A perfect page from all of the master's disciplines
This is not a professional review, just the observations of a fan of twenty-seven years. I would have taken notes and a set list, but I dragged myself there with a bad case of the flu.
EC was in fine voice, as was Davey Faragher, but the show was plagued with technical problems. Normally an excellent venue for all artists, the sound was distorted for much of the show. EC actually sat on the stage's apron and in the front row while roadies tried to fix the buzzing that EC himself described as "the sound of a gentleman with a thick beard trying to shave under the stage with an electric razor."
The set that night was very similar to Orlando's, with just a few exceptions. Elvis opened with Blue Chair to a crowd on their feet as soon as he crossed the stage. It was, for me, a wonderful mixture of the old and the new, some country, some folk, jazz and blistering angry rock, for those who think EC has mellowed. Songs were featured from Blood and Chocolate, My Aim is True, Painted from Memory, Delivery Man and a lone "When I was Cruel" from When I Was Cruel, to name a few. It was of Delivery Man's showcase, of course, but interspersed with complimentary pieces from the past and not so past. I loved his comment about all the bad things that Able does, with the segway into Blame it on Cain.
Davey Faragher's is not only a fine bass player, but spun amazing harmony with his vocals.
EC wasted little time talking to the audience, which with music that good, we'd all rather hear him play. Although I've seen him many times, in different venues, this was the first time I ever saw him step back from the mike, for some of his vocals, which gave a beautiful, haunting color to the sound.
I was embarrassed that many of the crowd thought (but hey Miami audiences can really be idiots) that instrumental rifts where the time to talk about what happened that day at the office. I hope they weren't audible from the stage, because it's bad enough to be rude to the audience, but to the performers is just unconscionable. That being said, it was nice to see a new generation of fans, who knew the words to songs written at least twenty years before they were born. Audience idiots and technical problems aside, it was an amazing performance. I couldn't help but marvel that Steve, Pete, EC and Davey are some of the most talented musicians in the business.
Needle Time was dark and delicious, Clubland and its neighbors a blast back to youth, The Scarlet Tide, achingly beautiful. A perfect page from all of the master's disciplines, all I could hope for except a song from Spike.