarders. What a great guy! Jim was also very cool. Great collection of CD’s on the bus too. Everything from The Rolling Stones, to Frank Sinatra, to Foghat, to the Rolling Stones, and Keith Richards (you get the gist).

I know I’m forgetting things, but that will have to do for now until I get a full nights sleep, and the ringing in my ears stops

[Laura]

Where was this alleged meet and greet? We looked everywhere. We asked the rude Disney employees. We wandered around the back of the venue all to no avail. I'm sad that I didn't get a chance to chat with him once more.

Also, I noticed all of you board people up front. I was too shy to say hello but you looked like you were having a good time.

[FirstAveFiend]

Laura said:

Where was this alleged meet and greet? We looked everywhere. We asked the rude Disney employees. We wandered around the back of the venue all to no avail. I'm sad that I didn't get a chance to chat with him once more.

Also, I noticed all of you board people up front. I was too shy to say hello but you looked like you were having a good time.

He sat on the steps of the bus which was behind this wooden gate to the right of the venue. People were lined up there fairly quickly. Sorry you missed it, he seemed in a really good mood, at least when we talked to him.

[jen]

The meet and greet was just to the right of the HoB store. They let people through the gate one or so at a time. The bus was just inside of the gate.

[jerome99RIP]

My wife pointed out to me this morning that it was Mother's Day, after all, and that might have explained the sparse turnout.

I still say it's fricken Floridians who suck, but that's just me.

Also - sorry we missed the meet & greet. Work today plus an assumed hour-plus commute plus a babysitter waiting on us meant that we would have to miss saying hello & thanks to Paul & the guys for everything.

It really was a great show despite the minor annoyances I mentioned.

[serferjoe]

I have been reading all the positive reviews and I concur-great show. Everything I expected and more. A smallish crowd (sunday night, no newspaper coverage-the Orlando Sentinel Sucks) made for an intimate casual setting. No pushing shoving get away from me punk. I v'e seen a few shows at HOB, all very satisfactory in the set up-it is Disney after all. Good sound, cold expensive beer. We all marveled at the exact 8PM start-the last time we saw Paul he came on at midnight or something. Anyway heard a few favorites-I Will Dare, What a Day for a Night, and didn't hear others-Nevermind, Crackle and Drag. But when will he retire Love Untold? Best quote from Paul on the band-I think it was a missed start of a song or something-"even the Replacements were never this bad." Classic. The boy's still got it. Welcome back Mr Westerberg, next time please don't wait 12 years to see us again. Thanks Tpok for the set list.

[A Regular]

GtrPlyr said:

T
unfortunately right at the start of the show Paul said something like: “turn the vocals down in the monitor, I can’t stand hearing my voice.” So this made it difficult for us to hear him clearly at times. Nonetheless this didn’t hinder the enjoyment of the show one iota.

Ya know gtrplyr, I'm not sure that's really a compliment or a criticism

[GtrPlyr]

A said:

Ya know gtrplyr, I'm not sure that's really a compliment or a criticism

I should probably have worded that a bit differently... or not .

[cford]

GtrPlyr said:

There were quite a few of us boarders at the front of the stage, unfortunately right at the start of the show Paul said something like: “turn the vocals down in the monitor, I can’t stand hearing my voice.” So this made it difficult for us to hear him clearly at times. Nonetheless this didn’t hinder the enjoyment of the show one iota.

You must have been really close to the front if you were dependent on the monitors to hear the vocals. It sounds better if you hang back about 20 feet..But, of course, you get the good pictures.

Cf