So I saw Tom Waits last night at the Fox.
It was fucking awesome.
This was the Waits show I'd been waiting to see. Especially after I found the show two years ago a bit underwhelming. If I ever get the chance to see Waits with one of the classic Ribot/Carney/Taylor/Cohen/Blair lineups I will be able to die happy, but last night's show will tide me over until then.
Some random thoughts:
1. The stage design was really neat.
2. The sound was good. There was no clarity in the low end at the beginning but the soundman quickly got it straightened out. I don't know if the acoustics in the Fox are especially good or not, but we were sitting about five rows behind the soundman right in the center of the room. Pretty much the sweet spot.
3. I liked the set list. Or rather I was almost indifferent to the set list. They did not play any number of my favorite songs--did not play either of my two favorite Waits tunes in fact--but it didn't matter. The band was on, and I knew I would enjoy anything they played.
4. Vincent Henry is a talented feller. He invoked Rahsaan Roland Kirk with his double sax playing. He played a mean harmonica too. Shit I even liked his clarinet playing and I'm not a huge fan of the clarinet.
5. Omar Torres did a good job on guitar. There's a lot riding on the guitar player in a Tom Waits band and frankly I was worried. I heard some of his solo stuff and it's not my thing. It made me wonder how he'd approach the Waits tunes. There was no need to worry. He handled the material admirably and when he added a little something of his own to the mix it worked without being obtrusive. I'm thinking in particular of the Latin sounding acoustic work he used to introduce "All the world is green." It was nice. As was the trading fours he did with the drummer and the keyboard player during "Hoist that rag."
6. Casey Waits has improved. He was a bit of a liability two years ago, playing above his head. But now he's a reliable part of the fabric even if he doesn't do anything particularly noteworthy.
7. Larry Taylor, longtime Waits collaborator, joined the band on guitar for two songs. He was supposed to be the bass player on this tour but apparently had to cancel at the last moment. His replacement Seth Ford-Young does a fine job.
8. You really do have to experience his voice live. I've been listening to Tom Waits since 1985 when Rain Dogs came out* and I cherish his recorded music but hearing him use his voice live is just essential. It's an astounding instrument.
* I bought Rain Dogs on vinyl in 1985 because I saw an ad for it in Rolling Stone and thought the picture in the ad looked cool. It wasn't the album cover but another picture that actually had Waits in it. I vaguely remember putting the record on and being absolutely baffled. What was this? What's he doing? I put it away. I came back to it about a year later after the noisy likes of Husker Du and Black Flag had broken me in and suddenly I could hear Rain Dogs. Oh! That's what he's doing! And it was great. And it still is.
