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Old 07-17-2016, 01:02 PM   #1
Cscottrun
 
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Spac N2 Review

Pig - Was hoping for the Stone, but I'll take Pig any day. Unexpected, at least for me. Standard version. Wish Boyd was a bit louder. Still a great song, one of my favorites. Crowd loved it. I loved it.

The Last Stop - When I saw the 12, I expected JTR. I kept a close eye on Dave and he was clearly communicating with the rest of the band. I could tell something was up. Figured it was a debut. Was kind of expecting Last Stop at some point, but not in the 2 hole. The highlight of the night for me. People in my section knew it was a big deal and that made it even better.

#41 - Always good. One of my favorites. Crowd loved it. Was expecting the Say Goodbye segue here and was a bit disappointed when it didn't happen.

Seven - Standard. Don't mind this song, but was hoping that it'd be one of the songs left out and replaced with a debut. Oh well. Still enjoyed it.

When the World Ends - Some people hate it, but I love it. No complaints here. Standard and quick.

The Song That Jane Likes - At one point this song was in my top 5. No longer is but I still love it and will happily take it at any show. Again, louder Boyd.

Proudest Monkey » - Like it, but don't love it. I'm in the minority here. Kind of kills the crowd and the mood.

Bismark - My favorite of the new songs. Glad this was the only new one played. I'm ok with hearing it but it wouldn't be something I'd have on my dream setlist for N2 at SPAC. Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed it.

What Would You Say - New we were going to get a sing along to follow Bismark. Crowd got really into this one, but at the end of the day, it was standard. Nothing special, but nothing I'm going to complain about. I'm fine with this song at any show I go to.

Mercy - I hate this song so much, and it is my only true complaint about the show. It is slow, and its 90% of the crowd pisses or talks through it. Replace this song with Fool to Think, Break Free, DIDO, or any other semi-quick songs that they've played this summer, and the set looks 1 million times better.

Dancing Nancies - Another spot where I was expecting a staple song and it came. And it began a hell of a run. Standard but always good. I said it before, Boyd needs to either be turned off completely or turned up. I'd rather hear him screech and suck than intermittently hear him. It's obviously something that's being done on purpose. Nonetheless, crowd loved the performance.

The Space Between - Love this song. Always have. I think I prefer it on electric though. Standard and a quick sing along. Absolutely no complaints here.

Rhyme & Reason - This was a big highlight for me. It's a good song without Lawlor, but Lawlor rips it up and brings it to a new level. I actually like his soloing style more than Tim. 3 song run now.

Say Goodbye - Going into the show, I really felt like this was a shoe in. But after #41 came and went without the segue, I had second thoughts. Saw Dave walk off to the side and have a seat before the song started. Thought that was odd until I saw Jeff holding the flute (he should really wait until its time for him to come in before picking it up) and new Say Bye was coming. Standard version, but I'll take this song at every show. One of my favorites and the crowd loved it as well.

You Might Die Trying - Some people hate it, but I love it, especially the outro (although I felt the outro was a bit weak last night).

Kill the Preacher [partial] - Obviously a dead giveaway that Why I Am is coming. I'd like to see them expand on this instead of just playing a few lines.

Why I Am - Standard. I like this song, but as I mentioned with Seven, there are plenty of other songs I expected to pop up tonight instead of these two.

All Along the Watchtower - Was a bit surprised Dave didn't thank the crowd before they started this song. I love this song, and will never get sick of it - its powerful. But why Watchtower and not Ants? Just doesn't make sense.

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

Oh - Love this song, but #40 should have been here. That's all I have to say there.

Two Step » - When this started, I thought for sure they'd be either playing Ants after it, or double encoring with Ants. Glad to see Dave's ad lib intro.

Halloween - First thing I thought when this started was when was the last time Halloween and Last stop were played in the same set? Crowd loved it. I loved it. But at this point I was still expecting to hear Ants, whether it be right after Halloween, or as a double encore.

Conclusion: Excellent show. Not the best I've seen at SPAC though (that'd be 6/13/09). I have a hard time determining which show on paper I like more this year, N1 (wasn't there) or N2. I was really really hoping for The Stone, and I'm disappointed it didn't show up.

Bonus: As I was walking near the VIP lot exploring the area, a guy pulled up to me and told me Dave just rode by on his bike. Thinking he was lying, we walked over towards the buses figuring if he was really riding, he'd have to return. Sure enough, two minutes later he rode by and told everyone waiting he had a bug in his mouth. He was quick to enter the artist area though. He didn't stop and talk to the fans.

Side note: I respect that the ushers at SPAC are, for the most part (I'm assuming) volunteers, and/or senior citizens, but they really couldn't control the crowd towards the end. A lot of people rushed towards the stage and ended up jamming up my entire section (4). People were moving into our row to avoid the ushers. Not a big deal, just a bit annoying.

Last edited by Cscottrun; 07-17-2016 at 01:04 PM.
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