Wednesday, 2 Jul 2008
The stage was dark and filled with bullhorns and megaphones. The sold out crowd was a fan only affair as a result of a strict ticketing process that required you to swipe your credit card upon entrance. Seeing Tom Waits in concert was a dream come true and by the time the house lights came up over two hours after the show began, I realized just how special the night was and wished it wouldn’t end.
From his slightly elevated stage Waits stomped his foot, raised his hands and began the evening with his signature growl and storytelling tales. Indeed, Waits would seem just as much at home guessing your weight or telling your fortune at the local town fair. Throughout the night he peppered his commentary with useless facts and trivial knowledge only he could deliver. I learned you could draw fourteen omelets from an ostrich egg; it’s illegal for women to parachute on Sunday, and that if every person in China climbed a ladder and jumped off simultaneously their collective landing could knock the world off its axis. The banter was an added bonus and hecklers (there were many) didn’t go unanswered.
The second song of the evening “Way Down In a Hole,” was most recently in the spotlight for its use as the theme song to the HBO mega hit The Wire. It was followed up by a personal favorite “Falling Down.” Mule Variations “Get Behind The Mule” appeared a few songs later and raised the crowd from its seats, a common occurrence by evening’s end. The first half of the set got everyone comfortable seeing such a rare touring act, and the second half of the night was easily the best hour plus of live music I’ve ever been a part of. The band left Waits alone at the piano, flanked only by his stand up bassist for a handful of numbers. For that moment, positioned behind the piano, he looked just like he did circa Closing Time.
The magic in the evening didn’t solely belong to Waits himself, he’s anchored by guitarist Omar Torrez and Vincent Henry, who played on double sax. The band also demonstrated it was a family affair as Waits’ sons Casey and Sullivan contributed percussion and additional horn sections. Torrez and Henry made the second half of the show, including Real Gone standout “Hoist That Rag,” filled with Spanish guitar licks and jazz movements. “Singapore” and “Rain Dogs” hailed Tom’s early days while “Make It Rain” brought the present day including a golden glitter shower covering Waits during the middle of the song.
The encore included the gorgeous Mule Variations selection “House Where Nobody Lives” reminding everyone that “If there’s love in a house, It’s a palace for sure.” The band left the stage once more, the lights turned down low and the every single one of the almost three thousand standing, applauding, hoping for one more return. That didn’t happen, much to everyone’s chagrin, but the evening wasn’t lost. We filed into the streets having just witnessed one unforgettable night of live music.
Myspace: Tom Waits
MP3: Tom Waits - “You Can Never Hold Back Spring”
MP3: Tom Waits - “Bottom Of The World”
Find MP3’s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 am
Wow. Great description. I hope I get to catch him live someday.
http://www.stevenstarkmusic.com
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:15 am
Amazing.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:13 am
RYAN
i cant tell you how jealous i am of this. seeing the pictures makes me absolutely positive that it was an amazing show.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:29 am
Well done, Ryan.
I kept watching the Columbus show for tickets to be released, but that never materialized. Waits is one artist I would love to experience live.
Very nice photos.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:15 am
Simply amazing show, the crowd sucked, but the show was amazing.
“My sperms gotten expensive these days, like a fuckin’ racehorse, baby”
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:20 am
Great review. I was 4th row at the Columbus show. I’m a huge fan, so my expectations were through the roof, and he surpassed them. The band was on fire, and Waits was magnificent. Best show I ever seen, get out to see him if you haven’t yet.
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:03 am
Thanks for great photos!
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:12 am
It was incredible!! Though I am amazed at the amount of people that thought they were at a baseball game.
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
The show was incredible everything I excspected .Mr. Waits was definately on his game ,and with quick responses to crowed call outs like ” my sperms gotten exspensive these days ” (in response to me yelling out “Hey T
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
The show was incredible everything I expected .Mr. Waits was definitely on his game ,and with quick responses to crowed call outs like ” my sperms gotten expensive these days ” (in response to me yelling out “Hey Tom I want to have your baby ,he said “Oh Jesus I think that’s actually possible these days ” and then the follow up of the sperm comment .What a showman the whole ensemble was great .I wish there would have been something in the way of a meet and great I would certainly shell out the pesos for a treat like that. Seeing Tom was on my list of things to do before I become dirt in the ground, I was full ready to throw down serious cash on his next tour as I fully expected to have to fly to Europe to see him ,now I certainly wont feel cheated when that happens
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Hey Guys!!!
