This was the second time that I've seen S-K, the first time was almost exactly 3 years ago. I can't believe I had to wait that long, but I missed them the last time they made it to Wisconsin. Really, a 1.5 hour drive from Madison was definately worth it. I was stage left (audience's right) about 5 feet away from Corin, with a good view of both Corin and Carrie, and if I craned my neck, I could see Janet as well.
Setlist: The first two songs were definately AHOTBO and then Little Babies. The last song was definately Youth Decay. In between the beginning and the end, S-K played (but not necessarily in this order) Ballad of a Ladyman, Male Model, Banned from the End of the World, Milkshake 'n Honey, End of You, Anonymous, #1 Must Have, YNRnRF, The Professional, Was it a Lie, Ironclad, Hubcap, Joey Ramone, and maybe another one or two that I've forgotten. The encore consisted of a moving rendition of White Rabbit that was very similar to the original, Turn it On, and DMO.
I was surprised by the ease with which they carried themselves on stage, compared to the last show that I went to. It's early in the tour and they're still working out the kinks in the new songs (except YNRnRF where they danced a lot like they do in the video). All of the material from the earlier albums had a much more polished/rehearsed feel, even where Carrie and Corin swung their guitars together in time during Joey Ramone. The witty banter with the audience made the night complete. Here is a partial gleaning of the conversations with the audience which are by no means verbatim:
-Of course they started out with the perfunctory location talk. They said that they'd never been to Milwaukee, but it seems cool. They'd only been to a laundrymat where they'd met some cool people and then to the bar (The Globe) where they were performing.
-Someone asked for one of Janet's drum sticks. Janet was like, "I need this right now." Carrie said "If you take away one stick...you do the math."
-Janet was the star du jour. Someone yelled "We love Janet!" Corin -- "We think so too...we'll get your number later."
- After a song, some girls on stage right were laughing as they paused between songs -- Carrie looked at them, then said that she prefers laughing between songs instead of shrieks and moans. The girls persisted with S-K's attention and insisted "play to us" -- Carrie said something to the effect that we should all turn to play in their direction, while Corin replied "That's a little selfish, isn't it."
- To introduce the song Ironclad, Carrie asked, "does everybody know about the Moniter and the Merrimac, even though this song isn't really about that. Someone yelled "Civil War!!" Corin -- "Give that man a free t-shirt." Carrie -- "Xtra credit for the north's general leading the battle." Someone might have taken a shot at it, but Carrie quickly answered "Gen. McKellan." Corin -- "We have a lot of free time in the van."
I'm sure you all already know, but be sure to bring extra money to the concerts for the nifty little buttons, stickers, and a poster which are all cheap, cheap, cheap. It's only $5-6 to buy all of them. Also, get there early to see Gossip if you can, you won't regret it.
