Touring in support of their 2011 release, The Great Escape Artist
Perry Farrell, the consummate front man, held the spotlight in both the literal and figurative sense; gracious with the crowd, entertaining in his between-song musings and always with a wine bottle never too far from his grasp (he looks like a Bordeaux man to me). Usually when there’s no access to the pit for photographers it’s chalked up to vanity on the part of the artist. This time around, the policy seemed designed to ensure that as little as possible stood between the band and the crowd. Navarro kneeled on the monitors and Farrell frequently stretched across the barrier to get as close to the front row as possible.
Mid-way through the set, a video interlude on the big screens bought the stage crew some time while as they brought out some arm chairs and set the band up at the front of the stage for a few acoustic-ish numbers. Things appeared to take a little longer than planned to get rolling due to a swap out Dave’s acoustic guitar because of an issue with a jack at which lead Perry to ad lib, “we’ve been guitar jacked.” During Irresistible Force, Perry stood as he belted out the lyrics, wine bottle clutched in his fist, swigging deeply between verses. Of course the steel drum meant that Jane Says was up next followed by the drum circle of Chip Away that had even Navarro setting aside his guitar.
Back to “plugged” with Three Days and Whores before bringing the theatrics back for Splash a Little Water on It (I won’t even attempt to describe what was going on). The show clearly hit a frenetic peak during a rip-roaring rendition of Stop that had the entire crowd singing along only to be followed by Summertime Rolls as a less-than-subtle tap to the brakes, signaling their imminent farewell. The one hour, 20 minute-ish set ended with a thank you but no encore.
For those that are fans of free music of the legal sort, you can download their latest release, The Great Escape Artist, here. No excuses for not giving it a listen!
Setlist:
- Underground
- Mountain Song
- Just Because
- Been Caught Stealing
- Ain’t No Right
- Up the Beach
- Irresistible Force
- Jane Says
- Chip Away
- Three Days
- Whores
- Splash a Little Water on It
- Ocean Size
- Stop!
- Summertime Rolls
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