Check this out-
On June 28th I saw the amazing singer Holly Rae performing at the Dubb Car Show. I think it’s one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. She’s so talented!!!!
she has another show coming up in MILWAUKEE on JULY 5- she’s opening for Plies and Rick Ross!!!
Trust me guys, YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS IT!!
Go to her blog:
http://hollyrae-music.blogspot.com/
and check out her new beautiful song “Off The Meter” on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXbPmyugQ5s
Have fun…
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
The show was awesome. Great set list, great sound, the lighting was spot-on…the single drawback to the entire phenomenal show was the crowd. From hecklers yelling random obnoxious comments to the trio behind my date and I who kept screaming song titles, nevermind that their cell phones went off a few times, and someone or something smelled of mold. (Not that any of those things really had any chance of ruining the overall experience.)
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I was there last night, and I must agree with everyone. Best 2 + Hours of Live Music I have ever heard in my life. Yes, there were a few idiots in the crowd, but what concert doesn’t have those.
Amazing amazing stuff.
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Me and my wife got back to tallahassee this afternoon after staying over in Jacksonville for the show. When we got home I immediately jumped on the computer to get tickets for Mobile, AL. Unfortunately we couldnt get anyone to stay over with the kids another night. Maybe I can get someone tomorrow and make birmingham. Best Concert ever.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Been listening to Waits since I first heard Small Change on an 8-track in a VW Beetle in ‘77. Seen him over the last 25 years in Philadelphia, LA, NY and now Jacksonville. Last night’s show was definitely the best. His pipes are still strong and his playlist of great songs just keeps getting longer and greater.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Everyone that appreciates the genius of Tom Waits really needs to demand that his concert film Big Time be released on DVD as well as Nighthawks at the Diner.A better medium was never devised for such masterpieces.It needs to happen,for old fans and new.The fact that he creates such passionate responses from everyone that sees a show is a testament that there is an audience waiting for just such an event.
I saw him live here in Sarasota in the 70s and have never forgotten a minute of the performance.I wish I had the ability to slap a DVD in the player and turn everyone that comes over into a fan.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Great review and pics! After Waits-ing (sorry) 25 years for the opportunity to see the man live, made the trek from Ft. Lauderdale just for the show (others I spoke with — many eager to chat before and after — came as far as Connecticut and New York when closer cities on the route sold out). Tom’s often said he’s “grumpy” on tour (and had kept his distance from the road all those years), but he was very open and engaging onstage.
Now, some criticism of the Times-Union PAC staff: two yapping yuppies in the loge section wouldn’t shut up, and despite four of us complaining, the ushers didn’t do a thing to stop them. Must’ve been the spawn of major donors. No matter now. Twenty-four hours later, I’m thinking more of all those songs he mined from my all-time favorite LP, “Raindogs.”
P.S.: Recent release not many Waits fans seem aware of: he does four tracks (with Kronos Quartet) on Healing the Divide, recorded at a 2003 NYC benefit concert for Tibet. Especially worth the coin for “Diamond in Your Mind” (and his shorthand recollection of the Dalai Lama’s younger years).
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 pm
The guy two people to my right was very intoxicated. He swore he saw Godsmack at the very same venue. I guess that alone gives you a good idea of the type of dude this was. Even is loud and non-stop chatter couldn’t put a damper on such an epic performance.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:58 pm
“Three toads.”
“Write it on a piece of paper, fold it up and pass it forward.”
What a fucking showman. What an amazing conductor. Just wow.
It was like a dream … I’m grasping at bits of it, trying to hang on, and they’re slipping through my fingers.
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:03 am
Amazing doesn’t even begin to cover it. This was my first Waits show, though I’ve been a fan since Swordfishtrombones. Never had the chance to catch him on stage before, but all those years of waiting were more than repaid on Tuesday night. Watching him was beyond theatre and beyond music…it was like getting religion! He’s a national freakin’ treasure, that man…hope it doesn’t take me another coupla decades to see him play again.
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 am
Thanks!!!! I’m waiting to see him in Milano and it’s nice to read such a good review and pics, well done!
Francesca
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:52 am
Thanks for the description! I am going tonight with my fiance in Birmingham. I NEVER thought I would get to see him live, so I am pretty stoked. I can’t tell you how excited I am right now…I want to leave work!
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Set List:
oran theatre, Jacksonville, Fl.
