Tour in Arrears 2008-05-03

Hindsight is such a game changer.

I read the setlist and show notes for this just before listening, so it was interesting to hear Brendan say "Look at him, Pony sure is fired up!" at the very start of the show. I think I read somewhere that Wizard's Burial Ground is one of his favorite songs to perform, and after a lead-in Peeps they locked in and started into night two of Jazz Fest.

(For future consideration: is Wizards Burial Ground a love song?)

There was some dialog during the transition into Hangover that I think came over the PA. It was certainly digital, and I'm not sure what the source of it was. In an case, it really did a great job pulling me back in sync as my mind started to wander listening to this set.

About 5-6 minutes into Hangover there was a chant from the crowd that made me double check what night it was... listening one year later, my day of the week should be shifted by one day. I was listening on a Sunday night, and the energy level was very obviously geared for a a Saturday night party.

(For future consideration: the Triple Wide is quite clearly "happy" at the beggining, but does it transition to worried or angry as it matures?)

Someday people will refer to the Bayliss proverbs when all else is gone and the lyrics of DBK remain to haunt us: God knows, I know... think before you speak, look before you act!

I also realized tonight that the Bottom Half and Haji are currently too much song for me to digest. There are pieces of each that click, but overall it just goes over my head. I am really looking forward to taking a more disciplined approach to listening this spring, as I think my ear will develop and unlock new things in songs like this.

Like I said, hindsight tells me that while he may have had a hot start, blowing an amp probably brought Pony's night crashing down on him. Nice job on the drumset to hold the flow of the show, but I'll bet it was a sight to behold seeing them all scamper to fic things on the fly.

Come Closer was the first Mashup of Tour in Arrears, what a great closer...

House of Blues, New Orleans, LA
Taped, Transferred & Seeded by Dennis Tyler

One Set:Partyin' Peeps, Wizard Burial Ground, Hangover, The Triple Wide, Ocean Billy, Fussy Dutchman > Gulf Stream > Der Bluten Kat, The Bottom Half > Der Bluten Kat, Drums >Der Bluten Kat

Encore: Hajimemashite > Push The Pig, Come Closer

Tour In Arrears: UM 2008-05-02

Shows like this are why I love this band... High energy, fantastic range of musical styles, and lyrics that can make you think twice. This one is worth listening to again in it's entirety (exept maybe the tony clifton interuption stewart)

Also, this is a perfect example of some of the "show moments" that will just not realize the significance they deserve in a one-track shuffle listening style. Unless tracked as a 15+ minute monster, how in the world do you explain to someone the amazing Snuka>Alex>Snuka segment?

The Wappy Sprayberry had me dancing and will be the first to make it onto my regular playlist rotation as one of the reasons for doing this "tour".

Let me know in the comments what you think of the "Tour in Arrears" posting/review style or any conversation you'd like to have about the show itself.

Now, the Details (from the Archive)

House of Blues, New Orleans, LA
Taped, Transferred & Seeded by Dennis Tyler
Set One
Jazz Odyssey > Miss Tinkle's Overture, Pay The Snucka > Alex's House >Pay The Snucka, Ringo, Higgins, Pay The Snucka (Parts 2 & 3)

Set Two
Bridgeless, Tony Clifton Stewart ^ > Breathe, Wappy Sprayberry ** > Got Your Milk (Right Here), Get In The Van, Bridgeless

Encore
The Song Remains The Same
Notes:
* with One (Metallica) teases
^ someone dressed as Andy Kaufman's Tony Clifton character came on stage and started ranting into the mic; the band began to play a funk groove after he invited two female dancers on stage; after the three people left the stage, another woman came out and did a brief strip tease before Wade came and carried her offstage
** with The Triple Wide teases

Umphrey's McGee: Tour in Arrears

I find myself listening to music quite a bit during the day at my desk, as well as long into the evenings as I work on projects for Higher Ground Games. I particularly enjoy listening to recordings of live music.

However, I have noticed lately some discontent in what I'm listening to. On one hand I'm getting bored with the same play list of studio recorded .mp3's and CD's that I have at my disposal. On the other hand, while there is a wealth of available music, I'm also struggling with my use of the Live Music Archive (in that I am sort of listlessly meandering through shows with no particular rhyme or reason). I forget which I've listened to, and can't ever remember the points in shows that I want to save and add to a regular listening rotation.

In an attempt to bring some form of structure to my listening, I am going to embark on what I'm calling a "Tour in Arrears" with my favorite live act: Umphrey's McGee. I have seen this band live about 10 times now. Each and every time they blow me away with their musicianship, energy, and all-around zest for enjoying life.
While some may be able to pull off the life of touring with a band... leaving my family, friends, day job, and other glorious parts of my life behind for touring with this group isn't something that I have any interest in doing. I see them when they come to town, but that is the extent of my live viewing at this point.

Starting today, May 1st, I am going to be listening to every Umphrey's concert I can get my hands on.... one year later.

Today's show, from Market Square - Sundown In The City (Knoxville) can be found here: http://www.archive.org/details/UM2008-05-01.

I am hoping to keep up on all of the 2008 shows on the day that they happened, and will look back to other years on days that I want to listen to something but there was no show in 2008.

What do you think of the idea of Tour in Arrears? Do you have access to a recording of a show that isn't currently up on the archive (that you legally have rights to share)? Leave me a comment below, and lets talk about it.

White Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit

At some point when I was in elementary school someone told me that if the first thing I said in a month was "White Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit" that I would have good luck.

In the back of my mind, I have kept this idea alive throughout my life and have probably been successful in remembering about 25% of the time. Most of the times that I have accurately recalled it at the right moment have been due to staying up late the night before (the "its 12:15am, and I should say White Rabbit") or sometime around lunchtime I will realize that I haven't actually spoken to anyone yet, and sneak one in.

I wonder if being present enough to realize the significance of the first morning of each month can clue me in and give me a benchmark as to how I'm living my life and practicing to be more present in *every* moment.

I've also always believed that luck is really based on how hard I am working and setting myself up to succeed. I'll bet that tracking my progress somehow on an awareness scale will show me so much more about power than speaking aloud this silly saying on its own.

May 09, White Rabbit, White Rabbit, White Rabbit.