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They didn't stray too much from the printed setlist, though two notable changes were "Tears Before Bedtime" and "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" which Elvis said they had just learned that day. They opened with "Peace, Love and Understanding" and "Monkey to Man."
Elvis seemed a little out of sorts and his vocal delivery on the first four or five songs seemed to drag behind the band a bit.
That all changed when they got to a brand new version of "I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea." The crowd went nuts and Elvis responded "that's what we said when we heard it." He mentioned that they worked out that arrangement that afternoon and the whole band seemed pretty giddy about it.
After that it was smooth sailing. The audience response to The River In Reverse was more restrained than their response to his classics. Having been listening to the new collaboration with Toussaint for a few weeks now, I found all the tunes held up well against the classics.
"Monkey To Man" was a pleasant surprise, compared to the iTunes only, in-studio live performance version I carry on my iPod (which has no backing vocals).
The Crescent City Horns were really something special. Elvis told how he gave Allen nine of his songs and asked him if he could write horn parts for a few that he thought would seem appropriate. He wrote parts for all nine and they were pretty amazing. There were a couple of moments where there was a new melody where a guitar riff used to be, but it was an easy adjustment.
Before "The River In Reverse," EC and Allen's diatribe about Katrina, Elvis cracked that the band has no special effects or fireworks, just one prop. A Presidential Action Figure, a 12" doll of George W. Bush sitting next to his amps. "It's actual size," he cracked.
Other highlights included the new arrangement of "Alison" leading into "Tracks of My Tears", Professor Longhair piano on the new song "Ascension Day," "High Fidelity," "That's How You Got Killed Before" from the recent My Flame Burns Blue album, down and dirty horns on "Bedlam" and one of my all-time favorites, "Clown Strike."
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