July 1, 2008
Lucinda / Ain’t going down to the well no more
Down in the hole
Falling down
All the world is green
Chocolate Jesus
Cemetery polka
Get behind the mule
16 shells from a thirty-ought six
Hang down your head
Trampled rose
Dirt in the ground
Black market baby
Raindogs\Russian dance
On the nickel
I can’t wait to get off work
Invitation to the blues
Lost in the harbour
Circus
Hoist that rag
Lie to me
Anywhere I lay my head
Singapore
Cold, Cold Ground
Make it rain
House where nobody live
thanks to:
http://briangerard.net/2008/07/03/7108/#comment-66
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
The show was astounding and definitely exceeded my expectations. This guy has soul! If anyone who was screaming out stupid comments after the rest of the audience had completed cheering between performances is reading this: I did not fly 2,040 miles round trip, pay for a night at the Hyatt, plus the cost of the concert tickets to listen to your stupid comments. And if anyone plans on attending his show in the future have respect for your fellow audience members as well as Tom. Let the guy do his performance!
July 4th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I flew about half that distance, and I had the same feeling, doggedly focusing on the artful music being made and not letting one village idiot ruin my first-ever Waits show. Some guy kept yelling Waits’s name, as if it was going to impress everybody that he knew the performer’s name that night. Oh, well. He left after awhile, and those around us were relieved but felt bad for whoever had to deal with him next.
And then came “on the nickel”!
Very good acoustics that allowed you to hear the work the band was doing. Best vocal performance I’ve ever heard, hands-down. The guy’s an ironic american treasure.
July 5th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Agreed. I was at the show, and it was clear that Tom was as annoyed with the constant interruptions as us. He began by artfully deflecting, but soon giving up. He gave a half-assed encore because he didn’t want to be there one second longer than needed. These audience members screwed the rest of us out of at least half the banter Tom is known for.
July 6th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
I was at my first ever Tom Waits gig in Atlanta yesterday and It was amazing. Set-list was great (and my seat and the place) so it was a night that I will never forget. But… I can’t believe how the audience was acting at the show. It was my second gig I’ve seen in USA so I can’t make much of it but never in Europe I’ve seen people act like bunch of sports idiots in a ball game. People were constantly whistling, cheering, yelling, shouting, etc. If I pay a hundred bucks for the best living artist on this planet, I don’t wanna hear some idiot next me but the artist himself. It was almost embarrassing when people shouted out lout every other second when he was playing more tender songs like Dirt In The Ground. And I don’t mean that people have to be shut up at the concert but there’s a line between being an idiot and a fan. Like Junco wrote above “have respect for your fellow audience members as well as Tom.” But anyway… it was the best gig I’ve ever been to but hopefully I’ll catch him next time back in Europe.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:49 am
Easily the best concert I’ve ever been to. It was worth the drive to and from Jax from Tallahassee, the $200 I spent on the ticket, gas, and parking, and sitting nearby those loud, drunk douchebags in the Loge everybody else here is complaining about. It was worth all that and a lot more. I never thought I would get the chance to see Tom perform Chocolate Jesus in person. I don’t know anyone, including myself, who would call that the best song he’s ever written, but it’s still a personal favorite of mine.
If I couldn’ve gotten the time off from work, I would have gone to his ‘Bama and Atlanta concerts as well.
Tom stopping mid-song to tell the audience to either stop clapping or stay on beat… priceless.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I was on vacation in Lake Como, Italy, just north of Milano, and saw in an Italian newpaper that he was playing in Milano JUly 17-19th. I took a chance and drove down that evening to Milano, got a ticket AT THE DOOR for 140 Euros, and waited by myself in the crowd for the concert to start. Then, from a side door, Roberto Benigni, the Oscar Winning actor for “Life is Beautiful” and Tom Wait’s co-star in the film “Down by Law” walks in and gets a standing ovation from the Italian crowd. He sits down 5-6 rows in front of me. People around me are chanting Roberto’s lines from Down by Law: “I scream, you scream, we all scream, for ice cream.”
I’m in heaven, and then Tom puts on what seemed like the concert of his career. He didn’t talk much, but told one funny story about how everyone kept saying Buon Giorno to him and he didn’t know why.
July 24th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Off to see Tom on Sunday in Edinburgh…getting very very excited!!! If its as good as you say (and I know it will be as I flew to Berlin to see him perform on the Real Gone tour) I will be in heaven!!
Cheers