I walked casually inside (my knees trembling) waved to my sister at row 9 and turned left to find my seat at FIRST ROW!!!!!!!!!!!! To make it even worse for my nerves it was almost at the center and I became religious right there. I was just sucking in every little detail of the atmosphere, almost hushed the people next to me 'cause they were making casual chit chat (no respect these days), hopped up and down and couldn't believe my seat was for real, wondered how youngsters of 14-16 could be placed where the raindogs should be (no offense to any dog that age, but they didn't look like 'dogs, mublemumble) and wondered what would happen in the beginning as there was no "corridor" in the middle of the place for Tom to walk up.
At 20:56 I found out. DRUM!"LAAAAADIES AND GENTLEMEN..." (bullhorn, I thought, looking in all directions, but mostly down to the left, where everybody had entered) "HARRY'S HARBOUR BIZAARE..." And there he was, a little bent over, hat, jacket and tie, lit up by a spot, made a stop (right next to my sister - she could have fainted. She also told me that she'd been watching due to my directions and a girl had gone to her seat just before Tom entered, which means she must've been at the corridor with him and maybe that's why he didn't do that entry again), and crawled on stage. Everybody went crazy I jumped up and down.
Then Black Rider started, and I think it was a bit uptempo, or maybe it was my sheer chock that made it feel that way, like my heartbeat dictated the song. I believe it was here, he started his funny kicks to the sandbox ( a little plateau with flour) coming from the left and right side in, while when not kicking still keeping a bit bend fowards with one leg in front of the other. The jacket one size too small, bikerboots (I'd call them) and jeans with a hanging ass (danish word, sorry you get the picture).
Then it was "Jockey full of bourbon" +"Jesus gonna be here" extremely impressing in energy (No, He CAN't be 49) with the bullhorn again (which when not in use standed in the flour, so Tom could slap it and get a dustcloud out in the lights - beautiful) Then I think He talked for the first time about the old automobile (the Mule). We got the Testamint joke for "Chocholate Jesus" and I was all smiles and giggles, but I think as others have remarked, that not a lot of laughing reached the scene.
The Mule and Hold on were extremely beatiful, and I had to get off my seat and squat down leaning my arms on this 4-5 meter wide plateau between the stage and first row, still jumping up and down, couldn't belive my eyes, I was whispering the lyrics as I was afraid to bother the mates next to me (or Tom; it WAS only 4-5 meters). Before "Hold on" we got a story about the sign in Tom's town saying 123 inhabitants when Tom moved in with his family, which it still did: "maybe I'll have to talk to the Mayor..."
"Walk away" ended with Tom bent forward almost to the ground backing away from the mike with his hands on either side of his mouth amplifying the sound of "gotta walk away", to end in a faint but still strong falsetto. The crowd went mad. The hand on side of mouth singing was also done during other songs right into the mike as if he needed to put his hands somewhere when they weren't clawed up (directing?)
Other highlights was the throwing of glittering confetti on Smokey Harmel and Larry Taylor, Tom dancing around himself extremely slowly ending with him putting his hat down to cover his closed eyes - STUNNING!!
Eyeball kid introduced another move that blew me away. Tom standing with a little bended knees with his arms straight out to the side when the music made a break, and then BAM!! he lowered them starting the band again...I simply cannot describe how cool that looked!
Smoky Harmel (gu, bj) was constantly watching The Man while playing creatively personal, but recognizable solos, Larry Taylor (ub, gu) just looked cool with sunglasses and a huge beard, Andrew (?) (dr+) was as I recall smiling wildly during all three shows, Danny Magoo(?) (k) was the least outstanding (visually) of the band, but that really doesn't say much. All of them seemed quite annoyed though when an annoing buzz appeared, it went on for a while, but then disappeared. Tom's comment was: "Now the Buzz is gone and I'm much happier...and so is the guy responsible for the buzz ' cause he just got his job back!!" It sounded both like a joke and extremely serious - the buzz returned later, poor guy (*shudders*).
"What's he building" got the introduction "a song about my neighbour, your neighbour...and the neighbour we're all about to become!" (I guess this doesn't settle the thread on this subject) The rest of the band was darkened out and Tom was just lit up with the flashlight from beneath - scary. I think Smoky played some kind of rolling machine (and, Julia I did NOT notice any sausages lying around, could it have been a gurt - the riffled thing you run a stick over??) and of course Andy (as I like to call him-he seems so happy) must have done some percussion.
It was extremely funny like "he has no dog and he has no friends and what is worse, people...his LAAAWN is dying...", "He has a router...no one NEEEDS a router...", "he has an ex-wife in some place called Mayor's Income...I've checked atlasses 200 years old...there is NO such place..." (for some reason the atlas was 200, 400 and 600 years old the three nites, hehe), "...he used to have a consulting buissness in IndoNEEEEsia...like that's gonna make me feel safer..." Of course the signalling into the crowd was great and as far as I could tell Tom did the whistling himself, which I found impressive.
For the piano session I got the time of my life. Tom's playing back and forth saying, "ooookaaaay, you want some of the old or the new stuff?", and I got couragous and just shouted "Tango!" and then he looks my direction and said, "ok, Thank You that's a good place to start..." and then he freakin started it!!! Of course I learned later, that he played it every time (but then I shouted it all three shows, hehe), but it made the evening even more sensational for me!
The following songs were as beautiful as you get them, A little Rain, Johnsburg, Illinois and then Invitation to the blues which I was a surprise for me, but maybe just for me, anyways it was only played Friday. I knew we could sing a long to Innocent when you dream, but only a few did, so we got the chorus a LOT of times - excellent.
16 shells almost blew the roof of the house, soo powerful and with breaks and conducting en masse. Shore Leave was another surprise (by this I mean I didn't dare to hope for it Live, and one of my personal highlights of all three shows as it generally is. The falsetto just made you shiver.
Then Pony and another of the big rockers, fillipino box spring hog. The last one was presented as a song of food, which made silly me believe he'd play eggs and sausage, but I was pleased with PBSH - Very pleased, just a little disappointed that we weren't all dancing in front of the stage. The repitition of "COOckin, COOckin, COOckin" while the man just couldn't control his arms and legs was, well, amazing.
Earth died Screaming as first encore was perhaps the biggest surprise to me along with "In the Colloseum", Saturday. Both were quite different live in the pronouncation (sp?) of "scrEAmin'" and "CollosEum, we call 'em as we SEE'em", very short and less "swinging" and more "hard" than on record, but excellent for singing along with, hope it makes sense.
Goin out west made me holler at the break of "I look good without a shirt", and strange weather was as good as shore leave: "All weather is Straange...when you're strange".
Cold water seemed to me as maybe too much of a live song to play it live (???), but it sure was swinging, and then we ended with Jersey Girl which made my eyes very wet.