i went to the chicago shows. the shows were fun and i’m glad i went- this is a supergroup that may very well never tour again after this and that was a big part of the appeal for me in deciding to go. they clearly enjoyed playing together and even made the second show work just fine after finding out a key member was going to be absent literally an hour before showtime. plus, ed said he had the covid in the couple weeks leading up to the tour so a 14 day rehearsal schedule became two days. so, all things considered, that they put on two good to great shows is an impressive feat.
that said, the new album songs just do not grab me at all and i am genuinely surprised earthling is getting the broader community love that it is. after listening to the album on the ride back and a couple times since, i do feel these songs are better live, so there’s that. but they were the lowest points of the shows for me. of the two nights, night one was the better show. not for you had a nice modern girl improv tag where ed reminisced a bit. after seeing it performed incredibly at ohana, i was hoping give blood would pop up despite pino palladino not being a part of the tour, so that might be the top song highlight for me in either of these shows. dirty frank was fun to hear for sure. for night two, most likely only the encore will be the memorable part of the evening. both nights’ porch jams were fun.
glen opened both shows with largely the same set and was about as professionally efficient as i’ve ever seen him. some banter and charming comments, but for the most part played his bits and then signed off quickly.
and now the san diego/la shows are postponed, so i'm glad i didn't really have a choice in which shows i would be able to go to otherwise i may very well have traveled to those shows instead.
