Epic show at the Fox Theater in Pomona last night.
Seeing Neil in an intimate theater with 2,000 others vs. outdoors in the desert with apprx. 100,000 others...nice way to spend the time in between Desert weekends.
I drove by yesterday at around 10:00 in the morning to get a pic of the marquee, and to my surprise there was already a line of about 10 people already there (diehards!). So I mingled, chatted, and befriended someone who was happy to hold a place in line for me. In return I gave him several bottles of water and a box of granola bars to hold him over. As I had a lot of things to do yesterday over at Claremont University, and then taking a two hour nap (still recovering from Desert wkd. 1! ha), I made it back there around 4:00. To my surprise (again) the line hadn't grown any longer, and the same diehards were holding down the fort. Eventually the line grew very long, and we were finally able to get wristbands and hard tickets around 6:00. They then shuffled (or herded) the first 30 people in line into their bar in the hopes of everyone purchasing drinks for the next two hour before letting us all in the actuak entrance to venue. It didn't quite go as they planned, as everyone wanted to hold their place in line which became chaos after awhile, While my friend and I had two bar stools at the bar right next to the entrance to venue (only drink their free water), we were all set and nicely positioned. But amidst the chaos, the once single file line that outside, turned into a mob of people inside all aiming towards the entrance. Frustration abounded as some people who waited all day, were now standing next to people who waited only a couple of hours. The staff could have easily made it smooth by giving out numbered wristbands and letting people in according to numbers, but they were completely clueless and overwhelmed. Finally at about 7:30 the gates were open, and my friend and I were the first to squeeze through. I have no idea what went on behind me as I heard people angrily yelling, but we were finally free and made a beeline to center stage on the rail!!!
There was no opening mini acoustic solo set, and Neil and the band ripped into right into an electric Like an Inca that turned into at least a 30 minute jam worthy of being an encore rather than the opener. There was a giant setlist on the floor in front of Neil written out that had about 100 different songs written on it haha. After each song was over Neil would either glance at it for a few seconds and pick a number, or simply start playing something on his guitar until the band realized what it was and all join in. Other times, he would walk in a circle while thinking to himself, and then shout out to his band what the next tune would be. Improvized setlists and improvized extended jams throughout...it was amazing to witness, and his band no doubt have done their homework being able to play any song at any given moment. It was refreshing to see this vs. many bands who are on auto- pilot with the same setlist going through the motions ad nauseum. Without getting into the minutiae of the entire show itself,I'll let the setlist speak for itself which was quite different than Desert Trip and in a good way. While some tunes were MIA (After the Gold Rush, Down by the River, etc), there were other played that easily filled the void (Cinammon Girl, Cortez, Cowgirl, etc.)
*Like an Inca
*F@ckin' Up
*When You Dance, I Can Really Love
*The Loner
*Cinnamon Girl
*Cortez the Killer
Human Highway
*From Hank to Hendrix
Peace of Mind
*I Am a Child
Show Me
Words (Between the Lines of Age)
*If I Could Have Her Tonight
Walk On
Texas Rangers
Powderfinger
*Cowgirl in the Sand
Seed Justice
Peace Trail
*I've Been Waiting for You
*Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)
Encore:
*Roll Another Number (For the Road)
*Piece of Crap
*not played at Desert Trip
24 songs last night vs. 18 at Desert Trip - which show was better?
Hard to pick, both great for different reasons...I'll call it a tie for first place.
Wondering now what tonights setlist will be like...will it be an exact repeat of last night? Not a chance....
_____________________________________________________________Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-10-14 08:20 by Hairball.