i looked for you andy but i didn't see you! lucky you to be so close! especially first time seeing him
i thought the gig friday night was great! it was fantastic seeing damien again after two years of waiting for him to make it back over to this remote little corner of the globe, and even though he didn't play long it was well worth the trip..
it was a very laid back, relaxed show - damien came out on his own, quietly and unnoticed at first, but when he picked up his guitar some people took notice and cheered. others were still standing up, talking, and trying to find their seats (which was
pretty annoying) but damien sounded amazing as usual, from the first note to the last..
setlist:
cannonball - solo
then go - shane, vyv and earl harvin came out.. they did the awesome extended version he's been doing this tour. there's a new part in the middle of this song and the first time i heard it i thought "that's a new song" but that was just my first impression. i think this one was my favorite of the night
volcano - extended and intense
accidental babies - everyone laughed at that particular line in the song, though i'm not sure why.. damien played the keys on it and he played a little refrain toward the end that reminded me of
jewelry box in a way.. this one was also a highlight of the show for me
then damien started to pick up the telecaster but said "no", put it back down and picked up his lowden again (which made me curious as to what he was going to play but decided not to) then he went into:
i remember - superb, as usual
woman like a man - he completely rocked this and toward the end was kind of singing 'i'll get a cheaper ticket next time' in a girl's voice, which i thought was funny because it suits the song.. for some reason this was the song i felt the absence of lisa and tomo the most..
older chests - this one brought tears to my eyes
at this point he introduced the rest of the band (he never actually introduced himself) and thanked fiona and the crew, saying that it had been a really sweet, relaxing tour and they had enjoyed it, but they were going their separate ways for awhile and heading up to canada then would meet up again for the rest of the tour. earl harvin is a really good drummer i liked him! vyv was wearing a long baby blue gown, and her hair is cut a little shorter just below her shoulders and she looked very beautiful. everytime she would come in with her cello it made me realize how integral her sound is to the music.. it was really great to see her up there playing beside damien. shane was cool and chillin as usual, it was good to see him there as well
then damien said he had the space for one more song and asked us if we wanted to hear something old or new, because he had a song that had a part 1 and a part 2. people shouted out answers but he said we weren't being clear so he asked if anyone had a coin.. people started throwing coins up on stage and he kind of had to duck so some of them didn't hit him hehe.. then he asked if we had any 20 dollar bills we'd like to throw up there as well
so he called it heads for a new song and tails for old, and flipped the coin and said "old". a guy sitting two seats away from me said "and so it is".. (i liked him, he was the only other person near me who was into damien) and then they played and ended with:
the blowers daughter
i could be wrong but i don't think the majority of the audience was really familiar with damien, but i would say a good 20-25 percent of the people there were fans.. so even though the crowd was still settling in and not really paying attention during the beginning of his set, there were points in the performance when he completely stilled the room into silence, which i thought was very cool. because it was during quiet parts of the songs and it was like everyone was hushed and listening and completely drawn into it.. it reminded me of how powerful his music can be even (or maybe moreso) in it's gentle moments. he also took it to the wall and rocked out but seemed a little more restrained (or more mellow) than usual. but what i really noticed was the precision.. he seemed totally in control of every note and nuance and delivered each song brilliantly!
one word - perfection
