Just a couple months ago, I was telling one of our Colorado friends how lucky she was that they got a yearly Ben and Adam show, while we were all left in the lurch in the midwest. Well, sure enough, just a week or two later they announced five midwest shows. How lucky for us! Originally we decided to just do the first night in Lawrence, but after the awesomeness of spring tour we added St.Louis. Well, after the awesomeness of Lawrence and St.Louis, we went to Minneapolis at the last minute... and we dragged Emily along.
We didn't bother bringing the "good" camera to these shows. I didn't know if it'd be allowed, and I knew Bill would be there and take plenty of great pictures for us all to enjoy.
The Lawrence show was really great in that it was our first Ben and Adam show, but the crowd was pretty loud. It was a bar scene and a lot of people were talking through the show or singing really loud with the songs. At the encore there was a mad rush to the front of the stage, which was when we got smashed out of our chairs and went to the side.
Adam's wife, Julie was doing the merch table for these shows, so we got to meet her and chat a bit while we bought some sweet shirts and pre-signed posters. During set break we also put in a couple requests with Julie, who passed them on to the guys. Colin got his Uncle Lucius.
After the show we talked to Adam for a minute and it was clear how excited he was to be doing these shows and traveling small and on their own. He seemed almost giddy.
04/21/10 The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS
Set 1:
One After 909, Amanda Rose, She Smiles, Night Out, Had to Leave My Boots Behind, Remind Me, You're Leaving Me, Monarch, Bloody Mary Morning, Left Me in a Hole, Ooh La La
Set 2:
Complicated, Not One Drop, Love What I Do, Uncle Lucius, Sometimes I've Won, Brown Eyed Women, Criminal, Tear Stained Eye, River, Pockets, Counter Reaction, The Boxer, Casualty
Encore:
Redbird, Idaho, Holdin'
You can download the show here!
We left Lawrence pretty early in order to try to beat the weather. We got stuck in about 1 1/2 hours of rain, but then we were in the clear. Not too bad. It just seems like we're always driving in crummy weather lately. We got to St.Louis at around 2:30, so that gave us plenty of time to check in to the Moonrise (freaking LOVE this hotel), get some lunch, and wander Delmar for a little while.
In both Lawrence and St.Louis there are some of my favorite shops. The Creation Station in Lawrence and Avalon in St.Louis. I got some good shopping done at both places on this trip, giving me some fun new things for photo shoots in the near future.
We met up with Michael, Carrie, and Daniel at Blueberry Hill and were pleasantly surprised by the Duck Room in the basement. It was a neat little space, completely decorated in Ducks - old Ducktails and Scrooge McDuck comics, Daffy and Donald Duck toys. Very cool. Reminded me of when I was a kid. The chairs were placed very close together, but also very close to the stage so there was no room for a repeat of the night before.
This show was even more fun than the night before. We had some of our Kinfolk with us and met some new friends. The guys seemed to be having even more fun also; in fact, after the show in Minneapolis Adam said Blueberry Hill was his favorite of the week.
Not too sure on the entire setlist. There were no tapers there, that I saw. But the show included:
Mother's Only Son, Workers Song, Just Us, We Can Work it Out (Awesome), Rain Still Falls, Spanish Bombs, Looking Back Over My Shoulder, Long Time, Someday's Reunion (Betty's request), Downhill, Damned if the Right One Didn't Go Wrong, Finally Saw the Light (Michael's Request), Stuck in the Middle With You (my request, and Adam dedicated it to Julie for being stuck in the middle of him and Ben in a van), New Deal Train, Jail Song (with Ben and Adam taking turns on the verses), Poncho and Lefty, Sugar in the Gourd (w/Ryan Spearman on fiddle), Honestly (w/Ryan Spearman).
Encore: Hit Parade of Love
We were so happy that we got to see these two shows. We didn't expect to do any more, but Saturday we decided to go for it and do the Minneapolis show the following day. Colin only had to work until 2p.m., and lucky for us, Emily worked the same shift and we dragged her along with us! It's always fun to go to shows, but it's especially fun to do it last minute. It gives you no time to get used to the idea, instead leaving you overly excited for the entire trip.
We got to Minneapolis just in time for me and Emily to check out a neat little shop, and for us to have a little chat with Ben outside the theater. We had heard that there was something big planned for that night, and Ben said that he had a cool idea for a set... but Adam nixed the idea. We assumed it was supposed to be a sherif saga set, and we later found out that we were right. Oh well. Someday we'll get it.
The Varsity Theater was the most beautiful of the venues this week. There were tables and chairs set up in a dark and comfortable room with pillows on the floor for people to lay down and watch the show. The audience was also the most respectful out of the shows we attended. They were so quiet and the sound was very good. Since we did this show last minute, we couldn't remember which of our Kinfolk friends would be there, but shortly after we found a table, Annie, Stray, and Wisco walked in. Awesome.
Ben playing the bass WITH the mandolin... the BATmandolin.
We heard a lot of repeats from our first 2 shows, but that really didn't matter. The banter at all of these shows was freaking hilarious and almost as entertaining as the music. There were tapers at this show, and when it's up, I'll post the link.
04/25/10 Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN
Set 1: Town, Stuck in the Middle With You, Finally Saw the Light, Poncho and Lefty, River, unnamed instrumental, Looking Back Over My Shoulder, Brown Eyed Women, Apple Press> Apple Cart, Down the River Road
Set 2: Mother's Only Son, Idaho, Someday's Reunion, Father's Arms, Counter Reaction, Long Time, Bolton Stretch, New Deal Train, Near Me, Head of That Woman, On the Run> Dreams> On the Run
Encore: Redbird, Ooh La La
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