Tom Waits on Tour 2006!!

[territa]

....... I'll tell you all my secrets, but I'll lie about my past.........


9th & Hennepin (Minneapolis)

Well it's Ninth and Hennepin
All the doughnuts have names that sound like prostitutes
And the moon's teeth marks are on the sky
Like a tarp thrown all over this
And the broken umbrellas like dead birds
And the steam comes out of the grill
Like the whole goddamn town's ready to blow...
And the bricks are all scarred with jailhouse tattoos
And everyone is behaving like dogs
And the horses are coming down Violin Road
And Dutch is dead on his feet
And all the rooms they smell like diesel
And you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept here
And I'm lost in the window, and I hide in the stairway
And I hang in the curtain, and I sleep in your hat...
And no one brings anything small into a bar around here
They all started out with bad directions
And the girl behind the counter has a tattooed tear
One for every year he's away, she said
Such a crumbling beauty, ah
There's nothing wrong with her that a hundred dollars won't fix
She has that razor sadness that only gets worse
With the clang and the thunder of the Southern Pacific going by
And the clock ticks out like a dripping faucet
til you're full of rag water and bitters and blue ruin
And you spill out over the side to anyone who will listen...
And I've seen it all, I've seen it all
Through the yellow windows of the evening train...

[O'Blivion]

I LOVE that song - and the version of it he does in "Big Time", holding a flaming umbrella.

I read a review of his recent Chicago show where he was bemoaning gentrification. "Yeah, in Minneapolis, I mention 9th & Hennepin and people say 'Oh yeah, my wife got sandals there.'. SANDALS? I got SHOT there!"

Speaking of Tom's show in Chicago, WHERE is the review of it that Esther owes us? I heard he did Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talkin'" as aqn encore!

When I saw him in 1987 (or was it 86?) in NYC he did "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" as an encore. YOW!

[Esther]

Speaking of Tom's show in Chicago, WHERE is the review of it that Esther owes us? I heard he did Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talkin'" as aqn encore!

I just got home quite late last night and our Chicagoan daughter returned w/us and I have lots of stuff to do to be ready for a big family reunion tomorrow...so, suffice it to say that the show was WONDERFUL!! You can read about it here: http://eyeballkid.blogspot.com/2006/08/ ... tlist.html. My review will need to wait for Monday. Family comes first, you know.

[SkaPunkAndOtherJunk]

i wish he came to NY! I just got into Tom Waits a month ago. Yes Yes i know, i'm waaayyy behind in the game.

[Esther]

Well, there is nothing I can write that will do justice to the amazing experience I had in attending my first Tom Waits' show ever. As I said elsewhere, his show was my most longed for concert after 30 years as a Tom Waits fan. (My introduction to him was by way of a guest appearance on The Dinah Shore Show.)

When I heard of the string of 8 shows he was to do, I was guarded in my enthusiasm, knowing tickets were hard to come by. Those to the Chicago show were on sale last, only available through Ticketmaster by phone or online and w/a two ticket limit per household. I figured people who'd been shut out at other shows would be making one last attempt, and then my daughter said there was a full page ad in The Reader, so I had little hope.

At sale time, my husband was on the phone as I tried in vain online. (It was no doubt to our disadvantage to have a pesky slow dialup connection.) An email from my daughter informed us that she'd gotten tickets for her roommate and herself. We kept trying, although over and over I got the no tickets available message. And then I got an email from our daughter w/the subject line of "Urgent!" She had kept trying and had two minutes to refuse/accept two tickets w/limited view if we wanted them. So, using our name/address/credit card, she got them for us!

My excitement was shortlived when we realized she had ordered them through her email account and the terms specifically said TM could cancel orders w/no notice if there were more than two tickets ordered from the same address/name/credit card or EMAIL address! Well, after emails and a phone call to Ticketmaster, we were assured that we would indeed have the tickets waiting for us at Will Call. I still could hardly believe it.

The next 3 weeks or so I was rather obsessive about reading fan forums and concert reviews, so that when we left on our Chicago road trip the morning of the 9th, I had my set lists and cds ready for the 5-6 hour drive. We met my daughter and her friend and went downtown to get our tickets early, and I was still hesitant to be too jubilant until we had them in hand. We got 'em!

We had supper and arrived at the Chicago Auditorium in time to be seated by 7:30. Despite Tom's attempt to curtail scalping, it was going on and because premium seats were Will Call only, there were long lines and lots of smokers having last cigarettes before entering (no reenter policy.) We were happy we'd gotten our tickets early. Our limited view seats turned out to be just slightly limited for my husband, who was kind to allow me the best seat. He had a post blocking the view of the stage far right. I was pleased that the post was not directly in front of us, but rather dismayed to be up on the FIFTH level which was really, really hot! Bottled water and the sheer joy of anticipation helped me through the heat. There were no merchandise sales and the concession stands shut down at showtime, 8:40ish, 40 minutes late.

The band members entered through backlit stage curtains at the rear, w/ eery silhouettes preceding them: Larry Taylor - standup bass, Duke Robillard -guitar, Bent Clausen - percussion, and Tom's son Casey Waits - drums. And then we saw a shadowy figure w/arms outstretched all scarecrowylike (see liner notes of Mule Variations), and Tom came through the curtain to a great ovation. He was dressed in dark clothes: black jacket and porkpie hat. I took no notice of his socks, O'Blivion! We remembered to take binoculaurs w/us and it was a good thing, or we'd not have been able to see his facial expressions.

