Sweet Thing - is that Van Morrison's Sweet Thing?

Gratefully, I was turned on to that disc (Astral Weeks) by the "What is BAM
listening to" section on the old website.  That was a nice section.

-----Original Message-----
From: The Slip E-Mail Discussion Group
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Chris Knott
Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2003 10:56 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [THESLIP] 3.29.03 - Pearl St. Setlist & Review (Long)


What an amazing show, here's the basically complete setlist...

Set I:
Hoc No Seh
Aptos
Back in Fifteen Minutes^
Surf-y Instrumental*
Mudslide^
So Dope

Set II:
Intro->
Sometimes True to Nothing
Poor Boy?#
Yellow Medicine->
New Piano Instrumental^^
Sweet Thing

Encore: Honey Melon!!!

^On the Sitar
*Before the tune Brad asked if anyone liked Elvis, though I, perhaps
ignorantly, didn't recognize the song at all.
#On the nylon string guitar. Once again, this song was new to me, probably
not a cover because it was in like 13/8 or something silly like that, but it
could've been.
^^On the Wurlitzer, the same slow jazzy tune that segued into Weight of
Solomon Thursday night, minus the Solomon, plus a decent jam.

I haven't felt a more unified vibe in a club than I did last night in as
long
as I can remember. Everyone was so tuned in to what the band was playing and
the band responded by playing the lengthy musical equivalent of a big hug.
Maybe I'm biased because, in an act of ESP, my buddy and I basically called
the entire show on our way up from Rhode Island, but whatever the case it
really felt magical. I mean, any show that features Sometimes True..., So
Dope, Aptos, Hoc no Seh, Yellow Medicine and Honey Melon is just a special
experience by design. But on to some specifics...

Hoc no Seh was probably the cleanest version I've ever seen or heard. It was
great enough that they were just playing it because it's one of my
favorites,
but to hear them play it as well as they did was just wonderful. Over the
Fmaj7-C verse changes before and during the singing, Andrew played some nice
melodies on his new flute, a welcomed addition to the song. Then came the
techno drum sounds of Aptos, another one of my personal favorites that I
haven't seen in wayyyy too long. It was a decent version, with a really
impressive middle swing section in which the band changed feels, tempos,
whatevers in a seemingly scripted fashion. Always nice to hear. Back in
Fifteen minutes is another wonderful tune by Nathan Moore, its simple enough
to be strummed by someone solo with an acoustic guitar, but the Slip made it
sound beautiful and well developed as a unit. Brad decided to try it on the
sitar as opposed to the hollow body, which he used the other night. I'm not
sure which I prefer but it was nice to hear him ever trying new sounds. The
middle section featured a great fuzz solo by Marc, I swear I thought I was
listening to Dave Gilmour or something, not a bassist with a fuzz box.
Great.
Next came an enjoyable surf instrumental, presumably a cover, though I'm not
entirely sure. It was really well played and a nice change of pace. After
that, Brad went back to the Sitar, dropped into D and rocked out a smoking
version of Mudslide. I was familiar with the song because I was at Narrows
the other night, but I couldn't imagine it being widely known yet. You
wouldn't know it, though, by the way the crowd reacted, everyone was into it
from the first lick. Rarely have I seen such an intense collective head bob
from a crowd. It's no-doubt gonna be a Slip classic. They didn't slow down
after that, closing the set out with a loose but really enjoyable So Dope,
appeasing my buddy who had yelled the title at any and every opportunity
during the first set. Thanks a lot guys.

The second set started off with an apparently scripted piece in E which was
unsuspectedly used as an introduction to Sometimes True to Nothing. I never
get tired of hearing this song and this version did not change my stance. It
was slow, clean and beautiful and I quite enjoyed the placement. It seems
every show I see of the Slip they encore or close with it. Such a good song.
Brad called for the nylon next and he and Andrew sang a bluesy song,
possibly
called Poor Boy. I'm not sure much about it, but it was concise and well
played despite it's irregular time signature. Nice. After some deliberation,
Marc non-chalantly started Yellow Medicine and it was nuts. Not a big
crazily
improvised Yellow, but it featured some of the best individual soloing by
BAM, especially Marc, that I have seen. And in addition, it was TIGHT, I
think everyone was content after that one but they were not done. Out of the
ending, Brad jumped over to the Wurlitzer and started up a slow, groovy jazz
tune. It was basically used as one big Wurly solo by Brad and it was dang
good. He sounded great and no one was disappointed with the tune despite the
lack of a Solomon segue. Brad then approached the mic and once again asked
for a moment of silent prayer, which with the exception of the noisy rock
band down stairs, was heeded by every person in the room. Its a truly
beautiful thing to share basic silence with that many people. He then
grabbed
an acoustic, took a seat and the band finished the set off with Sweet Thing.
It's the first time I've heard them play it live and I thought it was pretty
great. As they exited the stage, they were seriously met with the loudest
and
most appreciative cheering from an audience that I can remember. They could
definitely tell that everyone in that room was thankful for the music they
had just created. I'm not sure if they felt they owed us something special
because of this, but with a huge smile on his face Brad started up Honey
Melon and the place went crazy. This tune is such a rare treat and everyone
there knew it. The middle section went to some nice places and prior to the
last verse, Brad did some nice vocal harmonies with his guitar which sounded
great. At the end of the tune I, and everyone for that matter, was just dumb
with happiness. That post-Slip high is what going to shows all about and
everyone was feeling it in full-effect. Thank you Brad, Marc and Andrew for
doing what you do, these last two shows have been two of the best nights of
m
usic I've ever experienced and I'm sure that Toad's Place Thursday shouldn't
be much different in that respect. Thanks again, and if anyone is still
reading this, thank you too.

Peace,
Chrissy K.

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