FANS ARE NOW RATING THE SHOWS AS WELL

1-5

5 BEING THE BEST

Rated "5" by Max Comeau aka "MakeAMeAMask"

Wow ...

I thought the Vermont show was absolutely incredible. It was. This was better.

As I suspected, ticket sales were clearly not through the roof. The Metropolis was only about 60% full... at best. However, also as I suspected, it was a loving and grateful audience. The venue's managers made a really bad call leaving the entire dancefloor free 'cause most people opted to stay in the seated/bar area at the back. That was fine for me and my fellow 60-or-so obsessives. I was exactly 17.5 inches away from him and had an incredible view... hell, I even got quite a bit of his fat, white saliva in my face during the more intense songs. Beautiful! This is heaven, folks...

When Lindsey finally took the stage - 35 minutes late, thank you very much - some drunk dude behind me yelled out: "Man, I've been waiting for this all my life!" to which our man Lindsey replied: "So have I!". Cheers, applause...

NOT TOO LATE Without a doubt one of the set's highlights. Superb, highly confident fingerpicking at its best. It struck me immediately that he seemed to really be in an actorly mode ... you guys know what I mean: he was acting out every single line - very naturally and unforced - which made everything seem all the more powerful. "So called visions... always defered!!" He chuckles defiantly: "You know you should NEVER believe what you READ!" and he followed this with a big belly laugh and a some head shaking. Very effective. When he reached the final repitition of my favorite line: "My children look away... they don't know what to say" he seemed so helpless and broken at his children's mixed feelings about daddy's work that it felt as though he was lying in a psychiatrist's chair.

TROUBLE Ever so slightly sped-up from Sunday's performance, it's easy to tell he's in absolutely fine voice and the song comes out beautifully. A grin stretches from ear to ear as he sings the chorus to a wave of acknowledging applause and cheers. He has the crowd in the palm of his hand he's more than willing to take us on this journey. The solo is absolutely beautiful and one can easily tell it still almost unnerves him ... especially the end part of it ... he concentrates so intensely on what his left hand is doing on the guitar neck - god bless him.

NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN As theatrical as it gets... this song tonight is like a rollercoaster ride: up and down the emotionnal ladder. When he reaches the second verse's line: "So come around and see me again..." not only does he stretch 'again' for as long as he can hold his breath but he also completely stops picking at his guitar choosing instead to hold on to the mic stand with one hand while the other reaches out to the crowd. "Been down one time, been down two times... never going back again" is sung entirely in a falsetto so high I couldn't help be be nervous for him, praying his voice wouldn't break. It didn't... and he reached the very last repition of the chorus he's now picking so agressively at his strings it's a miracle none snap and break.

SECOND HAND NEWS At this point, Lindsey is so incredibly giddy you can't help but be giddy yourself. As Reyes plays that opening drum beat, Lindsey decides to stretch it out for as long as he can. He's looking over teasingly at Reyes yelling things like: "Go on... go on!" Brett starts clapping his hands as he laughs... Reyes is all smiles, a real kid. The song kicks started and Lindsey's saliva is flying all over the place, probably all the way down Juniper. He's bouncy, playful and keeps smiling back and forth at Neale and Brett. After the song's final solo, Lindsey is extremely pleased with himself as he stomps his feet. I extend my hand to him and he rewards me with one of recorded history's hardest, most powerful hand slaps. I almost pee myself.

CAST AWAY DREAMS His intro monologue remains my favorite of the show. It has taken my love for the song from about an 8/10 to a perfect 10. Brilliant imagery, Buckingham... take that Nicks! The harmonizing with Neale and Brett is extremely tight and the sound tonight is clearly through-the-roof. So much better than Vermont's Flynn Theater. I find myself singing the chorus very loudly and quite emotionally. He acknowledges that I know that words with a smile between lines. When the song ends and the applause slowly dies down I yell out a surprisingly eloquent:

"You know, for a guitar god you've got a helluva way with words!"

He smiles at me, puts his hand on his chest and mouths the words: "Thank You". Incredible.

RED ROVER Still my absolute favorite SYW song. Love that he persists on playing this song... it's an absolute career highlight and it most definitely earns it's "weird" label. Moreso than anything else in his catalogue, pretty much. The chorus still comes off as being a wee little bit messy but his vocals and investment in the lyrics is through the roof. A definite highlight... even though I'm probably the only nerd in the room that feels that way.

IT WAS YOU First shock of the evening: it occurs to me that Lindsey only pretends to play his electric on this song. I urge you all to pay attention to this next time you see him live. It's Neale that's playing the incredibly simple part for him. I believe he chooses to have it this way to allow himself full concentration on the song's somewhat tricky vocals and quirks. He kept his eyes closed for most of this song, opening them only when he reached the parts about his children. Oh and don't you all love the "boom-boom!" part he's added? He sings: "Love her and watch her grow! Boom-Boom!" (as he pounds his chest)

BIG LOVE Crowd completely goes awhol. His voice is incredibly strong and he really goes for it... his voice doesn't even break at the really high: "Looking out for lo-oh-ve, yeah!". His fingers are flying and the precision is absolutely spellbinding. What more needs to be said about this tried-tested-true and still so wonderful piece?

GO INSANE The poem comes off beautifully... someone yells out: "Shakespeare, man!" just as Lindsey starts plucking the strings. I believe it was most definitely meant as high praise... just came out rather drunkenly. Lindsey ignores it. The song is slow-burning but you can feel it firing up inside of him as he plays the gorgeous solo. He asbolutely screams the final chorus and is strumming so ridiculously hard that once again it's a marvel that they don't all snap. Just beautiful ... I'll admit though that he does a final screaming thing in the end which I find just slightly over-the-top but... let's call it his Stevie moment.

UNDER THE SKIN An absolute highlight. People absolutely love it. When he introduces it as being about somebody he's known for many, many years I have to fight off the urge to yell out: "Stevie!". I'm happy I didn't ... might've burst the bubble for him. The song comes off beautifully and the "your passion swallows you whole" part seems almost to overwhelm him as he shakes his head.

WORLD TURNING Tonight this one really floors me. After feeling it's a little unnecessary on the set list at the Vermont show, tonight it feels like one of the shows ultimate statements (probably thanks to you, Michele! haha). Reyes' solo even comes off really well ... (I thought it was laughable in Vermont) and Lindsey's sitting cross-legged on the stage downing a whole bottle of Fiji water as he bops his heads. He starts conducting Brett's keyboard sampling with his head. Awesome. This is one of the moments in the show where Lindsey has the most fun with the band - especially Neale.

I'M SO AFRAID Best solo I've ever heard him play on this ... ever. The only one that comes close to my ears would be the 1980 LIVE album one. Just incredible. The verses also sound wonderful ... he sings the chorus tonight the way he used to sing it, not in the shouty way he's been doing it of late. Absolutely wonderful. Once again when the song concludes Lindsey slaps my extended hand ...

I KNOW I'M NOT WRONG Wonderful. I get the impression most of the crowd doesn't really know it so I double my enthusiasm and sing along loudly as I jump up and down and do the pointy-finger thing to every one on stage. Brett keeps smiling at me and sticking out his tongue - gee whiz that guy pulls some weird faces.

TUSK People seemed absolutely shocked when Reyes doesn't come in with the usual drum beat at the very beginning. Lindsey virtually crawls to his mic stand as he starts singing the song. He's miming every word he can with his calloused, feminine hands. His singing is truly menacing and his laugh before the drums finally kick in is pure, concentrated evil. He's out for the kill. As he dances around stage strumming his guitar I can see in his eyes the man's getting tired ... who can blame him? His animal noises, grunts and hollers are great though my dream of him yelling out: "Real savage-like!" sadly doesn't come true. lol

GO YOUR OWN WAY I finally realize he's now playing this in E - I thought he'd been playing it in D. Oh well ... it's of course a total highlight as the crowd goes absolutely apeshit and sings loudly along with Lindsey. They even shout out the 1 - 2, 1 -2 -3 - GO! The finale solo here goes on, I kid you not, about double the time it did in Vermont. Even Brett throws a rather surprised look at Neale who just shrugs and smiles. When Lindsey rushed Reyes' kit we know it's over... but NO! He stretches out the final note for at least a minute. Pure hysteria as he jumps up and down and Brett and Neale strum that final chord maniacally.

HOLIDAY ROAD This is one of Rachel's absolute favorites and she's right by my side tonight so it feels incredible. The song comes off wonderfully and it feels less programming-enhanced than it did in Vermont though I suspect that's simply 'cause I'm standing right at the very edge of the stage. His vocals are wonderful and the barking is completely over-the-top. Brett's doing a high-pitched off-time bark that seems to crack the hell out of Reyes. A very sweet moment.

TURN IT ON Oh my god - I worked for about 4 audience members on this one. LOL. What I mean is I could tell no one around me knew it so I yelled out every single word and pointed at him when he sang: "You are the man... do what you can!" and people eventually got into it. What a treat it is to hear him sing this. Oh and this is also the first time in the show Neale acknowledges me with a smile and nod. Beautiful.

SHOW YOU HOW As Lindsey introduces the band I take out my band's Cd from my bag. Soon my time will come. As Brett thanks the audience, audience members all over are yelling back: "Thank YOU!" and Lindsey is loving it, putting his hand on his chest... sending many kisses into the crowd. Just before they kick into the song I yell out: "SHOW US HOW!" and he looks at me with a spark in his eyes that completely takes my breath away, I got so choked up I had to look away. He yells out: "Yeah!" and the song starts. I sing along to every single word (we've been rehearsing it for our album launch next Tuesday) and it's a wonderful moment. In the end when he reaches the a capella climax I realize he is indeed not singing ... he's just mouthing the singing ... the computer's doing the work. Does it bother me? No ... it's the only point in the show where he does it (I'm 99% sure) and it's a trickey three-Lindsey harmony - how could he possibly pull it off?

Just after this song I yelled out (my arm around Rachel and our Cd in my other hand all shrink-wrapped and gorgeous - you guys HAVE to check out the album on our website, the artwork's all there and you can order it too! PLEASE DO! www.thecalmband.com):

"Lindsey - my friend and I, we have a band. We're The Calm and your influence is absolutely all over our work. You've meant the world to both of us and the album is in part dedicated to you - there's even a quote from Under the Skin in our special thanks... we absolutely love you! Thank you!"

He took the Cd - looked at the front cover for about 3 seconds ... his eyes widened, seemingly impressed. Then he flipped the Cd and looked at our group shot on the back and looked down at Rachel and I and said: "Wow ... very cool! Awesome... thanks!" and walked over to his computer tech and said: "Hold on to this for me!" instead of just dumping it on a speaker somewhere.

SHUT US DOWN I quietely and discreetly cried tears of joy and acknowledgement during the entire course of this song, my hand holding Rachel's tightly, drenched in sweat from all the excitement. He sang it absolutely beautifully and played the finale much longer than he usually does ... the place was so absolutely silent you could've heard a pin drop.

Probably the single most amazing concert experience of my entire short 26-year life. I'm still on cloud 9. I could care less about having the man's autograph ... he gave me so much more than that - so much more. And our contact info and websites and addresses are all over the damn' Cd. You'll see, folks ... someday this man will produce us. Even if it's just ONE SINGLE TRACK and we have to travel all the way to him and costs us a tiny fortune ... It will be, my friends. It will be.

Thanks for reading ...

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