BOC: San Francisco 1/29/98

[Chris Baker]

(posted to AOL)

Stairway to the Stars
Before the Kiss, a Redcap
E.T.I.
Harvest Moon
Buck's Boogie
OD'd on Life Itself
The Vigil
Live For Me
Flaming Telepaths
I'd Like to See You in Black
Then Came the Last Days of May
In Thee
Burnin' for You
Godzilla
(Don't Fear) the Reaper

Cities On Flame with Rock and Roll
Dominance and Submission


Sizeable and enthusiastic crowd (Slim's is about 800 capacity(?) and had
little room to navigate), Eric's announcement of the album's release date got
a big roar.  Sound was okay, wished Buck was louder in the mix but I usually
do.  Not a loud show as they go, although I've been in the front row the last
four or five times I've seen them, and hung back tonight.  Seemed to get
louder towards the end of the evening.  First couple of songs were so-so
sound and not loud enough, Danny was clearly having some difficulties
(monitor?) during "Stairway" but they seemed to get sorted out.  Eric's intro
to "Harvest Moon" didn't seem to get much recognition from the crowd (it might
have in front) but the song itself went over big.  It seems the last verse has
evolved over the last couple of years, or else BD scrambled the lyrics, I
suspect the former.  I seem to remember that Allen used to play keyboards on
"I'd Like to See You"...??  He's on guitar now, don't know when that changed
(or if I'd just forgotten).  The licks that Buck played before the song kicked
into high gear were sweet, and the split-second of silence (save for the high-
hat) at the end of the solo always kills me.  "Live For Me" is such a good
song; first time I'd heard it and I saw why so many people have praised it so
highly.  Fine, fine song, can't wait to hear the album version.
"Last Days of May" disappointed me a little early in the solo -- the part
where it is still slow seemed very short, and I always love the melody in that
part of the solo.  Then it sped up and I forgot all about being disappointed,
since it was a remarkably good solo even by the shockingly high standards he
has set for himself in this song.  Pole-axed the crowd.  "The Vigil" was fun
to hear live; I was surprised by the drum thing Bobby R. was doing in it, kind
of a double tom-tom hit that gave the song a kinda samba flavor or
something...or whatever that rhythm is...that makes it sound bizarre and it
wasn't, just unexpected.  The Big Three were back huddling; what God has
joined together...Danny's bass solo in "Godzilla" was powerful and tasteful.
If I was asked I'd say the stick-twirling that erupted in "DFtR" should happen
in another song.  Maybe it does, but it's distracting in this one.

"In Thee" also surprised me with how enthusiastic a reception it got, very
good sound on that.

The encore isn't my favorite position for "CoF", almost seem kinda redundant
by that point.  "D&S" was smoking.  The house didn't bring up the lights (or
music) right away after the final song, which is annoying...I mean if the band
isn't going to come out...not that I was expecting them to, I've never seen
'em do that at Slim's, the encore is the encore and that's fair enough.

The crowd tonight seemed to get more into the music as the night progressed,
which is nice.  At some shows you can tell people have had it an hour in,
they're ready to split (not referring to BOC here, just rock and roll in
general).

I wonder if audiences at some previous shows were shocked at hearing "Burnin'
for You" so early in the set...I know I would have been; some people were
probably thinking "Damn, they're only playing seventy minutes?".

Can't wait for Palo Alto next week!

-Chris Baker