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May 3, 2003 - Bogart's - Cincinnati, OH, US Concert review by Chase Abner (gilldore at hotmail dot com) Setlist: Love Lies In Ruin, For Your Love, Jesus I/God's Gonna Set This World On Fire, Declarations of Faith, El Sol, Riverview, Baby Let's Rock, Heartsong, Of A Broken Heart, Honestly, Settle Down, Desire, Mary Star of the Sea Encore #1: Lyric, Endless Summer Encore #2: A New Poetry Encore #3: I'm Eighteen, Spilled Milk This was my third Zwan show following Columbus,OH in December and Cleveland,OH in March and it was undeniably the best I've seen them. Now a rundown of the setlist... Love Lies In Ruin... I could have left after this one. It's my favorite track on the DVD and I couldn't have picked a better opener. If anyone knows where I can find the entire studio track, let me know, PLEASE. For Your Love... Another non-album track that was great to hear live again (Columbus). Jesus I/GGSTWOF... The build in this song makes it fit anywhere in a setlist. I'm sure anyone who heard this at the show wouldn't dare say that the rainbows mean Billy's gone soft. Declarations of Faith... Not much to say. I love David's e-bow playing. You really get the full ambient effect of it live. El Sol... The Crowd really seemed to love this one with many singing along. Riverview... I hadn't ever heard this one before, but recognized it from reading the lyrics her on zwanmusic.org. It seemed a lot of the crowd didn't recognize it either. Baby Let's Rock... I told my girlfriend before the show that I wanted to hear this one live. They didn't play it at Columbus or Cleveland. The bridge was awesome live. After the song ended, Billy said something about playing a longer set than usual and the crowd went nuts. Heartsong... The violin came out to Paz on this one. Billy just slowly strummed the intro, unlike the album. It was a cool change. Of A Broken Heart... Paz held on to the violin and spent the 1st verse sitting on the stage. David moved back to keys. Good performance... but not the best I've seen it played. Honestly... Of course, everyone was singing along with this one, which just reminded me of the triumph I hear in this song. Billy whips arse on this solo every time he plays it. It had the false ending with the band coming back in for a few more bars. Settle Down... Honestly led straight into this one... Jimmy just kept a beat going...very cool. Desire... Whenever I hear this song, I think about how one reviewer of Mary said that Billy stole these lyrics straight outta the Goo Goo Dolls' back catalog...and I get sick. Paz really nails the vocal shadowing on this one live. If I offended any Goo Goo Dolls' fans, I do not apologize. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Mary Star of the Sea... It had an extended intro where the band started playing a nice looping mesh of riffs and it slowly evolved into the recognizable intro of Mary. Yet another Zwan song that starts light and builds... they just work perfectly live. Encore Break #1 Lyric... I thought they would play this late since it is the latest single. I could tell it's already catching on as many were singing along. It's one of my faves from Mary and only get's better live. Endless Summer... As any respectful Zwan fan, I try to avoid as many Pumpkins comparisons as possible, but this is really a song that reminds of some old SP demos (Siamese Dream era maybe?). I do feel that Zwan puts a new touch on an old sound though. The way that Sweeney, David, and Billy layer the guitar parts is awesome and incredible to see live. Encore Break #2 A New Poetry... For some reason, I just don't get into this song. I would prefer to hear it earlier in the show... but what do I know... maybe i'll come around. Encore Break #3 I'm Eighteen... I wasn't sure if we would get a third encore, partially because it was roasting in Bogart's and I know the band had to be feeling the heat. Billy said something earlier about not cheering and it wouldn't be so hot... of course, precipitating a host of cheers. Also, some folks were trying to start a "Billy" chant, which I'm sure he highly disapproves of. Last time I checked, there were four other Zwan members. Anyway... they came back out. At first, I didn't recognize the song, but the chorus reminded me of the Alice Cooper cover they had been playing. It was a solid encore song and I'm sure it freakin kills Cooper's version. Near the end, Billy and Paz starting saying "nineteen" instead of "eighteen", presumably to screw with the hundreds singing along. Spilled Milk... In my opinion, they couldn't have picked a better closer. For those who haven't heard this one, refer to comment made regarding rainbows under "Jesus I/GGSTWOF". Billy breaks out his classic screams on this one and punishes his axe and it is cool and by cool I mean totally sweet. It went on for what seemed like 20 minutes... but maybe I'm crazy... Near the end, they wound it down only for Billy to kick it back in with a leap and Jimmy followed on the drums. They concluded the song by taking the tempo down each time through the riff. Awesome...awesome... what a tight band. After the bows and the waves, Billy went to the edge of the stage and shook hands (at which point a hefty girl tried to make me forever part of Bogart's floor). He threw out some picks and water bottles for heading off stage. Like I said, the best I've seen them yet and I know they'll just keep getting better. I also met some cool people outside. I'm not sure of their names... guy named Erik (Derick) from Dayton... and a gal whose name I can't remember, but she did a mean play-by-play when the two kids were fighting in the middle of the street. Inside I talked to somed guys from Somerset,KY and two guys from Cinci (one of which wanted to see Sonic Youth in June)... I hope you guys enjoyed the show as much as I did and give me an email sometime. Sidenotes: If you have a huge fro... cut it or pull it back before going to a concert... it is a visual obstruction and it smells funny when you head bang. If you want to get close to the stage... get in line early. If you're late because you're out buying Goo Goo Dolls' albums... that really is your fault (shame on you, again). Don't ruin the show by pushing anyone. Thanks... Chase
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