The Surf Talks
One World
World Wide Epiphany
Last year when Kasim played with Todd in Chicago they played at the zoo but this venue seemed to be more like a zoo as there were loads of midgies there so consequently we had a few swooping birds too! The dramatic Chicago skyline behind the venue more than made up for all the bites I suffered though!
The support duo were better tonight - no cardigans on stage! It probably isn't Todd's fault but both support acts have been very hard to hear which makes them sound even worse. It's also been hard to hear Todd when he talks too at both venues.
As this venue was semi-open to the elements (I had to dash through the rain to reach the ladies!) both Todd and Kasim came on stage wearing long coats. Kasim took his off after a few songs but Todd kept his on until the encore.
The first five songs were the same as in Santa Cruz (with them having to restart Love of A Common Man as Todd made a mistake) but then they changed the set list, bringing in Secret Society, Hit Me Like A Train and Hammer In My Heart and omitting the musical song that show-cased Kasim and Trey as well as changing the order.
The security guards were quite strict about not allowing people to stand near the front of the stage (but allowed us to take photos okay) until Love In Action when they didn't stand a chance as loads of people were dancing in the aisles and everything which was just great to see!
They've changed The Surf Talks slightly from the Half Twisted tour as twice in the song, Kasim and Todd slowly walk away from the microphone singing "The surf talks, the surf talks" so the singing gradually fades which is very effective. They've also added a few bars of Todd strumming at the start of Trapped rather than just Kasim starting the song by "Brother John .....". It was good to see Kasim (wearing all black again) doing a few mimes with his hands during that one tonight too!
When it was cigarette break time, Todd sang one song with his acoustic guitar and then told a story about him being about to sing a historical Hawaiian song and launched into Bang The Drum!
I'm not sure what happened during World Wide Epihany but it was fine at the beginning and then suddenly Kasim and Trey's microphones appeared to have been switched off as they were singing but no sound was coming out over the speakers! Thankfully by the end of the song, it was corrected.
As much as I liked the intimate atmosphere of Santa Cruz, it was great to see the more audible audience reaction tonight (Kasim got a massive cheer when Todd introduced him) so I can see why I kept being told that Santa Cruz was strictly the underplayed warm-up concert.
Onto Kalamazoo tomorrow......
This was a better concert than when Kas played with Todd last year as there were more Utopia tunes. My fav was Trapped as Kas sang it.
Kas wore a long jacket first and then took it off. He moved around the stage the whole time, when I've seen him before he's mainly sat still. Didn't know all the songs but can understand why it's called the power trio tour. Come back to Chicago soon Kas.