Athens, GA: 40 Watt Club – November 22, 1994

From: IN%"SCREWBALL@delphi.com" 23-NOV-1994 09:21:46.45
To:   IN%"sugar@csua.berkeley.edu"
Subj: REVIEW: 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA (includes setlist)

The 40 Watt Club in Athens--the place where it all began.  Word has it
that the 40 Watt can sound perfectly *hideous* if the soundman isn't
careful, thanks to its false ceiling and concrete floor (it's an old
furniture warehouse), but this show sounded *fantastic*.  Again, kudos
to Bill Rahmy for a tough job very well done.

Opening again was Jack Logan.  Based on this show and the previous
night's, he is definitely worth looking into.  The man is quite a
songwriter, and his band sounded pretty solid (even without a proper
soundcheck).

Sugar delivered one *hell* of a fine set tonight, as this was the last
night of the first leg of the North American tour.  This was David's
homecoming gig, and a homecoming of sorts for the band as well. 
Unfortunately, the audience just didn't seem to get into the show
tonight.  For the most part, the pit was just a bunch of people
standing around with their arms folded.  Apart from the (maybe) scant
dozen people bouncing around at odd locations in the pit, the audience
was a sea of nonstop chatter from people more interested in the beer
in their hands than the band on the stage.

"Explode and Make Up" got played out of sequence, due to technical
problems with the drums.  The performance was excellent, but
unfortunately, it appeared wasted on the *very* inattentive crowd; Bob
even sang one chorus of "Explode And Make Up" as "Explode and shut
up," all the while giving the audience one of his trademark "Fuck you
all very much" looks.  Even more unfortunately, it didn't work,
leading to the restrained version of the final chorus rather than the
stunning, violent, gorgeous explosion of sound and emotion that has
closed previous performances.  More's the pity.

Bob and David sounded *very* good tonight.  The harmonies on the last
chorus of "Your Favorite Thing" were *incredible*, and the call-and-
response of the last chorus of "Mind Is An Island" really shone
tonight.

Linda Hopper from Magnapop joined the band on stage for the first
encore of "Helpless" and "Gee Angel."

Highlights:  "After All The Roads Have Led To Nowhere" (finally!), a
scorching, pedal-to-the-metal version of "Clownmaster," and an
absolutely explosive performance of "Tilted" that blew the house
*DOWN*!  It's a wonder that Bob's equipment doesn't go into terminal
meltdown with all that energy he unleashes every night.

Set time:  57 minutes; with encores, one hour, twelve minutes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
soundcheck

The Act We Act (fragment)
In The Eyes Of My Friends


set

Gift
Company Book
Hoover Dam
Going Home
Where Diamonds Are Halos
A Good Idea
After All The Roads Have Led To Nowhere
Running Out Of Time
Frustration
Changes
Explode and Make Up
Your Favorite Thing
Clownmaster
If I Can't Change Your Mind
Mind Is An Island
In The Eyes Of My Friends

Helpless
Gee Angel

Tilted

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End of the first leg of the North American tour.

Eight days off now; tour resumes on 01 December at Liberty Lunch in
Austin, Texas.

      screwball