Rustic Overtones @ Higher Ground 4.10.08 Setlist:
Rock Like War
History Crush
Hardest Way Possible
Troublesome
Crash Landing
Sector Z
Carnival
C'Mon
Gas on Skin
Iron Boots*
Happy
Love Underground
Oxygen
Carsick
Light at the End
Letter to the President
Notes: *on setlist but not played.
The set was good, no major surprises. J. Ward was back on bari and having a blast as always. The guys sound like they've really gotten into a groove as far as setup and flow of the set. Everything was really tight and sounded awesome. It was another semi-acoustic set with dave strumming the acoustic guitar and Tony playing a paired down kit with brushes and multi rods.
The vibe was laid back but the crowd was really into the show and the guys seemed genuinely appreciative. Spencer commented that they were worried that the turn out wouldn't be as good as the last Burlington show, saying they figured it was like "banging the Ex one last time and then that was it" so they were glad to see the 75-100 people who showed up.
Lots of cool interplay between the band and the crowd. At one point Spencer told Dave to "ask me where I am" and ran off stage and back to the bar, grabbing the soundboard mic in the process and then had a conversation over it with Dave about what he was ordering for drinks. While they waited for Spence to get back, Dave mentioned that he had gotten the band a deal doing a Pinnacle Vodka ad and they were paid with 7 cases of vodka.
Another great, scaled-down version of Letter to the President with Dave down on the floor with the people, walking around.
The highlight for me though had to be the outside of Maine debut of the Bermuda Triangles. After Letter to the President, everybody left the stage and Jon and Tony came back up. Jon grabbed Dave's guitar and he and Tony huddled for a few minutes to practice.
Dave introduced them as The Bermuda Triangles and after a few more minutes of Jon trying to remember whatever song they had planned to play, Tony said they were changing songs and they broke into a hilarious cover of the Beach Boys' Kokomo, with Spencer on the Claves and Ryan kicking in a great sax solo. Jon sang the high chorus parts while Tony hammed it up and danced around the stage. It was thoroughly random and fantastic and they capped the one song set with a special Bermuda Triangles pose and bow. (From Darek)