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From: John Hathaway

okay, I'll leave the extensive reviews and setlist to others with better 
memories, but I just have to say I've never heard such a killer version 
of THE LAST NIGHT, which Bob played to soulful, heartfelt perfection at 
Tramps last night. JFC. Amazing. Tramps is such a shitty venue, and the 
crowds suck, but it was so quiet when he broke it down into a soft, 
tender "Just a funny feeling..." at the end that you could hear ice going 
into a glass at the bar. It moved me to tears (just two, but still) and 
it totally made the show great for me to hear my favorite song from BSOR. 

New songs sounded good, especially "sweet serene" (i think that was the 
name) and the one he played right after that (sorry i cant recall the 
name), but other than those two, the new songs on the electric made me 
just long for a full band. In the solo format, I much prefer to hear the 
acoustic than the electric, but hey, I'll take what I can get.

Other high points for me:  New #1, See a Little Light, and a drop dead 
Thumbtack to close it out. 

---------------------------------

From: Ichabod Crane

Highlights:

*High Fidelity - definitely the best version of this one I've heard.
He really nailed the ending; it was a classic "Bob-almost-in-tears"
moment.  I'd be very pleased if he used this performance of the song
on the next album.

*The Last Night - this song's power lies in Bob's ability to pull off
a different arrangement seemingly every night.  He sung a slightly
different melody for most of the song, then about 2/3 of the way into
the song, he abruptly sung a capella for a few phrases and then turned
off the amp entirely.  For the rest of the song he relied on the
unamplified acoustic guitar song and strummed very lightly to accompany
a voice hushed to almost a whisper.  I kept expecting him to launch back
into a loud part with one of his trademark screams, but instead he played
the rest of the song with the really quiet singing/strumming. 

*The Act We Act - this is why I hate reading the reviews/setlists in
advance.  If Bob had whipped this out on me out of the blue, I'd have
wet myself.  But having read the reviews in advance (just like the last
show at Tramps, where I knew Bob played Gift the night before in Boston),
I knew that he'd probably play it in the electric encore.  Nonetheless,
that still doesn't diminish how great it was to finally hear it for the
first time.  This is one of the few songs I've heard that sound as
good solo electric as it does with a full band.

*Reflecting Pool - of the 6 new songs Bob debuted on this tour, this one
is one of my 2 favorites on first listen.  It would fit in perfectly
amongst the late-era Husker catalog; it has a very _Warehouse_ feel to
it.
This song alone makes me very excited at the prospect of hearing Bob with
a new band.  

*Moving Trucks - my other favorite of the new songs, this one has a
really catchy melody and a great chorus.  

Comments/Observations:

-Not too much dialogue tonite, Bob made plenty of short comments
about the new songs and thanking the crowd for listening to all
the new songs; he felt it was important to play the new
stuff out after creating the last album "In a vacuum".  But this
is the first show I can remember in quite a while (actually the
first show ever, I'm just trying to disguise my youthfulness) that
didn't include an extended monologue/cigarette break - he pulled
off 24 songs in 95 minutes.  

-Playing the 9 new songs (the 3 he's been playing all year and the
6 new ones on this tour) all in a row gave the show a bit of a odd
feel, it was as if being hit with all the new songs so quickly made
it hard to absorb each one.  Although I'd have liked to see them
interspersed within the set more, it probably flows better for Bob
playing them all in a row, since he seems to have played all the new
songs together for as long as he's been playing solo.

-Hearing new songs solo electric is somewhat weird.  Whenever I
hear a song solo electric I imagine I'm hearing the drums and
bass too, but I have no idea what to imagine with the new songs!

-I've noticed that Bob always sits in really uncomfortable
looking chairs, the one at this show looked like it was taken from a
19th century classroom (not for lack of comfortable chairs - I was in
this nice padded creation).  I dunno, maybe being uncomfortable helps
him be dour?  Or perhaps it helps his posture.  Maybe we can add a 3rd
constant to all Bob solo shows, after "He'll open with Wishing Well", 
and "He'll wear a grey shirt with sleeves to the elbows", there's "He'll
sit in an uncomfortable wooden chair".

-Actually I thought of a 4th constant - "People will shout weird
requests".  Right after Bob broke out the electric for the first
encore, someone shouted for "Thumbtack".  Of all the songs I just
CAN'T picture on the electric, that one's gotta take the cake.
Didn't hear any shouts for "Bricklayer" though.

-----------------------------------

From: Forest Turner

Wow, what a great show!  I didn't think acoustic shows could 
get so loud and intense! (It was my first Bob solo show) Bob
played all 9 of the new songs he's played on this tour, right
in a row, and they were ALL amazing! 

