Fuck yeah dad what a great set, hope you had an awesome time!

Lol at the Sonics sticker on the setlist

Looks like another great one!

Time to ban Spike.

Sad day in RM history.

really cool they played Alone

Now that the dust has settled, and I’ve had coffee and time to reflect, I’m ready to talk about the experience.

First and foremost, I couldn’t get over how close we were. We didn’t hustle in soon enough to be on the rail in front of the stage, but we wound up being about 5ft from it. Close enough. That was my first time in a GA pit situation at a PJ show. Before last night, the best spot I ever had was floor, 7th-row dead center for OKC ‘03. I think I went on and on to my wife about the importance of being in the pit and up close. She’s the absolute best and helped me make that a reality. They don’t come here too often, and I’m not one to travel to see them, and being close gives me a visceral experience. At least with this band.

Josh’s opening set was…unique. Having never seen him before, it looks like he’s just up there experimenting and fucking around, churning out riffs, and stepping on pedals. At one point during the first song he played, his voice cracked, and he apologized, and the riffs he was playing kept changing. It was a bit chaotic. He brought out Boom for a song, then Jeff for a song. Jeff was using a bow with his base, and Josh was on the keyboard. That song actually sounded pretty cool. I give him a lot of credit. It can’t be easy getting up there by yourself, opening for one of the biggest bands of all-time.

After his set, the crew started setting up, and the stools came out, so I knew it’d be a special start as seen in previous shows. I had a long list of songs I’d hoped to hear, and I actually got three (Garden, Sleight of Hand, Hard to Imagine), and two I didn’t know I needed to hear (Habit, Alone).

Opening with Garden was absolutely perfect. I mean, goddamn, what a song. Everyone was feeling it, and belting out the chorus with Ed. I like Alright, but it did feel a little odd in the second spot. Seems like it would be a better opener or mid-set song. Sleight of Hand…holy fuck, I’m so happy I got this one. More Binaural cuts, please, and thank you. Then it happened. Hard to Imagine. What is happening? Four songs in, and I’m losing my goddamn mind is what’s happening. Put HTI in my bloodstream. In fact, take Garden, Sleight of Hand, and HTI, put them in a suppository, and sell them at the merch booth.

I had hoped for a Vitalogy show, but once they kicked into Hail, Hail I knew it wasn’t in the cards. The Gigaton songs are enjoyable to witness live. Quick Escape is much better live. Amongst the Waves was dedicated to a kid who’s getting ready to enter the Naval Academy, He was with his family on Stone’s side. Habit down-tuned wasn’t bad at all. I’ve always loved it, so I’ll take what I can get. They played Small Town to the back, and I have to admit I got a little choked up when I was singing along (my god it’s been so long…).

I like Mind Your Manners a lot more live. They played it here in 2013, but I’ve no memory of it.

One thing I’ve never paid much attention to at their shows up until last night was lighting. The lights for DoTC, Quick Escape, MYM, Corduroy, and Go were fantastic.

Corduroy was great, except for the call and response. Not a fan. I was a fan of the outro with them basically in a semi-circle with their backs to the crowd, white lights shining brightly from behind the stage, making it so bright, they looked like silhouettes up there.

For the encore, they started what sounded like Why Go, but stopped, briefly huddled, and went into Go, which whipped ass. I know Never Destination was scratched, but it didn’t sound like they were about to play that one. Dunno. Go ending a little like Corduroy with the lights, flashing this time tho…so good. Alone was a very welcome addition. My goodness. I think I screamed FUCK YEAH! It sounded so fuckin’ good too. Then DTE and Porch, and I’m like, okay..this is it. And they play Alive, and we’re all losing our shit, singing along. Okay, that’s gotta be it..nope.

Indifference! Fuck. me. Running. You bet your ass I’ll scream my lungs out (I did).

RitFW closed it, and Ed’s running around, tossing tambourines, breaking tambourines, and tossing those. Before they played it, he did mention the news about the semi that wrecked on the highway going through OKC that spilled sex toys and lube all over the interstate, which lead him to make comments about abortion legislation here, and how women should have the right to make choices for their bodies, and the sex toy deliveries were (maybe) them taking matters into their own hands.

I had an absolute blast, and I have to say, maybe it’s because I’ve not seen them in so long, but everything sounded tight, and not rushed at all. Maybe it’s the scaled-back sets. Maybe it’s the band just being this well-oiled machine. Maybe it’s the addition of Josh. Who knows. I’ve only been able to listen to bootlegs from the last several tours, and it definitely sounded like they tried to cram a lot into two and a half to three hours, and it sounded too fast or too sloppy. Last night was a nice even pace.

sounds awesome, glad you had fun.

they have def. slowed down the pace of certain songs, but it sounds just as good if not better

Glad to hear this dad! Sounds rad.

very happy you had so much fun

This doesn’t seem banworthy, you maniac.

one thing i completely forgot to mention was how much fun they seemed to be having up there. there were a couple of times Jeff and Stone came together, and they had big smiles on their faces. those two have obviously known each other for so long, and I was telling my wife on the drive home...it's because of them we've had all these years of great music and shows.

very special to see them having fun.

Sounds like a great time, dad. Would love to be that close sometime.

I was kind of worried about the short show times, but STL was about 2 hours, with 22 songs, and it seemed perfect to me.

I like the stage setup, especially the lighting and the video screens. I'm sure the people way in the back like the screens as well.

Neither of the shows I attended seemed "short".

After 30+ years as a band, and them touring and a lot of us that don't get to see them as often as we would like, I get this feeling as well. You just don't seem to realize how fast time passes and where we are in our lives and where the band is at in their lives. It's crazy and a bit sad to think about.

The other day I went to youtube and put on the 1991 video of Breath they played at an amphitheater in Seattle. Then I searched for Breath in St. Louis 2022. Funny to see the 30 year difference and where they started and where they are at now. They may be be older, but still kicking it.

congrats dad!!! such a sick set, such a great time

Shorter than previous ones? Previous shows I've been too seemed to push past 2 hours easily.

Shorter than previous shows, but not like it wasn't worth the money. If anything, some of the shows I attended in the 2010-2018 range seemed too long.

they were probably laughing about the old guy who sat down in the pit three hours before showtime