Review: Son Volt - 12/19/98 - First Ave. - Mpls, MN

Son Volt - First Ave. - Minneapolis, MN - 12/19/1998

SV turned in another great set, closing out a 2 nite stand at First Ave.
This was (I think) their 13th performance here in Mpls since June 95. The
boys rocked their asses off again although the highs and lows from Friday
nite were smoothed out a bit. This was a more "solid" performance IMO. They
dropped "Chickamagua" and "I Gotta Right" and added "No More Parades"
(absolutely beautiful) and "Live Free." "Live Free," near the end of the
nite, was the first "new" song of the weekend (they didn't play it in Oct.
either). So, for all you setlistologists, by my figurin' this year SV played
67 songs in Mpls, with only 26 different titles! Static set lists? Hell,
they're carved in granite!

Still, I'm not complaining, although I imagine a certain familiarity would
set in if you had to tour with these guys. It's sorta funny that a minor
ripple in the set list (a weird cover, a UT song, or a semi-forgotten Trace
track) can cause excitement within the ranks of the faithful. On the second
nite, when it became obvious we weren't gonna hear any big surprises, I
concentrated on some of the intricacies within the songs. SV is a pretty
well-oiled machine. They've really spent a lot of time on arrangements,
which are often rather complex, revealing cool little details with repeated
exposure. As anyone who has seen them knows, they concentrate on the music
instead of any - and I mean any - kind of stage show. This is definitely a
band who lets the music do the talking. Jay smiled a few times (news flash!)
and during (I think) "Picking Up the Signal" he actually got so carried away
he performed one of those dip-your-shoulder rock-star moves! This actually
caused a few chuckles amongst us hard-cores positioned behind the
soundboard. The big rockers ("Signal," "Drown," "Route," "Straightface,"
"Last Time Around") are really quite powerful - it's sheer joy to hear Jay
and Dave B. work their magic with that twin electric guitar/twangy thing
that they have perfected.

Well, back to holiday chores. I enjoyed the last two nites and probably
coulda "endured" a couple more "granite" set lists. Now, if they only would
of dug up "Still Be Around." Or "This is Where I Belong." Or...

For fellow obsessives, I've posted all 3 Mpls 1998 SV set lists below.


1998 First Ave. Son Volt shows
10-8-98 12-18-98 12-19-98
1. Medicine Hat 1. Flow 1. Blind Hope
2. Tear Stained Eye 2. Caryatid Easy 2. Medicine Hat
3. Flow 3. Right on Through 3. Flow
4. Blind Hope 4. Picking Up the Signal 4. Caryatid Easy
5. Hanging Blue Side 5. Medicine Hat 5. Tear Stained Eye
6. Creosote 6. Tear Stained Eye 6. Hanging Blue Side
7. Strands 7. Blind Hope 7. Creosote
8. Back in Your World 8. Hanging Blue Side 8. Back in Your World
9. 10 Second News 9. Creosote 9. No More Parades
10. No More Parades 10. Back in Your World 10. 10 Second News
11. Cemetery Savior 11. 10 Second News 11. Driving the View
12. Route 12. Driving the View 12. Cemetery Savior
13. Drown 13. Cemetery Savior 13. Strands
14. Windfall 14. Question 14. Right on Through
15. Right on Through 15. Drown 15. Picking Up the Signal
16. Picking Up the Signal 16. Route 16. Drown
17. Driving the View 17. Straightface 17. Straightface
18. Question 18. Dead Man's Clothes 18. Windfall
19. Caryatid Easy 19. Windfall 19. Dead Man's Clothes
20. Last Time Around 20. Strands 20. Question
21. I Gotta Right 21. Last Time Around 21. Live Free
22. Chickamagua 22. Route
23. I Gotta Right 23. Last Time Around

Review: Son Volt - 12/18/98 - First Ave. - Mpls, MN

Son Volt
First Ave. - Minneapolis, MN - 12/18/1998

1. Flow
2. Caryatid Easy
3. Right on Through
4. Picking Up the Signal
5. Medicine Hat
6. Tear Stained Eye
7. Blind Hope
8. Hanging Blue Side
9. Creosote
10. Back in Your World
11. 10 Second News
12. Driving the View
13. Cemetary Savior
14. Question
15. Drown
16. Route
17. Straightface
(encore)
18. Dead Man's Clothes
19. Windfall
20. Strands
21. Last Time Around
(encore)
22. Chickamagua
(encore)
23. I Gotta Right
95 minutes

Brief review -
Well, the boys are back in the US of A.

It's been less than 10 weeks since SV's last First Ave. appearance (10/8);
not surprisingly, the set list didn't change much. Differences: tonite they
played everything they played in Oct except "No More Parades" and they added
3 songs - "Straightface," "Chickamagua" and "Dead Man Clothes." Even though
the song selection was similar the tour has definitely changed in this
phase. No more "sit down set" at the beginning, although there still were
plenty of "soft" moments. The finale was a bit more intense this time
though; for about 20 minutes they were rocking like a hurricane. Even though
most of WST was unfamiliar to the crowd in October (they played here the
week it came out) a lot of us were disappointed not to hear the distorto
opener, "Straightface." Well, nobody was bummed after they did it tonite. As
has been discussed here lately, it is one of the show's highlights, especially Jay's lip-burning harp solo.

Also, a number of songs are presented in different arrangements. "Creosote"
is even slower now - it barely breathes at all but is still exquisitely
beautiful. "Medicine Hat" (surely one of the songs of the year) now features
a solo intro with a dramatic full band entry. It's much more of a production
now than the simpler "unplugged" versions from earlier in the tour. Both
versions are crucial - I think Jay and the band could do a polka version and
it would still be mesmerizing. "Cemetary Savior" is now done full-blown rock
style and was a huge hit with the crowd. "Drown" is no longer being done in
the acoustic blues version; it's back in all of it's Trace glory complete
with that crunching e-guitar riff. And most surprising, our tender, delicate
little friend "Windfall" is also being served up as a, gasp!, big rocker.
Through all of SV's recent tours this song has been done basically the same.
Not anymore.

The covers were the same as October. Bummer, but given the recent
discussions on the list concerning rigid set lists, I guess I'm not
surprised. The Del-Vettes cover was a bit flatter I thought, although
Chickamagua (no UT at all in Oct.) and the Iggy cover totally smoked. This
could've been the best Chickamagua I've ever seen. We waited all nite to see
Jay play lead, and then we get a blistering double dose right at the end. No
disrespect to secret weapon Dave B., but more Jay, more!

Given the increased familiarity with the new stuff the crowd was pretty
revved up by the end. Of all of their First Ave./7th St. Entry shows (10, 11, 12 - I'm too tired to check) this was one of the best. Maybe tomorrow nite we'll get
a surprise or two.