This was my 6th concert, all of which were in Europe. I've seen the band in Dublin 05/23/07, then again at Brixton Academy, Hyde Park in London and L'Olympia in Paris last year... I never expected this show to be so amazing, partly because I didn't expect much from the audience. In Paris people were just crazy, the floor was moving up and down along with the crowd. I was surprised that by the time we arrived at 4pm, two hours before opening, there was only like 40-50 people waiting. We went for a beer and even after more than hour still managed to get the front row, right in front of Stefan, Rashawn and Jeff.
Dave appeared to introduce Alberta Cross, he sounded like they had a great time the night before after the show in Hamburg
When they finally got on stage the room went crazy, they started slow with one of my all time favourites, Proudest Monkey. Dave sang it in a sweet manner, but confidently. Tim's solo, then Rashawn on muted trumpet. At the end the band was all smiling
Dave turned to Carter a couple of times, apparently very happy with the sound. You could just feel the energy, I've never seen them like that
As for songs from Big Whiskey, they all grew a bit since last Europe Tour, the high point being a superb solo on soprano saxophone by Jeff at the end of Lying In The Hands Of God. Funny The WAy It Is was just a little bit longer, with more time for Tim to show off
And Dave's vocals sounded nice on Seven, by the time he started singing that song I was shure that his singing would be amazing that night. I'm not very fond of Shake Me Like A Monkey or Alligator Pie, mainly because I don't like the lyrics to these
but hats off for the band for pulling so complicated arrangements on stage.
#41 lately became amazing thing with Jeff and Carter jamming along. In the middle of it they stopped, looked at each other and laughed, not shure what to do next
but then Carter began jazz groove, so they were swingin' for a moment... As much as I loved Roi, I must say that Jeff is a superb live musician. I still prefer Roi's beautiful solos, but he was never a rockstar
and Jeff can just steal the stage.
Boyd did an amazing job on Dancing Nancies, with a long solo walking everywhere on stage. Carter had his amazing minutes during Two Step, you could see that Stefan was happy playing every single note. And Dave, with his dances, and jokes about knowing only "danke shoen" in german
Anyone saying that So Damn Lucky is not a good way to close concert is very wrong. Don't get me wrong, I love it when they close with Watchtower, laving you with your eyes wide open and wanting more, but this was like a gentle saying goodbye, cool down, Dave took his guitar off and started singing Thank You, he wanted Rashawn to help him or him and Jeff to add some horns, but these guys just laghed at him
At the end, while Carter was throwing drumsticks, Dave got down from stage and started giving autographs and shaking hands with the people in the front. Stefan, Tim and then Carter did the same thing. Some chicks took their shirts off and gave them to Rashawn, he went backstage and returned with autographs from the whole band
It was an amazing night... All the concerts I attended were in Europe, so I was right in front on every single one of them, but this one was unique. Energy, fun from playing, positive emotions, everything was there, it blew my mind! Can't wait to see the band again!
Piotr