I had gone to the Byham Theatre in Pittsburgh the night before and, although I enjoyed the show, it was not as energetic as I had hoped. Tonight's show in Columbus made up for that in a huge way. I met a few friends in the bar next door to PromoWest Pavilion and ended up hanging out with them on the front row in front of Robin. My friend knew it was going to be good night when Bob came out in a navy Aloha shirt. Jason correctly predicted the Shakedown opener and it was ON from there. Sweet Big River to follow leading into an always average to me Minglewood. Even So>October Queen>Deep End came next and as always was bluesy and smooth. Excellent West L.A. next and I was certain that would wrap the set but NOPE! Women R Smarter>Scarlet rocked hard to finish the first set. I have never seen Women before by Ratdog, and it was outstanding. Very quick 15 minute intermission and then jumped into a cool acoustic El Paso>Victim>Loser! I love Loser and was pumped to hear it, especially when it ran into Estimated head on. Nice Other One leading into Jam city and wrapping up with my personal favorite Ratdog cover, Dear Prudence. They just play this so beautifully to me. The night ended with Sugar Magnolia and Saturday night and I was spent. Can't wait for Memphis!
Jleg, Memphis, TN
Very nice show, even if the setlist was similar to the prior week's Saturday night show. I have been in Promowest Pavilion twice now, and I cannot believe the marked improvement in sound quality. This came through on DAT and excellently provides the "sonic feel" of the room. I really think this was the highlight for myself: the absolutely incredible sound in this metal-concrete box. Kudos to the sound engineers; remarkable recording. Also kudos to the crowd who actually managed to have a great time without being overly obnoxious with the yelling and screaming.
The lunar eclipse was easily visible outside the large front windows just before the show started, and a few of us watched. Just hanging there over the Columbus skyline.
Highlights of this show included the opener, especially where there are tangents of Shakedown playing as Big River opens. The rest of the first set is well-played, but I thought the standouts were West LA and Women Are Smarter.
The second set has an excellent Estimated -> Other One with the Estimated being the lion's share. The Other One theme carried into drums break with Jay and Robin going at it. Post drums reveals a very well-played Dear Prudence before closing with Sugar Magnolia and OMSN.
The show was about as long as any others, but a considerably shorter song list. On the other hand, the band had just finished three shows in a row at three different cities. Overall a fine performance and an outstanding recording. Can't wait to hear what the official live recording is like!
Mike Rosenfeld, Cedar Rapids, IA
