1. [Unknown, new song]
2. Distant Sun
3. King Tide
4. She Will Have Her Way
5. Mean To Me
6. Twisty Bass
7. Sinner
8. Tokyo
9. Not the Girl You Think You Are
10. Fall at Your Feet
11. Better Be Home Soon
12. TryWhistling This
13. Suffer Never
14. Dream Date
15. Souvenir
16. Private Universe
17. Stain on My Shirt
18. Last One Standing

19. Loose Tongue
20. I Got You

21. Don't Dream It's Over
22. Addicted

Having driven 600 miles in one day, roundtrip, I'm a bit hazy, but I'll do my best to give you folks an idea of events.

First thing: For these subsequent shows that seem to take Neil to both the usual cities and surprising stops, please, please, please do your best to cheer Neil on and let him know how much you enjoy the show. A little presumptuous to assume you'll enjoy the show, but I have a hunch. :) If Neil sold 100 tickets to last night's show, he was lucky. I had heard that in Orlando he had to keep a tight show because he had to get off the stage to make way for a salsa/mariachi band(!?). Last night, since the show began at 9:30, his show slammed right into the late-night disco crowd, who were all let in at some point near the show's end, all making the most godawful racket with their buzzing chatter and clinking beer bottles. It would be a little mild to say that the sight was disheartening. Neil put on a great show -- though I can't keep far from my mind the phrase "pearls before swine."

I'm glad I went; a bunch of us who'd been to the Atlanta show drove ourselves across state lines to Myrtle Beach, and honestly, did our handful not make that trek, the front line by the stage would have been a lot smaller and a lot less responsive. We were as enthusiastic as could be, though it would be nice if those who bellowed along with Neil could sing on key. I'm ambivalent about singing along with Neil, but there are moments when it seems more appropriate than others. But singing offkey at the top of your voice is almost never appropriate, imho.

However, a bunch of good songs at the first half of the set: Spirit of the Stairs, Distant Sun, King Tide, Tokyo, SWHHW, Mean to Me, NTGYTYA. During the encores, he played I Got You and DDIO, which got a response from the disco crowd even. *sigh* What can you do?

I didn't really see what the room was like until I'd turned around; Neil had to look at that indifferent crowd the whole time he played near the end. I remember when he introduced "Addicted" in Atlanta, he said "this song is about why I do this" -- "this" being the music, and quite possibly, the effort of slugging his bum around to cheesy summer vacation towns whose architecture bears the stamp of Las Vegas.

He played "Addicted" last night as well, and I couldn't help but think about what he'd said, and whether he was thinking it too -- you know, literally reminding himself in the face of this indifferent mass of people, what this effort was really about. Maybe it's just the long drive that's getting to me, but I almost want to weep that the man who played to hundreds of thousands of people in front of the Sydney Opera House can barely drag in a devoted crowd in some places here in America. Marck Bailey is right--to most Yanks, Neil's a blip on the music scene here.

The House of Blues seems to me an odd place for him to play, but I suppose the aim was exposure. I wonder if when Crowded House first started touring supper clubs if this wasn't the same sort of response. Maybe if we're lucky, someone in that throng might decide to check out the album. But I hope Neil knew from those of us at the front, that we savored every moment of his performance.