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From: Mcnultyjm

I'm sorry to hear people had so many problems seeing the show over the web -- 
Bob put on a very nice show.  I didn't write down a setlist, and I haven't 
seen one, so I'll give my 2 cents off the top of my head.  Sorry for the long 
post.

First off, the audience (much to surprise) consisted entirely of IFC 
(Independent Film Channel) guests and the 10 winners of the contest!  The 
people were friendly and receptive, but for them it was basically a party, 
and Bob was part of that event.  They were very enthusiastic early, but were 
a lot more detached than typical Bob crowds.

I think Bob reacted to this a bit.  He admitted being tired, cursed himself 
visibly throughout his set, and even apologized as he began his encore, but 
it was still a very good show.  It could have been great, but the technical 
and audience distractions probably ruined that.  The crowd talking was 
extremely loud and annoying throughout the show, as well as the socializing 
near the front of the stage.  The stage lights dimmed/brightened without 
rhyme or reason throughout the set, and even went off a couple of times, most 
noticeably just after the beginning of "Brasilia."  Bob kept playing, but he 
was obviously distracted by losing all the lights up front.

Bob also sounded tired, particularly at the when start of "The Last Night" 
and "Poison Years," but he rallied to throw a ton of energy into the latter 
half of each song.

Now, to the good stuff.... I'm really surprised no one has mentioned "New #1" 
as being THE standout.  I walked out of the Knitting Factory believing I had 
witnessed the best version I've ever or will ever hear of that song.  He 
played it a bit fast, which I think helped.  Bob's eyes were rolling into his 
cranium and it seemed like he was pouring his whole body into it.  The 
intensity of his playing and singing was right there with anything I've 
witnessed from Bob, and that's saying a lot.

My other personal favorites:  "Too Far Down," "Brasilia" (as usual -- great) 
and "Hoover Dam" (what a great song -- played 2nd). 

"Taking Everything" appeared third in the setlist.  I'm really surprised that 
Bob is still playing this song, which I regard as classic "Bob filler" and 
not much more.  I've now heard it acoustically, and my opinion hasn't changed.

Other than that song, I thought the setlist was excellent, as well as widely 
varied.  I was very happy to see "Hi Fidelity" back in the rotation 
(hopefully to stay), and there seemed to be much more pre-Hubcap material 
than I would have expected -- I think only "Eternally Fried" made it in from 
the Hubcap stuff.  He played something from every album post-Husker except 
Beaster (counting "Eternally Fried" as Hubcap), including (I think) 4 from 
Workbook.

This also may be due to the fact that Bob was not playing off a setlist, 
which was unusual.  And it's too bad Bob didn't play any new stuff, but I'm 
guessing that was due to the Web audience, and his worries about people 
stealing his material, etc.  It would have been a great room to hear the new 
stuff in.  I have a feeling his choice of "See a Little Light" to close was 
his concession that he'd end on an up note, and in familiar territory, with 
an audience that was just getting to know his core material.