The setlist to the best of my knowledge:
Make It Rain
Hoist That Rag
Shore Leave
God's Away On Business
All The World Is Green
Falling Down
Tango 'Til They're Sore
Tom Traubert's Blues
Eyeball Kid
Way Down In The Hole
Don't Go Into That Barn
Shake It
Trampled Rose
What's He Building In There?
Who's Been Talkin'/'Til The Money Runs Out
Murder In The Red Barn
Lie To Me Baby
Get Behind The Mule

Day After Tomorrow
Singapore

Whistlin' Past the Graveyard
Time

The Auditorium was a wonderful venue, a beautiful old theatre: great acoustics and sound, minimal but effective lighting. Center stage was some kind of piece w/assorted old gramaphone horns, I think, that added great effect. It was all very theatrical. The crowd was attentive and appreciative and quiet when appropriate (except for that one guy who kept yelling, "TOM!")

The band seemed just right to me, though elsewhere I've read critical comments about the guitarist in particular. To be honest, though, I didn't pay that much attention to them, more focused on Tom and the lyrics instead. I was disappointed that there was not much banter, though his story about a Chicago eatery (The Wiener Circle w/foulmouthed wait staff) was very funny. I wished, too, that he'd done more piano playing: just Tango 'Til They're Sore and Tom Traubert's Blues.

Highlights for me: I love Real Gone and was pleased that he chose to do so many of its songs. Make It Rain and Hoist That Rag to start things out was so great! I grinned throughout. I understand that Tom Traubert's Blues is rarely performed and it was so, so beautiful. During Eyeball Kid, Tom held a giant magnifying glass to his face which was both creepy and funny. I really enjoyed Shake It and What's He Building In There? (Casey played something called a waterphone, I believe.) I'd have paid full ticket price to hear just these two encore songs: Day After Tomorrow and Time. Day After Tomorrow is one of the best songs EVER and, Time - just lovely and unexpected (first performance of this tour, I think). It was just right for his final number.

Tom grimaced, whistled, gyrated, grunted and sang his heart out. His live performance was all that I'd hoped for. Two hours of bliss were over before I knew it! I loved every sweaty, not-much-oxygen-to-breathe, lots of stairs to climb, limited view, distant seating moment!!

[Eric V]

Wow. I hope he plays more shows and I get a chance to see him. Wow.

[Esther]

Wow. I hope he plays more shows and I get a chance to see him. Wow.

He added a surpise midnight show in Cleveland last Sunday night, so perhaps more are on the way. If so, do what you can to be there!!

I meant to give this link for an excellent, lengthy review of the Asheville show/interview w/Tom's tour manager: http://harpmagazine.com/reviews/concert ... icle=10384

[philipchevron]

Esther, sounds like a great show - what a set list!!

[SkaPunkAndOtherJunk]

yeah! sounds like an awesome show! come on Tom, play in NY! hehe.

How was "Singapore" live? that's one of my favorites from him.

[O'Blivion]

GREAT review, Esther! It was worth waiting and whining for. That setlist is just amazing, and I bet the stuff from Real Gone is amazing live. The details you included put me there for a moment, and I thank you for that.

I could really understand the part of your post about not relaxing until you had the tickets in hand - one of my buddies got online and had two tickets to the Asheville NC show in his sights, but when he clicked "buy" and put his CC info in, he was refused because he was from outside the Asheville area.

THEN he told me he was going to give ME the second ticket!

I would've had a REALLY hard time with that - I wouldn't have wanted to go without my Sweetheart...but turning down a Tom Waits show would've turned me inside out. So I'm glad I didn't have that decision to make.

Both of the Tom Waits shows I saw were in NYC - at the Eugene O'Neill Theater, and the Beacon. So I am also praying (as fervently as an agnostic can!) for a New York show.

[Esther]

A more eloquent review of the Chicago show than I could write (and a great photo): http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/s ... ws/060818/

[DzM]

A more eloquent review of the Chicago show than I could write (and a great photo): http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/s ... ws/060818/

Yeah, but Monica was probably drunk that night and went home early.

[Guest]

Well, there is nothing I can write that will do justice to the amazing experience I had in attending my first Tom Waits' show ever. As I said elsewhere, his show was my most longed for concert after 30 years as a Tom Waits fan. (My introduction to him was by way of a guest appearance on The Dinah Shore Show.)

Nicely done review, but I'm still half-shocked to learn that Tom Waits was on The Dinah Shore Show. I remember that when I was a kid, my grandmother used to watch The Dinah Shore show. And my hazy recollection (I was about five or six when I watched it with her and it's been 30 years) is that it was a pretty 'square' show.

[O'Blivion]

Well, there is nothing I can write that will do justice to the amazing experience I had in attending my first Tom Waits' show ever. As I said elsewhere, his show was my most longed for concert after 30 years as a Tom Waits fan. (My introduction to him was by way of a guest appearance on The Dinah Shore Show.)

Nicely done review, but I'm still half-shocked to learn that Tom Waits was on The Dinah Shore Show. I remember that when I was a kid, my grandmother used to watch The Dinah Shore show. And my hazy recollection (I was about five or six when I watched it with her and it's been 30 years) is that it was a pretty 'square' show.

Well, then, it will surprise you to learn that the two episodes of the Dinah Shore show which I can recall from the 70s (days I bagged college and stayed in my room smoking hash instead) were one with Johnny Winter and Muddy Waters performing "The Blues Had A Baby (and They Named It Rock & Roll)" -- and another one with David Bowie and Iggy Pop!

So, yeah, Dinah WAS pretty square, but open-minded, and she evidently had someone REALLY cool on her staff handling the booking.

[philipchevron]

Bowie's Dinah Shore show spot is quite famous and widely bootlegged.