Another Beginning's End-Reviews
Concert Reviews
Do you have a Semisonic concert review? Send it to me and I'll post it on this page!
October 16, 1998
9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Being unable to obtain tickets before hand, we arrived in DC with the hopes of being able to get them at ticketmaster a few hours before the show. However, when we got there, we found that tickets had been sold out. So now what? Well, we decided to take our chances and go to the club and try to get tickets from the people out front. Luck was with us. We got a ticket from a guy who's friend bailed out at the last second and a lady who wanted a refund on one of her tickts but couldn't get one (I only paid 10 bucks for mine;-))
By now, there was a long line waiting for the doors to open and I knew that if we went to the back of the line we would never get to be close to the stage... no problem. I knew some people who were at the front of the line.. so we went up and stood with them.
While we were waiting for the doors to open, someone walked up to me and introduced herself as Olivia, someone I knew from a Semisonic e-mail list (and a good one too, Lindsay, if you read this;-)). Olivia handed me a bunch of promo cards for the Semisonic fan club and e-mail list and went off to re-park her car. I passed out the cards to the people in line and took the rest with me... the doors to the club were opening.
Once we got inside, I headed straight for the stage and got a GREAT spot right in front of the stage, holding onto the railing that seperated the pit from the stage. And we waited...
The first band that went on... um.. well... they needed a little more energy in my opinion... the second band had too much energy... the were REALLY loud too.
At last, just as I was getting so tired of standing that I thought I was going to pass out or something, Semisonic took the stage.
They broke right into FNT. They all looked great... Dan was wearing that number shirt under his green jacket thingy which he later took off. I remembered the fan club and e-mail list promo cards that I still held and grabbed about three of them and threw them uo onto the stage. Then this guy snuck up from behind and took them off...
The launched into the next song, Singing In My Sleep without a word. The lighting was just amazing. Best I've ever seen. As the show wore on, more people threw stuff onto the stage and the guy kept taking it off again. The the band got assulted with balloons. By this time, the screaming of the crowd was almost as loud as the music. It was funny to watch this guard who stood between up and the stage try to keep a million ballons away and see the "take the stuff off the stage" guy keep running out every five seconds.
Of course, we WERE in DC and so we knew that I word at least about ol' billy boy and his girl would get out... and sure enough, Dan made reference to it during the intro to DND. How he concived this I have to idea...
By the middle of the show, the screaming was louder than the music... there were balloons and bubbles flying onto the stage along with paper signs, stuffed animals, cards (from me), and this girl by me was arguing with the guard to let her throw her beer to Dan. Then the girl lit up a cigarette and Dan kindly asked her to put it out.
The did Closing Time and then went off the stage... but not for long... they came back on and did three more songs, one of which was a cover song from a band which I BELIEVE is called Split Ends but I'm not sure. The song was called I Got You. They ended the show with California and walked off of the stage.
It was a GREAT show and I can't wait to see them again. Oh and, I got Dan's setlist from the stage guard so here are the songs and the order they were played in:
FNT
Singing In My Sleep
Never You Mind
Secret Smile
Down In Flames
If I Run
She Spreads Her Wings
DND
Completely Pleased
Erotic City
Delicious
Closing Time
This Will Be My Year
I Got You
California
August 15, 1998
Star Lake, Pittsburgh, PA
We arrived for the show early (it was amazing that we got there at all, but that's another story ;-). Anyway, we claimed out spot in the second row on the grass hill (who am I kiding, it was nothing but dirt and rocks, good thing it didn't rain). Since it was going to be a while before the action started, I took a second to look around at the venue. We were not that far from the stage, rather on a hill overlooking it. There were a few rows of seats on the ground directly in front of the stage and a walkway that wound its way around the stage. To the side of the walkway sat the hill, which wound around ¾ of the stage. I sat and watched the people around us looking and waiting....
It was about 7:30 when Semisonic took the stage. They were the first act of the night (the main act was Matchbox20 and the other opening band was Soul Asylum). I dont remember the exact setlist for the show (I DID have a pencil and paper in my pocket from a survey someone had handed out outside of the venue, but I didn't write it down). I remember that they played Singing In My Sleep (I believe that was the second song they played) followed by Never You Mind and DND.
While Singing In My Sleep was on, during the chorus I couldn't help but wonder who there that had never heard the song before could NOT like it? Dan was the talkative one, he introduced John and Jake, and even had the audience singing alone on the yeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeahyeah of Delicious. The ended the set with Closing Time and the audience response with this one was more than that of the other songs they played combined.
Well, it was a great show, there isn't much to write about it (I know the intro was longer than the entire review), you have to go and experience it yourself. You won't be sorry, trust me.
November 1, 1998
Phoenix, AZ
The following review was submitted by Jenny
I had been anticipating this moment for 2 years, ever since I first became
a fan in the fall of 1996. But because I live in New Mexico(land of
dirt), the odds of
ANYONE visiting our god forsaken state are very slim. Finally though, I
found out they would be in Phoenix, so I simply had to go. Though I was
still hung over from Halloween parties, we drove the 6 hours with
excitement. They performed at the Cajun House in Scottsdale, which just
goes to further blow my mind in respects to the freakin AWESOME clubs they
have in Phoenix. We got there early and while we could hear them
practicing, we could not get in. So because I was very anxious to hear my
most favorite Semisonic song, "In Another Life," and I didn't think the
odds were in my favor, I wrote a little note explaining the distance I had
gone to see them and asked for them to play it. We left and came back a
few hours later still in denial that we were about to see Semisonic in
live! I was pleasantly surprised by their opening band, Guster.
The most impressive part was their drummer who played bongos and other
percussian insturments with his hands. Just watching his hands flying
around whacking cymbals and everything in site was worth the 14$ already.
Then finially, Semisonic came out. They opened with f.n.t. I cannot
remember the order of the songs, but this is a list of ones they did play.
Secret Smile
If I Run
Delicious
The Prize
DND (complete with an entertaing explanation of the roots of the song
from Dan. Apparently, DND is hotel lingo for Do Not Disturb.)
In Another Life (which he dedicated to me!)
Never You Mind
Down In Flames
A Prince cover (I cannot remember the name of it)
Singing in My Sleep
Closing Time
For the encore, they played;
California and a song I've never heard before.
They were great performers. Dan would do a hip swaying motion that (at
the risk of sounding like a gushy teenager)was adorable. Yet it was the
bass player, John, who danced in such a way it was almost obscene. Jake,
the drummer, was amazing to watch with his ability to play both the drums
and the keyboard at the same time despite having a look of pure pain on
his face the entire time. They jammed out during several of the songs,
improvising and having a good time. The audience was fun and responded to
all their songs with enthusiasm. Dan was funny in between the songs;
relating stories of sending a national Do Not Disturb sign to the
whitehouse and his desire to fuck up the drunk driver who slammed into
their tour bus after a DC show a few weeks ago. His voice was as
wonderful
as ever. Never did it crack or strain, it came as naturally as it does on
the albums. John provided the perfect harmonies and sometimes the lead
voice. After the show, Dan was outside the tour bus signing shirts,
tickets, whatever. I was able to thank him for playing "In Another Life,"
and he was very nice explaining they always try to do what they can for
people who go out of their way. I am still giddy with the whole
experience and cannot wait to catch them in concert again.
Jenny
(jsteeves@nmsu.edu)
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