7-29-06

quote author=rhyte - VR Forum link=topic=22216.msg576562#msg576562 date=1154373303]
Set List (Note: I make no claims as to the ordering of these songs I was not taking notes!)

Do It For The Kids
Headspace
Superhuman
Big Machine
Crackerman
Fall To Pieces
Illegal I Song
Sucker Train Blues
Sex Type Thing
It's So Easy
Set Me Free
Wish You Were Here
You Got No Right
Roadhouse Blues
Mr. Brownstone
Slither

On the show...Wow!
The venue was a small amphitheater set at the top of a hill that on one side (the crowd side) was at the base of Mt. Konocti a huge dormant volcano and on the other side (the stage) overlooked Clear Lake which for anyone keeping score is one of the oldest freshwater lakes in the world and has 137 miles of shoreline!!! Huge, huge lake. The band was introduced as ?The Mistake by the Lake!? Which, while probably a reference to the weirdness of VR and community being in this spa resort (think tranquility and calm) could actually be interpreted a couple of ways.

About the dynamics of the show itself...let me just say ?Fall to Pieces? is not my favorite song but w/ the sun setting behind the stage and the moon rising on the other side...Holy shyte!!! It was like something out of a video, I will never hear that song w/out seeing that image again. K back to dynamics...uh...the acoustics in this venue were outstanding. I had 11th row seats so I can?t vouch for the back of the venue but the clarity from where I stood was awesome.( DD? They may well have been clear in New York!) The crowd was at about 2/3 capacity and very mixed in terms of age from the very young (think elementary) to retired (literally they retired to the area). What we/they all had in common though was that the moment VR took the stage the whole place was on its feet! Doors opened at 6:30pm and VR hit the stage about 8:30pm only a half hour later than the venue thought they would! God love ?em, it felt like a matinee performance!

As a band they sounded great. The highlight for me musically and in terms of crowd engagement came during ?Wish You Were Here? when at the outset Dave sat on a stool, flanked on either side by Duff and Slash, just off to the side of the drum kit so the four of them were in a ?row? working out the beginning while Scott swayed and used his maracas.(?) During the vocals and at the end of the song Scott gave the chorus over to the crowd and we sang the end of the piece clearly enough perhaps because of the acoustics that it was a bit overwhelming to look around at everyone singing and to hear it with such force. Very cool.

In terms of individuals...I?ll start w/ Duff just for DD! UH!!! Welcome back sucka! The man was out in front and up on the mic for damn near the whole set. He was wearing...jeans and a black leather vest w/ a black wife beater like t-shirt underneath until the first encore where he re-emerged sans vest and t! He was off the monitors, leanin? alternately w/ Dave and Slash. He only fell back to the riser a couple of times and that is not unusual for him in my experience. In particular the element that he brought to this show that was not so in Vegas was the vocals! It may well have been a necessity but we?ll get to that in a moment. The point is he sang through songs I had no idea he did vocals on and sounded awesome.

Conversely, if Duff seemed far from subdued at this show he and Matt may well have swapped roles. Matt was on as a drummer (Matty is always on!) and he did not appear to have any sound issues (no one got cussed out), he sounded great. He just wasn?t grinning from ear to ear, gregarious Matt. You know? He was all about business and handled it accordingly. Just not the positive presence I am used to him being. Strange in terms of individual dynamics, for me. Oh...lest I forget!!! He was wearing a black button up shirt and jeans, looked fabulous as usual!

Dave. What is there to say, he played outstanding. Appeared to have fun. Spent a lot of time engaged w/ Slash and Duff. Spent considerably less time than usual hanging out in the back and yet it?s still hard to tell how Dave?s doing. I personally tend to think of him w/ dual personalities theres ?stoic Dave? the guy in the back handling his business (like only he could, be clear either of my Dave?s kick ass!) And then there?s ?Super Dave? holy ball of fucking energy Dave, in your face, out in front, does not a give a fuck Dave! And in Konocti he was both. Very Dave of him. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt cuz that?s what he always wears, and looking damn fine Alicia!

And Scotty! Until he completely floored me last week w/ his vocal performance I was not aware of how beautiful that man is. Easy fellas (assuming anyone?s still reading), this is not a total Scott?s so hot fest it is only that he is so fucking cool to watch. From his dancing to his facial expressions to the way he eyeballs the boys in the band he is a whole set of fascinating dynamics unto himself. He was wearing the usual german military garb at the outset but by the second or third song he was down to what I would best describe (cuz I don?t know) as a pair of chinos or dickies pants and a white wife beater, outfuckingstanding! Not long there after he was sans shirt and remained so through out. In terms of vocals...as it turns out the show last Friday night in Vegas was as close to a ?perfect? vocal performance as I have ever heard. And to boot it was nearly solo as Duff was not as involved at Matt was having some technical issues. Having said that this shows vocal performance was closer to what I am used to he sounded great but he had some serious vocal support coming in from Duff and Matt. He also did not have a whole lot to say, he spoke to the crowd roughly three times in two hours. Which is not say that he wasn?t engaged he was far more engaged w/the energy and dynamics of the boys than he was last week. So there it is Scott was on in an internally directed (i.e. band directed) way and fabulous for it. But it was not the individual ?I am a force unto myself? dynamic he presented last Friday.

Last but not least, the reason I will travel anywhere (even where the pavement ends) to listen to him play Slash. Wearing the same pants that he wore in Vegas or for those that saw it the pants he wore during the kiss tribute...black leather, red patches, lime green stitching. A t-shirt and the leather top hat. In terms of dynamics Slash was solo Slash. He played amazing he connected w/ the crowd but not verbally, rather, in terms of gesture. There may have been technical influence in that regard. Fairly early on he went for his talkbox and had to signal repeatedly for sound adjustments which one would hope had been worked out earlier in the week but he very clearly had to ?ask? repeatedly for adjustments which is not in my experience one of his favorite occurrences. That said, it got adjusted and he went back to it eventually. He played beautifully and in my estimation he played introspectively. And in the end he played sans shirt which is always my preference!!!!!

Having said all that I DANCED MY ASS OFF!!!! Wow.