2 days of tea
It is mighty hot outside. yuck.
The first day of the tea party brought leighanne, mary and i to toronto to see them at the Sound Academy, which is a pretty nice place with a terrible location next to a dump...or...something that just smells awful, and in 100 degree heat, that was very unpleasant. thank god the show was inside, i'd never see an outdoor show there. We headed up after they got out of work, arriving around 8:45 but still managing to catch at least half of the 2nd opener...I forget their name, they were not good enough to bother remembering...bleeker street or something? Anyway...Tea went on around 9:45, and I was just so happy to see them together again. They are still one of the best rock bands I've ever seen and I'm continually impressed that only 3 guys can make that much sound live. I did not think I'd ever see them on stage again after the break up, so they could have sat there picking their nose and I would have been happy. They sounded as good as ever, Jeff Martin wasn't singing any high notes, and I've heard people complain about it but they have to realize, we're all getting old, voices just don't work like they used to. He sounded great. Setlist wasn't too surprising, they have been playing The River, but left it out this show for some reason.
Writing's on the Wall
The Bazaar
Lullaby
Psychopomp (!!! the only song i really care about seeing)
The Messenger
Fire in the Head
Correspondences (!!! ok i lie, love that they played this too)
Heaven Coming Down
Sun Going Down
Zahira / The Halcyon Days
Save Me / Last Goodbye (Jeff Buckley cover)
Release
Temptation
Encore:
Winter Solstice / Sister Awake / Paint It Black
We hit ridiculous traffic after the show, because the gardner west was closed and we were forced to take lakeshore out of the city. The holdup was inexplicable, no accident, a lot of cars, but no reason we weren't moving...An hour and a half later we made it through. Aggravating.
Friday brought the show in Lockport, a free show as part of the Canal Concert Series. It was mighty hot out once again so I didn't want to go too early, and then everyone bailed on me, so I ended up driving down alone and arriving around 5:30. There weren't many people there and I was able to walk right up to the rail where Joe and his friend were waiting. Score. Eric met up with us around 6, and 2 opening bands later...the setlist was the same except no Correspondences, no Release and still no River. Jeff Martin mentioned how his voice was hoarse and it got worse and worse throughout the show, so I knew the set was going to be cut short long before they ended with Save Me, and then an encore of Temptation and Sister Awake. Every time his voice went out he sort of smiled and rolled his eyes. I felt bad for him, it seemed almost painful. Aside from the voice issue, they sounded great again. He did the same spiels between songs, as he always has done, and said they were back for good and wouldn't go away again (and I certainly hope so, you can never have too much tea party). Excellent double shows, I'm just so so happy to see them on stage again.
The first day of the tea party brought leighanne, mary and i to toronto to see them at the Sound Academy, which is a pretty nice place with a terrible location next to a dump...or...something that just smells awful, and in 100 degree heat, that was very unpleasant. thank god the show was inside, i'd never see an outdoor show there. We headed up after they got out of work, arriving around 8:45 but still managing to catch at least half of the 2nd opener...I forget their name, they were not good enough to bother remembering...bleeker street or something? Anyway...Tea went on around 9:45, and I was just so happy to see them together again. They are still one of the best rock bands I've ever seen and I'm continually impressed that only 3 guys can make that much sound live. I did not think I'd ever see them on stage again after the break up, so they could have sat there picking their nose and I would have been happy. They sounded as good as ever, Jeff Martin wasn't singing any high notes, and I've heard people complain about it but they have to realize, we're all getting old, voices just don't work like they used to. He sounded great. Setlist wasn't too surprising, they have been playing The River, but left it out this show for some reason.
Writing's on the Wall
The Bazaar
Lullaby
Psychopomp (!!! the only song i really care about seeing)
The Messenger
Fire in the Head
Correspondences (!!! ok i lie, love that they played this too)
Heaven Coming Down
Sun Going Down
Zahira / The Halcyon Days
Save Me / Last Goodbye (Jeff Buckley cover)
Release
Temptation
Encore:
Winter Solstice / Sister Awake / Paint It Black
We hit ridiculous traffic after the show, because the gardner west was closed and we were forced to take lakeshore out of the city. The holdup was inexplicable, no accident, a lot of cars, but no reason we weren't moving...An hour and a half later we made it through. Aggravating.
Friday brought the show in Lockport, a free show as part of the Canal Concert Series. It was mighty hot out once again so I didn't want to go too early, and then everyone bailed on me, so I ended up driving down alone and arriving around 5:30. There weren't many people there and I was able to walk right up to the rail where Joe and his friend were waiting. Score. Eric met up with us around 6, and 2 opening bands later...the setlist was the same except no Correspondences, no Release and still no River. Jeff Martin mentioned how his voice was hoarse and it got worse and worse throughout the show, so I knew the set was going to be cut short long before they ended with Save Me, and then an encore of Temptation and Sister Awake. Every time his voice went out he sort of smiled and rolled his eyes. I felt bad for him, it seemed almost painful. Aside from the voice issue, they sounded great again. He did the same spiels between songs, as he always has done, and said they were back for good and wouldn't go away again (and I certainly hope so, you can never have too much tea party). Excellent double shows, I'm just so so happy to see them on stage again.