Central Scrutinizer

Rockinrob, very good information. Thank you for the details. That explains a lot and raised some of the same questions that El Bacho touched upon. The proof will be in the pudding. Analogman, I remember those points being made about CDs when I was debating whether to buy a player back in the 80s. As it turned out, my Mother bought me one so I eased into it. Besides starting from the vinyl masters, CD mastering also, IIRC, also took a lot of the ambiance out because they were hyper sensitive to make the CDs sound as "clean" as possible.

Only if you vomit on your iPhone and the camera goes off.

That was a close shave.

I don't know if anyone noted this but, recently listening to Tweedy-Bennett at Old Town School Of Folk Music Festival (7-25-99) and this is the same version of Casino Queen they played. Did Tweedy do this version solo or did the original lineup ever do it in this fashion? Like Tweedy channeling Tombstone Blues?

That would give the crew more than ample time to put up/take down for the "acoustic" set. "Acoustic" isn't exactly appropriate thing to call it. Maybe "backstage/on-stage"?

I was gonna say, "same kid," but he looks about 5 years older, or at least considerably less a doughy teen. Obviously going from the teen period where everything defines, before it begins shifting southward.

I think the way they pull it all together is very cool. They're mixing it up. Honestly, it's a no-win situation because people would be complaining "why the *#&$% didn't they play Heavy Metal Drummer?!?" I've seen more than enough bands that play the same 17 songs in the same order in every city.

Jeff pulled a kid up on stage in Charleston in August '08 that had that same T-shirt

I look at it this way: First, I would say 75 to 80 percent is an over-exaggeration. If you go back through setlists of recent tours, there is 14-18 songs that are played in every show. With a normal 23 to 28-song set, that limits the other songs that can be interlaced between the "standards." The additional songs chosen for a set (remember, largely based on requests and what the band previous played in that town) has a greater chance of affecting the pacing of the show, so setlists vary a bit more -- tough there is a number of similar groupings based on songs selected. You play a 33 to 35-

Damn, if I knew homework was involved ...

O.K., here's a dumb question, and it probably comes down to semantics. Looking at Nonesuch's Web site out of curiosity to see what they're selling the vinyl set for, they have a joint press release announcing the release and the start of the current tour. Among the "personnel," it lists: Mastered for CD by Nick Webb at Abbey Road, London, UK Re-mastered for vinyl by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering, Portland, ME So, my question is, "re-mastered for vinyl"? Does that mean Ludwig remasters the master done by Nick Webb, which was done for CD audio? Or would Ludwig go back to the origin

At this point, I could use a handful of wheel, and a day off, and a bruised road, and a webcast of one of the remaining shows.

"Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place."?? I'm joking, your help is greatly appreciated.

The sound is pretty good -- Pat's Ed McMahon impression was hilarious. I saw what bobbob meant about the acoustic set, there are parts that get drowned by the chatter -- although the taper says his mics were in front of the soundboard. Very appreciative of his excellent efforts!

Glad your kids enjoyed it. It was about midway through the post-acoustic songs and I looked up in the balcony and it was a sea of people dancing. It was the coolest scene.

After hanging on every setlist from Miami Beach, there's certainly more structure to their show than in previous tours. But about a minute into Ashes of American Flags, an awe set in of the moment. Following Nels fluid solo through the song, the thought hit me that, from Jeff and the band's perspective, to be able to hone setlists from such a catalog of music with variations from show to show, should be incredibly gratifying. I can't put words to it, but I'm afraid that's the closest I'll get ...

Analogman = Big Brother?

Gee, I wonder if there ends up being some part in there for an older relative, a swarthy crossdresser? [edit: yes I know, Foxx instead of Farr]

I think rules in 'Nam was one of the conditions of the WTO.

I saw him and thought it was just a Gregg Allman wannabee. Looked too young and in too good of health to be Gregg! Hey Al, I was the big guy in the black flowered shirt. Welcome to VC. The sound definitely sucked out of the gate, but it improved a bit as it went on. I still think the band put their heads down and played a great show, regardless of audience.

It was intense without it ... with the full band working behind it it just rumbled along.

Can't speak for how they played it then. It is very subdued but still builds its urgency. Jeff nuances the melody more than spiders, letting words carry and flow together rather than the staccato delivery of the more electric version. Nels is a beast acoustically. Forget the flowers was a delight. I thought in the past he had played it with a slide, but it looked like standard tuning and he was up and down the next with sparkling flourishes. Electric-wise, Nels' solos on Ashes of American Flags glowed and flowed like liquid mercury. The transitions into and out of the acoustic sets were in

D'oh. I fixed it. Shorthand on my iPhone, and the lil bugger changed letters so I was guessing. I'm the Man Who Loves You. Sorry

I think the cop who came out was just disappointed that Night Court got cancelled and he lost his gig. Seriously, security was tighter than usual -- the did haul people out for using even iPhone cameras.