2/5/14
Pabst Theatre
Milwaukee, WI
I: Traveler, Valentine, Alive Again, Drifting, Magilla, Ooh Child, Cayman Review, Burlap Sack and Pumps, Dark and Down, Small Axe, 1977, Money Love and Change, First Tube
II: Corona, Night Speaks to a Woman, Alaska, Pigtail, Sometime After Sunset, Last Tube, Architect, Gotta Jibboo, Scabbard, Clint Eastwood, Push On 'Til the Day
E: Sand, Black Dog
A week ago I had a horrible fever and we'd received yet another dumping of snow. I slept most of the day sweating off as much as I could. I used the snowblower to clear the driveway. I left about 4 pm so as to minimalize the amount of waiting pre-show. It started snowing when I was on I-39. There was some SRV on the radio near East Troy which was appropriate. I parked in my usual garage next to the Marriot. I'm a creature of habit. This was my first visit to the Pabst Theatre. I liked the venue but felt the sound guy, Garry Brown, had Trey specifically turned up too loud. I felt better after taking some cold medicine and by the time the show started I glad I'd made the journey.
It was good to be a Traveler on the road again. I like the Tom Marshall lyric about "even if you're standing still you're still traveling too". The first five songs were all repeats from St. Louis. The choice of Ooh Child made the first set for me. I always associate that song with Boyz in the Hood. Cayman Review and Burlap Sack and Pumps really got the crowd moving. Dark and Down once again showcased the blues rock that Trey plays so well at this point of his career. The instrumental version of Bob Marley's Small Axe was a good call. Natalie shined again on the 1977 cover. MLC and First Tube rounded out a generous first set of music.
I'm glad Trey ditched the Fender for his new song, Corona. Night Speaks to a Woman was particularly strong on this occasion. I was not pleased with the choice of Alaska. Pigtail got the energy going again. It was nice to see some new material. Trey's solo at the end of Sometime After Sunset was particularly inspired. Last Tube was another song I hadn't heard in STL so that was fun. The rest of the set was more or less about the same as what I'd seen previously including Push On 'Til the Day. On this evening they played Sand in the encore paired with Black Dog to close out the show. If you thought contemporary Phish was fairly predictable this TAB Tour was downright formulaic. I liked the increased rock emphasis but its a pop vehicle compared to the 01-03 Afro-Cuban groove machine that was TAB. I made it home around 3:45 after crushing some Taco Bell at the Pilot in Beloit, WI.
No comments:
Post a Comment