Ohio on the OHIO

More

Just stumbled upon K & L doin' Suitcase on the FOX 19 morning news show here in CinCity. Nice.

ahhhh!
it's killing me that i can't be there for this.

I'm trying to figure out what songs I'm most excited to hear. For me, it's probably Idea 21, since I've not heard it live. It will be fun hearing BPD at the beginning of a show as well.

For you old school peeps, I think my 90th show or whatever was when IRS re-released Til We Have Faces, and OTR played it at the Cincinnati Zoo. We drove in from a few hours away for that show, and it was great hearing that live too. This reminds me of that. Just with better songs this time around!! Don't get me wrong - Iron Curtain is good and all (and live, it was KILLER!), but I'd take Professional Daydreamer over almost anything on TWHF.

That Duran band I like just did a series of shows where they played their new album start to finish at the beginning of the live show. Fun stuff.

Bruce! I was at that zoo show, too! But I was in a lot of pain, because I pulled a muscle in my back cutting grass earlier that day, but didn't actually feel the pain until I crawled out of my car at the zoo later that afternoon.

I really want to hear Idea 21, too! And When You Say Love, also.

(Edited for too many "too"s)

What?! Sea and Sky!? Gentle Wounds???!!! Cast Me Away/And Can it Be?????!@!!!!!!!!11111. Gack. These are right up there with Professional Daydreamer, and actually better than some other songs on Ohio IMO.

Sea and Sky? --> probably, heard it enough live
Gentle Wounds? --> probably. Everyone has an opinion, but PD is SOO much better of a song than GW, IMHO!
Cast Me Away/And Can It Be? --> same, I love this one, but it had waves of revival too, where PD only had a few gasps.

In general, there are things I wouldn't play a ton of on Ohio, but I'm psyched to hear the whole show. It's my #2 OTR album after Patience!

At least the expensive seats are gone, and the next level is selling around the 8th row now...

Okay, I'll give you Gentle Wounds, but the others are awesome! Just as good/relevant as PD. I would trade out When You Say Love and How Long Have You Been Stoned for these.

But yeah, Generally, I think Ohio is edging up to be my number one favorite taking out the first three which used to seem to alternate in the top spot. Hopefully the show will be at least half sold out. Will be interesting to compare it to the xmas shows attendance.

Ohio is probably my second favorite after Eve.

I'm pretty excited about Idea 21. I arranged it for a thing at Columbia once about 4 years ago, I think that might've been the only time it's been played live. I wonder if they'll get the extra singers for it...I don't know if the people singing on the LP were from Cinci or not.

From the Lexington Herald Leader; Summer Begins.

Anyone else really excited about tonight's performance? I know I am. My wife and I hadn't planned on going as we have tickets to the show in New Harmony next month and with the price of gas being so high we decided to limit some of our road trips. Plans changed after scoring a significant savings in the ticket price thanks to being the only bidder at 99 cents for a pair on eBay without a reserve. (Feeling a little guilty about the price so I hope the seller originally got their tickets for free because they didn't get anything back if they actually paid something for the tickets.)

My tickets are in section 101 so I won't be with the "Apples" in the pit who took advantage of the ticket pre-sale arranged by OtR but at least I'll be in the National City Pavilion with you all. Enjoy the show. Maybe I'll see some of you that I've met when OtR has played in Bloomington, Indiana.

Safe travel to those of you on the road this holiday weekend whether going to Cincinnati or elsewhere. Mike

As usual--another great show by OtR---it was a bit different for me to see them play in a bigger venue as opposed to playing in a more intimate one like Canal Street, but it was cool to see them up on a big stage, being put up on the video monitors and such---and it was interesting to hear an entire "album" done from beginning to end.

The encores were interesting as well--the first was a version of Chrissy Hynde and the Pretenders of their song "Ohio" then a version of Gillian Welch's "Miss Ohio."

