Thanks to aih, here are set lists for 8/27 and a few comments:
The band had a great turnout. The space was full, with standing room only. Among those who showed up, there were many from this board. Dan and his wife, from New Mexico; Kara and her brother, from PA; Dr. Neau and crew, from Woodbury; Owlface and husband, from up yonder north; Jane and husband, from Minneapolis; and aih and her old ball and chain, also from Minneapolis. I’m sure I missed someone—oh yes, Spike, sauntering in fashionably late with a tube of kettle corn. Resplendent with cigar and shades. Walking in like a man who just stepped off his Harley. It should be noted that Dan was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Matt’s father, shamelessly recording select songs. Dr. Wilson is not, apparently, particularly protective of Matt’s intellectual property.
I walked in rushed and a bit cranky, having decided that this would be my last state fair. As we were rushing to the stage, the crowds were making me feel impatient and intolerant. I don’t like myself when I feel that way, so I thought that I ought to avoid such circumstances. Then the first set started and I was filled with love and joy at the full spectrum of humanity
one always encounters at the fair. So, here is the 6:30 set:
Alone: Less chunky and more precise than of late. Phenomenal. The band was dialed in and the sound was perfect right off the bat. Matt seemed overjoyed and totally engaged. The band was loving the moment.
Dreams
Yes
My Return
Hitting on all cylinders. And then Matt and John saluted the father of Princess Kay. A perfect fair moment for our hinterland visitors. Matt promised that the next song would be fitting, and John described it as a butter sculpture of sound. It was:
Forgot Me Now. This one included an abbreviated take on the dueling guitars we’ve become accustomed to. It also included a tow headed girl dancing on top of a picnic table off of stage right. A picture of bliss. Terpsichore incarnate. John called out Spike’s sunglasses and tried to riff on them but couldn’t come up with a family friendly rhyme with glasses. Matt then turned the banter back to Princess Kay and constructed this haiku to dairy products:
Frosted glass in the night
The milk man never comes
margarine
It’s too perfect to criticize, so I won’t count syllables.
Travel Plans
Stay Together. “One of the many songs, like Troublemaker, that we’ve perfected over time.” Spoken pointedly at Spike.
Searchers. Matt went off on a long discussion about the scientific method and how it has been applied to some of the old chestnuts to make them objectively perfect—at least so long
as they are not observed. That riff on Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle blew my mind momentarily as I took it to be a hat tip to the fact that Matt really is trolling this board as Heisenberg. Are you reading this Heisenberg?! I was later convinced that Matt is not Heisbenberg, but I can’t help but wonder….
John put a stop to the discussion of the scientific method by saying, “but let’s not make this political.” So, invoking the ghost of Michelle Bachmann (and Rick Perry), the band broke in to Troublemaker. The upbeat version. Spike was either broken or just in a very polite mood as he rose to his feet and applauded. I still love both versions—the heartbreaker and the sentimental uplifter. And I still contend that the latter is a radio hit just waiting to be unleashed on the broader public.
The set ended with the always crowd pleasing Telephone. Steve was going nuts on the bass drum.
