Wow, amazing show. I still don't really know what to think.
What's the most amazing is that, if you've heard the boots, they are pretty much playing the songs nearly exactly how they appear on the albums... And that I guess I expected that, to do that, this would be a huge ensemble like on Holiday Surprise or even with OTC a few years ago... where there's like seven or eight people on stage doing everything. But that's not really true. For much of the show, it was simply Jeff, Jeremy, Scott and Julian, and the new guy (from Tall Firs?). That's the power, right there. They didn't need this big huge E6 orchestra--they WERE the friggin orchestra. Laura only came out on a handful of songs just to do her part, and really Astra only came out occasionally too. It was predominantly either Jeff-Julian-Scott-Jeremy, or the four of them with New Guy playing bass or 2nd horn to Scott (what Will or John from The Gerbils were doing back then anyways).
We got there early, and we thus got a front-center location, about 14 feet from the stage. The crowd was very very excellent and mellow... EXCEPT there was a group of five rowdy and obviously drunk idiots who shoved their way through the floor to get to the front. OF COURSE they ended up just to my right, and proceeded to annoy literally everyone around them, being loud and obnoxious. Of course by then, I have my recorder out and I'm ready for the band to go on, levels set, and then the announcement comes that due to the band's request, there are no cameras or video taping. At that point The Five Drink Idiots see me with my mic, pointing at me and yell "HEY THIS GUY IS BREAKING THE RULES!!! BOOTLEGGER!!!!!!" Luckily security is doing as I had thought--looking for devices at face-level, not microphones at chest level--and I was easily able to hide my mic/recorder until Jeff came on-stage. When the show began, the Five Idiots forgot all about me... EXCEPT the Drunk Girlfriend who remembered, and made a point of slamming into me as much as possible.
So then they created a most pit around me during KoCF3. I ordinarily would have been pissed as fuck, but somehow I saw this as a challenge, to somehow keep taping the show in the middle of the mosh pit. Fuck if these Five Drunk Idiots are going to ruin my fun, enjoyment and recording of the show (btw me recording the show really didn't effect anyone around me; yet yellong and being a fucking idiot in general does effect others. Something to think about). Special thanks to my freind Chris who acted as a shield at some points.
The Five Idiots kept yelling at the band... If you read any reviews of the show, there is mention of some people yelling at the band, including "I'm happy!" and "Jeff be my dad!" and "Play something I like!"... that's the people right next to me. They were trying to make them laugh, and even yelled "Jeremy Barnes with a mustache!!" only to make Jeremy smile and shake his head.
The setlist was similar to the whole tour, but I swear it was a little different... Subtle instrumental differences? Not sure. It was all this crazy blur of astonishment. Rubby Bulbs/Snow Song was extremely amazing. Jeff seemed usually stoic and entranced while singing... Could not see if his eyes were rolled back or what, he was wearing his Cuban Hat and the shadow from the bill covered his eyes. He looked liked a hermit. Scott looked like he was concentrating, but was also singing along off-mic. Julian was bopping around the whole time, and the best part was that he had three sizes of singing saws at the foot of the stage for him to grab and play as necessary. And during one song he needed to play it halfway though, he ran up and clunked his bow to each one to gauge the pitch of the saw, to find the "correct" one. I was close enough to actually hear that, I swear.
Jeremy at first seemed a bit weary and/or grumpy, his face stoic and his drumming slightly restrained. But after a few songs he must have done his equivalent of "warming up" because he was making Keith Moon type faces for the rest of the set and his percussion became more daring. (or maybe some substance kicked in? idk). But he became this amazing centerpiece of the band, this insane drummer simply growing crazy. I wish I could have filmed him in particular, I was close enough and had a wide shot of him, and he face would switch from a smile to a contortion like a mouse make when he moves his whiskers, if that makes any sense. He would also do the seamlessly-tossing-a-drumstick-up-in-the-air-while-grabbing-another-one multiple times. One of the best drummers I've ever seen.
Elf Power was also pretty great. Loud, rocking versions of their new album songs... like 80% of their set was from the new album. I was able to pick up a copy, and I was VERY surprised that it was mostly subdued with a drum machine rhythm track. I just saw them do a power-pop version of that! Why can't the album sound like that? I also didn't expect BP Helium to be with the band, which was very awesome (he was wearing a John & Yoko shirt). BP is a rockstar!
So anyways, here's my recording of the show.
http://www42.zippyshare.com/v/40578513/file.html
It's an alright recording... Since I was literally 14 feet from the stage, center of the floor, it's a more dry sounding recording, lacking much of the room ambiance as other boots. You can clearly hear The Five Idiots to the left (channels reversed) but they only really are annoying in between songs. Also, during the real punky numbers, the audio is a bit phased because I'm being knocked around lol. These are mp3s... I'll only upload trader-friendly flacs if enough people are interested.
Can't wait for TONIGHT'S SHOW. Not sure I can handle two NMH shows back to back I might break.