It is interesting--a few years ago---Niki Dakota on WYSO started doing a thing on Fridays--she asked for listeners to create a "final five for Fridays"--I sent in a set of five songs and mine was the first to be done--that set was to start off: The Pretenders "Ohio" followed by Neil Young's "Ohio" then OtR's "Ohio" followed by Welch's "Miss Ohio" and ending with Randy Newman's "Dayton, Ohio 1903"

Due to seating and the fact that this venue has some odd rules about camera's--unless you are media-you can't have a decent camera--only throw away film cameras and small point and shoot digital and of course cell phone cams---I did sneak mine in and took some shots---but I got found out and had to put it away--at least for a time till I snuck it back out and got a few more photos--but since my seat position was back in the second tier of seats and way off to stage right--my angle sucked--I did not get any decent pics really.

Bill had full access though and it looks like he had to have gotten some great shots--I am sure they will be coming soon.

I have the best of my shots up on Flickr--so here is the link to them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12702081@N07/...57605236466634/

I hope that along with the photos I have here and what Bill got--we at least have OtR's being the first group to play NC Pavillion was fairly well documented.

OTR, new venue fit perfectly
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../305240017/1025

Which of the songs from the double album Ohio performed last night were performed live by OtR for the first time?

For me it was one of those "wish the night would never end" performances.... well worth the long drive home after the performance. Mike

I think the only one was Idea 21. Linford talked about it a bit after the show. They'd done the others on the Ohio tour at least once.
Plus, they'd done things like How Long Have You Been Stoned? at the Kerry benefit in 2004 etc., but even then it was only done as a two piece.

My quick notes:

Idea 21 was stunning as a three piece.

Pretenders My City Was Gone was a great great choice, as was Gillian Welch's Look At Miss Ohio. And awesomely executed. I hope at least the Gillian Welch tune stays in the rotation for a bit.

I love hearing new things live from a band, or neft-heard things. BPD was awesome as a show opener, and they did it as they'd done on the Ohio tour where people strolled on stage just in time for their parts. I can't say enough about Professional Daydreamer and Changes Come live, they were beyond great.

Karin sang the verses on Nobody #1 better than I ever remember. Cruel and Pretty is still great to hear live. Karin played Remind Us on a Rhodes instead of the regular piano, which was a perfect way to hear her voice. Nicholas Radina from Cincinnati's Tropicoso played percussion on a few tunes, and he and Mickey turned How Long Have You Been Stoned? into an awesome rhythmic powerhouse. That song has gotta stay in the playlist! It's THE election year, people!

Kenny Hutson from Vigilantes of Love played steel guitar and dobro and electric on a few songs, and is really talented.

Even When You Say Love was executed perfectly, who knew it'd translate into such a fun live song. Fool was beautiful.

The stage was a little high so I fell back to about 25 rows back to take it all in. I'd say the venue was over half full? 2000 people or so? It was perfect weather.

Holy smokes, what a well sequenced album that it flows so well into a live show. Well done!

(edited to get Kenny's name right! - sorry Kenny!)

well said bruce.

Look At Miss Ohio!?

<--------- bummed!

I was almost hoping they would bust out into Neil Young's "Ohio"--they sure rocked both My City and Miss Ohio--but I bet that OtR doing that song might have pissed some people off---they did get a bit of negativity expressed from at least one person for what they did do and say about the war and our esteemed president--but it is Cincinnati afterall!!!

The night felt just a little bit off without you, kylie. But it was oh, so good.

I kinda liked the performance of "Sweet Caroline."

damn, i hated having to leave before that happened.

i see clinton lurking on here...once again, beautiful poster clinton. nice work.

Pictures from the Bruce fan club are soon to follow...

It was easily the best performance between 11 and 1:15!

very true.
so bummed that I couldn't be there I thought I'd keep an eye here to see some reviews and such!



well thank you, friend.

I thought about that too...the guitarist teased it a bit before launching into the regular song, but while "Ohio" is right there in the title, it isn't exactly a warm, friendly song about the state...It's a brilliant song, but not really something I imagine one wants to remember when attempting to wax nostalgic about the state, as the band was trying to do in the encore.

Random thoughts on the gig:

* Kinda surprised they didn't slip "Last Night On Earth" in the encore somewhere, since it's from the Ohio sessions. The encore was pretty sweet, but was just something I was thinking about on the drive up to Cinci.

* The venue needs some front fill speakers badly...the first 3 or 4 rows don't really have a direct hearing line to the main speaker stacks and so it was a weird mix of reverberating PA sound and actual sound from the stage. Most larger theaters or arena shows put a couple of smaller monitor-size speakers up at the front of the stage to remedy this problem for the first few rows. Eventually my ears adjusted a bit (and I think the mix got better) but I hope it's something the venue thinks about fixing this now that they're done actually building the place.

* Show itself was awesome. I forgot how much I loved that album. "Professional Daydreamer" and "How Long Have You Been Stoned" were the highlights for me, since after near-40 shows, I had still never heard either one live, and they were really great. "Daydreamer" especially...i'm not sure why that one never became a concert mainstay. Finally hearing the 'real' version of "Bothered" live, in its full-band glory, was a nice highlight too, although the ending was a bit weird.

* Of the more commonly played tunes, I'm backing Bruce up..."Nobody Number One" was awesome. Maybe the best performance of the night.

* I think Linford was playing a Nord keyboard on top of his piano, which must be a new toy for him, since I'd never seen it before onstage...can anyone (Bill?) back this up? I'm just curious...those things are bad ass.

* Pretenders cover = AWESOME. I really hope that gets played again, and released at some point, regardless of what they do with the rest of the show. It took me awhile to even place the song, since it's so rare for OTR to reach outside their "safe zone" of americana/folk-ish songs for a cover version.


Now, with the "dude, they played 'Ohio' start to finish and it was awesome' bias out of the way...they were a bit tentative. I don't think "nervous" is the right word...everyone was tight and Karin sang her butt off, as usual, but until the last 4 or 5 songs of disc two that I felt like the band really let itself go and cut loose. I think "Stoned" was really the turning point, with the drum/percussion solo kind of waking everyone up onstage and letting the band have a little fun. It didn't make it a bad performance, by any means, just a bit different from most of the OTR shows I've been to.

I think part of it was that there were a half dozen or so songs that had rarely, if ever, been performed live, but I think the bigger factor was that 3/5 of the band onstage had never played most of those songs at all prior to the last month. It definitely wasn't a throwback to the Ohio tour, since most of the band was different, and so in a lot of ways it was kind of a "first show" for this particular band...I'd guess, including the encore, the Karin/Linford/Jake/Mickey lineup did 17-odd debuts in a 24 song set last night. It was a ballsy move, and they did great...I know it's supposed to be a one-off but I do hope they consider doing one or two more performances like this down the line, since I think with the opening-night jitters out of the way, a second or third show would be off the charts.


Also, Orchard people are awesome. It was so wonderful seeing all you guys again, it had been way too long.

We had a great time as well. Beautiful night, beautiful music, beautifully executed. Sorry we didn't get to spend as much time with your Orchard folks, but we were treating the weekend as a romantic event (make out song for married people, hehe). Anyway, we left midway through If A Song Could be President because there was a hot tub waiting for us at our hotel room. 'Nuff said, no?

Oh, it was GREAT to see Steve and Amanda, as well as everyone else. Sorry we missed you Bill!

Yeah, the sound was way off up close. We were seated in the third row center for the first two songs, then we left (bad sound, and WAAAAAAAAY too cramped--that part was ridiculous) and sat about halfway back in the center and that was better. The best sound, however, was outside the actual venue. Jake said something was wrong with the bass monitor, and that was the reason it sounded better outside, because it allowed enough time and space to integrate those sound waves.

There was definitely a lack of "bottom" for, especially, the first few songs. Then I heard Jake's baselines, but still had the impression the sound was going around me or maybe above ... I was about twenty rows back, left of center. I didn't catch any negativity for the heartfelt anti-Bush, anti-war comments, but I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, the show was full of VIPs (Very Inconsiderate Pricks) who were obviously corporate ninnies with bracelets who talked the entire show. We personally told a pair in front of us to shut it when the cellphones came out. Yes, cellphones.

That being said ... it was a gutsy, well-done show. To back up Steve, I heard the holding back in the first set, but they clearly let it rip after the intermission. I did not recognize the Miss Ohio song, but I was confused because I too heard the Neil Young teaser riff.

Of course, good to see all of you!

I didn't catch any negativity either. People cheered when Karin made a few comments prior to "Remind Us" and "Stoned." It's Ohio, so I'm sure there were dissenters (although I didn't bother to count...just like a real Ohio election!) but if there were, they either kept it to themselves or were drowned out by the rest. It did hit me pretty hard that these songs were 5 years old, and sadly just as relevant as they were when the record came out. *sigh*



Oh, and WHAT THE HELL WAS UP WITH THAT SHOUTING GUY? First set was fine, but it was like he had a few too many tequila shots during the intermission and kept alternating between "I Love You Karin" and "Play the Trumpet Child" at the top of his lungs. Maybe he used to be the "Freebird" guy in a past life? God, I wanted to punch them. I bet OTR hadn't seen a fight at one of their shows in awhile...

Heh. Yeah, there were a lot of people there who didn't know how to behave, but I'm trying not to let those few bozos ruin my evenings. It's hard though! I mean, how do you tell people they're not in their living rooms? Sheesh.

I mocked yelling out "Whipping Post" in response to drunken doofus guy.

But I agree with you ... I was rocked too by those same songs. Some of us saw the whole sham coming when those songs were penned ... very few of those live in the reddy-red SW Ohio area.

Good luck to your Red-Wings, son!

re: the sound.

i hung out behind the board quite a bit and overheard a lot of discussion and it was a matter of frustration for both juicy and the "hired gun" from the sound company. especially, the guy from the sound company (he will be working "the room" regularly), apparently, due to it being "outside," a decision was made to use a concrete stage instead of wood, which he explained bounces the sound rather than absorbs it as wood does. on top of that, it's hollow underneath which was causing some vibration that didn't show up during soundcheck and they didn't hear until the first set began and they had a very hard time isolating and/or controlling it. they tweaked and adjusted as the show progressed and did the best they could "on the fly" and under the circumstances. the second set seemed much improved. i didn't think it was "bad" but it wasn't up to their usual standards.

i guess that's one of the hazards of being the first to play a brand new venue, that stuff like that doesn't show up until it's actually in use. but you'd think that in a spiffy, shiny (and expensive) new venue like that, that the builders/designers wouldn't test and make sure that the stage was the state of the art before it was built (i mean...wouldn't the stage be one of the top two or three most important things when building a concert venue?).

The entire night was, in itself, a highlight; from meeting up before the show to the first chords of B.P.D. to Bruce's & Steve's rousing karaoke performances (gotta love Lebo's...waiting to see pics.) But, I definitely have a couple show highlights.

Idea #21 - I kept debating how they would do this live, and darn it if they still didn't surprise me a bit with the simplicity and beauty of it.

Remind Us - As others have said, to hear Karin speak of her writing this when the war began and playing it with the war ongoing 5 years later was powerful...as was the performance. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but near the end of the song, there were what sounded like fireworks going off outside. It made me think of mortar fire and the battlefield. Totally coincidental, but it added a layer of depth to the night, the moment, and the song.

Stoned - They really loosened up in the second half of the show, but this was definitely when the "fun" kicked in. I'm a wanna-be-drummer, so to hear how Nick and Mickey tore the song up was incredible! If there's a Mickey Grimm fan club, I wanna be a part of it.

For the setting, I'd agree the stage felt high for those of us in Pit C. I was third row, dead center (which meant I had a great view of Karin all night.) It almost seems like the stage was set higher so that the front seats could be pulled out for "standing" crowds. Again, there were a few first night issues, but all were minor, and I'll be daydreaming about this show for a while.

It was great seeing the Orchard gang and hanging out pre- and post-show. Hope we can do it again soon.

For the record, OTR doing "Whipping Post" would be AWESOME.




If the people who own/run these outdoor amphitheaters gave two shits about the quality of the sound and musical experience, Pine Knob in Detroit would've been nuked to oblivion years ago. I'm sure someone made the owners aware of the sound benefits of a concrete vs. wood stage, and they obviously didn't heed the advice. (same with the lack of front fill speakers...that's an easy fix though...about 2 grand in speakers and some speaker cables would do the trick) The second set definitely improved though...I imagine Juicy hadn't had to mix a place like that in a loooong time, poor guy.


I uploaded the few pics I took that came out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/33005423@N00/...57605257014621/ They're not as good as Bill or Jeanne's, since I have no idea what to do with a camera (and a borrowed camera, at that) but thought someone might enjoy them.

I like this one, during "Bothered":



(i wanted to upload a few as attachments, but I can't find the button anymore to do that?)

ok, just got the first pass of pics up @: http://picasaweb.google.com/bivester, i'll edit it down later, just wanted to get some out there.

best viewed using the slideshow feature.

I thought the sound was pretty darn good. I was on the very front row in the pit center and it sounded awesome to me. I was worried that it wouldn't since I haven't enjoyed being that close in other settings, however Juicy totally rocked the joint! It actually sounded like Karin was singing right to me the whole night. Awesome job, Dave!

Patrick, I noticed the fireworks too at the soft ending to Remind Us. Eerie, just eerie. And my hat is off to the two guys who came down to the front during the last two songs and totally refused to let security make them leave. Rock on!

All in all, I would rate the show pretty high. And for those of you who are wondering. Yes, it was video taped (by the venue I believe). There were two cameras and they did a pretty good job cutting between the two (sans a few cheesy fades and page curls). Now whether we get a DVD release out of this, no one would or could say, however let me just say this. In the whole 12 years and 37 shows I've seen OTR play, I've never once seen Karin do a wardrobe change. Last night the entire band did a wardrobe change... So let's just keep our collective fingers crossed that the DVD gods were appeased last night.

Also, my hat's off to the ladies at the will call booth. I actually forgot my tickets at home and they did some reprinting magic for me--was scared there for a minute, but they pulled us through at the end.

i could be wrong (and believe me, i would love to be), but i don't think it was "recorded." from what i was told, those cameras (there was one the stage and one beside the soundboard) were just "live-feeds" for in-house broadcast on the two screens on the sides of the stage.

a few samples...

I just have to say one thing. Linford is the best bass player this band has ever had. Hands down. Hearing what he adds to the mix with those four little strings is like dreaming you're on a sandy beach sipping fruity cocktails, and then actually waking up to find you're on the beach sipping fruity cocktails!

It's on tape, somewhere...I mean, it's not hard to send the feed to some kind of recorder. (Springsteen's site posts clips from the same in-house feed from almost every show of the tour...yes, a bigger artist, but same Radio Shack technology) I don't think it's "releasable" in the traditional sense but if it were a different, less-perfectionist band, I'd say it'd pass as a homespun limited "official bootleg" souvenir for those who were there (or those that are curious), maybe a limited run of 750 or 1,000. Having said that...it's never gonna happen.

So, in the meantime, I offer this poor but well-intentioned substitute, since I imagine a few people might be wondering what it sounded like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb1As9FON9g

Other than the fücktard yelling at the beginning (For a song they've played at every damn show for the last 2 years, no less), it's a gorgeous rendition...

Great shots as usual Bill. next time wear something darker

Oh dear ... I was thinking the same thing! Bill ... on a totally black stage, you stood out like a sore thumb! LOL ... I do agree: great shots indeed!

live and learn. i thought i was hiding behind the curtains pretty well.

You were absolutely, positively unobtrusive, Bill ... but the white shirts against the black background .... Think of it this way. Did you ever watch a mime ... or Mummenschantz, perhaps? They're dressed in black with white gloves and shoes? Well, you were the white gloves, my friend!

It's alright Bill It was totally worth it to get the shots you did.

::note to self:: buy a black shirt, wear it to all future OtR shows.

Just giving you a hard time Bill.

Only the ones where you're going to be onstage. I'm about to go get my super-wide angle disposables developed. I wonder if I got you in any of my shots.

what the heck, black is "slimming" anyway, right?

(and if so jeanne, crop my fat ass out, would ya?)

C'mon! I thought we could have a fun time playing, "Where's William?" and see how many shots we can find you in, Bill! jk