Thoughts on LA

[dontlookdown]

Went to the Wiltern show last night - (my first on this tour).

Here are first impressions:

In general it was WAY too loud. And I was up in the balcony where it is normally not so loud. I LOVE loud shows, but last night was way over the top.
It was too bad because for me, it sort of made Lindsey seem absurd + histrionic at times. It was as if he was playing in a huge arena with the a sound system that wasn't suited for a small old theater.
So as you can imagine, much of the night sounded muddled.
All that aside, Lindsey was full of energy and sounded great on the quieter songs.
Highlights: Big Love, Go Insane, I'm So Afraid, World Turning, Save Me A Place

Lowlights: Under The Skin, Show You How, Red Rover (all ruined by sound that just didn't work in a small theater).

It was great to see Lindsey but I have to say I miss the old more "subtle" Lindsey, when critics would marvel at the times when he DIDN'T play - the spaces in between, etc.
It's fun watching the show-off Buckingham but I did enough of that on the Say You Will extravaganza. I was expecting something more intimate. Instead I felt slammed by a ridiculous bombastic wall of sound that could have been about 500 decibles lower. Oh well. I'm just glad he's still out there making music.