This concert was different. It was a close venue. Maybe only 1000 people there at the most. I got seats in the front row in the middle of the balcony, It was very intimate and personal the entire night. Glen Hansard from The Swell Season opened up and his voice is incredible. He was witty and really drew in the crowd to make the night feel special. Eddie came out and sang some of the most intimate songs from all of his albums. One of the most memorable parts of the night was when Eddie and Glen stood in front of the stage with only their voices and a ukelele and sang with just the acoustics of the music hall. It was incredible to just hear their voices...no microphones, no speakers. Simply their voices. I have never had the chance to do that and I probably will never get that opportunity again. I was in awe all over again at that moment. The decorations were awesome. Backdrops that looked like backstreet alleys, a backlit canvas tent with a campfire next to Eddie that was "lit" and blowing flames and smoke out of it. There was a backdrop of twinkling stars that he sang under like it we were all sitting around the campfire with him and his guitar. He had a beer box with a bass pedal for some percussion and a stomp box that he used as well. With every song he played a different instrument. Ukelele, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and a mandolin that he referred to as an "aristrocratic bitch" compared to the ukelele. He messed up the words to Elderly Woman and Just Breathe. He talked about what an honor it was for Willie Nelson to make a cover of Just Breathe and he said that he listened to it so many times that afterwards he couldnt sing it the same. He sang a little how Wille sang it with a twang in his voice and had everyone laughing. He told stories about friends, he made fun of a drunk lady in the crowd, he talked about erections, elections, and marijuana. He politely asked a woman that was annoyingly screaming to please, for her safety, stop because the people behind her were going to murder her. The last song that was played was "Hard Sun". I took the picture on this post during that song. He was interactive with the crowd and so funny. He was just really engaging and I could tell that he wanted to be there and was having a great time and still loved getting to sing for all of us.
The setlist for the night:
- Walking the Cow (Daniel Johnston cover)
- Brain Damage (Pink Floyd cover)
- Don't Be Shy (Cat Stevens cover)
- Long Nights (with Glen Hansard)
- Encore:
- I Believe In Miracles (Ramones cover)
- I Am a Patriot (Little Steven cover)
- Crazy Mary (Victoria Williams cover)
- Rockin' in the Free World (Neil Young cover)
- Encore 2:
