San Francisco November 6, 2006, Palace of Fine Arts
Well, no one sang I Left My Heart in San Francisco tonight, but I think it would be appropriate. I just saw Lindsey at the Palace of Fine Arts.
Since the performances were the same as in previous shows, I will just comment on the little asides that added special nuance to the evening.
Ironically, yesterday I wrote that he doesn't interact with the audience during the first 2.5 songs. Well, he proved me wrong tonight. As soon as he walked to his mic he said, "For all of you here tonight, thank you for not going to see the Stones."
I had no idea they were in Frisco. I wouldn't go see the Stones on a double bill with Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney, if I had the chance to see Lindsey.
I don't think he can see that well under the lights. People from the Ledge had big signs that said "Woof" and even when Brett pointed them out to Lindsey and he shielded his eyes, I don't think he could read them. But he HEARS almost everything. People from 10-20 rows back were yelling things out to him and he answered them with very specific replies.
Almost as soon as the concert started, some guy yelled for him to sing, "All My Sorrows." He said that guy must be John Stewart."
When he introduces NGBA he says that, "As some of you know, I was born and raised here in the Peninsula." He says that as a boy he never dreamed of moving to Los Angeles, but when you travel the blind alley that is life you don't know where it will take you. If he and Stevie hadn't gone to Los Angeles, then they never would have found the wonderful music careers that both of them continue to enjoy. Hmmph. So, he thinks he and Stevie both have great music careers?
He says that if he hadn't moved to Los Angeles he wouldn't have met his wife and become the father of three children relatively late in life [Yeah Lindsey, but that happened 30 years after you moved]. He said as he gets older he becomes more aware of the importance of family and many of his family members are in the audience tonight. He says he loves them all, especially Jeff and he doesn't think he'd even be up on stage tonight if Jeff hadn't brought home that Elvis record.
I have a tiny complaint about Go Insane. I think Lindsey should just end the song with it's last line, "She's a lot like you." That's very raw and very effective. But he draws it out by singing, "oh yeah" and I think that costs him a bit of momentum. Small quibble.
During one of the breaks between songs, women yell out, "I love you Lindsey." He responds, "Brett loves you too." Then a guy yells, "I love you too Lindsey." Lindsey raises a brow and says, "What city are we in again." The crowd reminds him that it's San Francisco and he nods meaningfully. Then someone says it's the City of Love. He says, "That's right. It's the City of Love. I remember that."
For Under the Skin there's a bit of a different into. He says he wrote it for someone he's known for many years who was at a place in their life where they didn't know who they were or how to get to the next level. He says he thinks that everything you need to propel yourself to that next level is there, under the skin.
The band intros come after Holiday Road and Lindsey points out that the fans who were holding up the "Woof, woof" signs should have had the signs facing the audience, not the band, because the audience needed cue cards to bark along with them.
When he says that he met Neale back in the days when they were all hurting themselves, a woman in the audience yells and whoops and Lindsey says, "Oh, there's someone who's STILL hurting herself." Lindsey says he's known Neale for 17 years and said it will almost be 18, if they get to go on touring, which he hopes they will. I don't know why he says that so pointedly. Maybe he's now trying to rally promoter support for next year's tour following the release of that rock album we've been promised.
He says he met Taku as a percussionist and they've called upon him to do many strange things when he joined their combo, including playing drum kit. It worked and Lindsey says of Taku: "he's now my favorite drummer." So, I guess that makes Mick Lindsey's favorite tall drummer.
Lindsey calls Brett the conscience of the band and asks Brett if there is anything else he wants him to say about Brett to the screaming fans. Lindsey says, "Do you want to tell them where you're staying tonight?" Brett says that they are going home tonight. Lindsey says, "Oh yeah. You're right. We're going home."
When he says that they use Brett for a lot of things [Brett is in charge of the sound effects too] and even have him playing bass, Brett holds up his bass and looks at it quizzically, as if he has never seen one before. Pretty funny.
When it's time for the encores, a woman yells, "We want at least 30 more songs." Lindsey makes his voice weak and hoarse and exclaims, "Thirty?! I was thinking maybe one more."
At one point it looks like Lindsey's guitar may not be plugged in and he says that he has no power. The band all mimics Scotty from Star Trek saying, "I have no power, captain," with an accent. But Lindsey says that it is his fault. "Pilot error." The guitar had been plugged in after all.
The "I'm taking requests" phase of the tour is over, even though Lindsey did pretend as if he might entertain some new ones, I would bet that SMAP and BTLH are permanent staples and I'd be surprised if they vary the rest of this tour.
Lindsey closes the show by saying, "San Francisco, you guys made me feel as if I was at home tonight. And I am. I love you."
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