"The Last Night" and "Celebrated Summer" were highlights for me, 
besides the new songs of course.  I particularly appreciated how
they turned almost all the lights off during the "then the sun
disintegrates" break of CS.  I found myself wishing Bob would have
given "Thumbtack" and "Sinners" more subdued readings, though.  Those
songs' power doesn't increase with volume I don't think.

------------------------------------

From: RM Bernstein

the funny thing about last night's version
of _the last night_ was that bob either mistakenly pulled/kicked the cord on
his guitar or the sound guys screwed up.  bob going w/ his unamped guitar
was pretty obviously unintentional.  you could see it in bobs reaction to
the lack of sound-which he beautifully ignored- i guess hoping that it'd
come back in.  also, in the end he screwed with his cord and his little amp
and made a few faces at the sound guys and the guitar came back.  he
shrugged and went on.  you can kinda tell he's been doing this for a few years.

on another note, the 2nd band opening for bob, "ida" was actually ok.  i got
there a little too late to catch 'retsin'.  did anyone see them?  were they
dressed up as giant breath-mints for halloween?

-------------------------------------

From: Tom Hall

just reading the reviews, and some notes to add...
     
     1.  Got there early and had a spot front and center and didn't have to 
     deal with the crowd stuff for the most part. Sorry to hear about those 
     that found the processedings a bit physical.... Anyway, openers.  
     Retsin was first,  Two women with acoustic guitars playing EXTREMELY 
     QUIETLY, lots of chatter in the background by the disrespectful crowd, 
     but its not like they projected over the top or anything.  They 
     sounded like what would happen if Rebecca Gates of the Spinanes and 
     the Indigo Girls had a baby and fed it lots of qualludes.  
     m-e-l-l-o-w...
        Next was Ida.  Basically a man on vocals/guitar and a woman singer. 
     They did a Richard Thompson cover (nicely, I might add) and played 
     lots of originals, but they had a problem with a feed back in the PA 
     and were obviously and rightfully frustrated by that.  Coupled with 
     the increasing crowd noise, the feedback, and the fact that their 
     songs were also pretty m-e-l-l-o-w, the singer woman got pretty pissy 
     with her band mate. Not bad, anyway.
     
        Then Bob came out and ripped through his set, although I gotta 
     de-mystify this version of The Last Night... his guitar patch cord 
     shorted out during the song.  He was just as surprised that it went 
     quiet as everyone else, although he covered it up by doing a killer 
     quiet ending.  The surprise of it was, he was WAILING out the song, 
     and then, the short, and he just fell into this quiet space.  Very 
     nicely done, but accidental for sure.  After the song, a quick wiggle 
     of the patch cord and he was back to full power.
        Loved the new stuff... all of it.  But Bob was in full 
     self-deprication mode... apologizing for the new stuff, and calling 
     BM:BM "recorded in a vaccuum".  He called Thumbtack "One of the ones 
     that survived last years crash..." In terms of the new songs, the 
     imagination runs wild as to how great they will sound given a full 
     band treatment.  They are just rockin'... Other quick notes:  Bob sang 
     New#1 and Vapo-rub with a lot more authority and confidence.  These 
     have really come a long way, and I imagine that the band format will 
     just add to them.
     
     Anyway, first time seeing Bob in New York.  Maybe its just that its 
     big, bad New York or something, but he cut to the cahse, came out and 
     blasted the songs, smiled, talked for a combined total of 30 seconds, 
     and was outta there.  A great show all in all.
     
-----------------------------------

From: Erica22173

Just gonna add my $.02 about the show...

Like some have already said, I didn't have the crowd problem cuz I was up by
the stage - although I think someone made reference to getting her butt
grabbed up there (by the stage).  I guess I was just real lucky, or it could
have been the fact that I was there with a 6'4" guy.  Or maybe no one liked
my butt.

I got there real early - like 8:45 - and much to my excitement Bob was the
first person I laid eyes on when I walked through the doors.  He was talking
to some people on the side of the stage, and was looking as beautiful as ever
I might add.

One of the highlights for me was Man on the Moon.  I had a feeling he would
play The Act We Act (which was unreal), but he didn't even stop for a breath
as he went straight into Man on the Moon.  He just gave it such a powerful
start and didn't let up till the end (in true Bob fashion).  A very pleasant
surprise.

This post is getting too long so I'll just say that The Last Night made me
cry.  OK that's it.

------------------------------------

From: Mark Sblendorio

I like the new electric stuff.  Especially the riff of FdotD.  But "New No. 1"
is one of the top 5 songs he's *ever* written. Its simply awesome.  I was
also kind of happy to not here "Makes no Sense..." and "Hardly..."  Im a
little tired of those songs.

Did anyone get exactly Bob was saying about the last album?  He didn't
seem to thrilled with it.