9/16/2000 Reviews

September 16 E Center, Camden, NJ
Bird Song > (Bobby and Bruce)
Jack Straw (Bobby and Bruce)
Sugaree (Bruce)
Jack-A-Roe (Bobby)
Bird Song Jam >
Cassidy >
Truckin (Bobby acoustic)
Bird Song Jam >
Long Tall Cool One >
Drumz/Jam >
Knockin on Heaven's Door > (Bobby)
He's Gone > (Bobby, Bruce, and Mark)
The Wheel > (Lovelight tease >)
Bird Song >
One More Saturday Night
E1: Black Muddy River (Mark and Alphonso acoustic; Bruce vocals)
E2: Johnny B. Goode

I TOO's 2 weeks ago at Darien Lake in up state New York. It was the early part of the tour and the show was mediocre. I saw the show last night at Camden and what a difference! The band is hot! Maybe they were weak when the tour first started but they sound pretty refined now. The "rehearsal" stage of the tour is over and now they've worked out the bugs. They're on a roll, baby! You can now go see them without any worries. Check it out!

--smellbutt tasty

* * *

Absolutely smokin night of great music!!!! Anyone who did not enjoy this show should just stay home and save some extra dancin space for the rest us!!!!!!!

--pollywampus

* * *

Best show ever!!! Holy cow!!!! Go here this band!!!!

--terry ezzy

* * *

A SMOKING show from start to finish. A lot of choice nuggets where heard this evening. This only my second show (Continental); I must say that this was better. The vibe was very fun, even in the lot. Although the cops where telling us we couldn't hang in the parking lot once Ziggy started. For once I am actually Grateful to them because Ziggy was great. It seemed that there where a lot of Phish fans at this show being that they played in Hershey last night, and are heading to Virginia today (9/17). It seems our TOO band blew the breath away of my little Phish fans that where next to me. As for the show the band seemed to be tight throughout the night. A few soft spots. Overall have had a Grate time at my TOO shows and am wishing for a spring tour. Happy trails to those going to the next shows.

--E. Wuehler

* * *

Hi.... VERY TIGHT SHOW!!!! The Black Muddy encore brought tears to my eyes. The scene was in full swing in Camden. Cassidy was fun, He's Gone > The Wheel had it's moments. As to the people complaining about the sound and playing out west, just goes to prove the east coast has alot of ENERGY!!!!!!!!!! That's why they play here all the time.. scale of 1-10 i give last night's show a 8.
Thanks and peace

--HIGHTIME70

* * *

Marley family came out of the starting gates w/ "I Shot the Sheriff" followed by Uncle Sam, Small Axe, Higher Vibrations, One Good Spliff, One Fine Day, an excellent People Get Ready, 1 or 2 more and then concluding w/ a great "Could You Be Loved". Reggae rules.

TOO comes out of the gates w/ 3 out of 4 Jerry tunes back into Bird song (4 out of 5 Jerry tunes) which turned out to be the theme for Saturday nite's show at the E-centre. Jack Straw was jammed out great as well as Cassidy. Knocking on Heaven's Door following the drums was a refreshing change as I knew more cool tunes would follow this as the band went into He's Gone > The Wheel. Two close friends were sitting w/ me during "The Wheel" and they were both w/ me at a Phil and Friends show 7/28/2000 and 8/4/76 when "The Wheel" was played at both these 2 shows. Good karma always welcome!!! Band revisited Bird Song near end of show for 4th time > One More Saturday Night. Great show well rewarded w/ the crowd bringing the band back twice. 2nd encore was Johnny B. Goode (tonight!!!). This always symbolizes a good show, at least in my 25 years of touring. See you at the next show.

--TieDyeEMTF

* * *

I went into the show with realistic expectations. The band did not disappoint. Heard rumors of poor attendance in other cities. Not the case in Camden. Not sure if it was sold out, but the reserved was packed and the lawn was pleasantly full. Who can complain about a show that had a Bird Song theme all night. And no cheesy cowboy songs. The only acoustic number was a well sung Knockin'. Jack Straw and Cassidy were very well played. I like this song much better when it's not a set closer. The Rhythm Devils showed why they are not to be ignored or dismissed as filler or bathroom break material. The sound just surrounded you. Monks piped in was a nice touch. With the expection of a couple of vocal missteps by Hornsby (he seemed to get ahead of the pack during the beginning of Sugaree) the vocals were strong. They really got a climax happening during the end of Sugaree. I missed Phil's vocal contributions during the evening. The jammed the Wheel so long before they started the lyrics I thought maybe they weren't even going to actually do the song, and just tease it. Black Muddy River was a hard song to hear. I haven't listened to much late 90's Dead in the past few years. My emotions ran high during this song. A rocking JBG second encore was a great way to finish an excellent show.

Shakedown Street was in full force in the lot. Lots of kind food, drink and cool stuff to buy. Too much nitrous (any is too much IMO).

--Susan Gibbons

* * *

The show was great in comparison to the two previous nights. Despite great execution I just don't leave with the "energy." The sound was such a huge improvement. When I made the commitment to get down there last night it was with the hope that even if the setlist stunk I hoped that the sound issues would be rectified, and they were. The mix last night made it a different band, and Kimock actually played. Weir sung the lyrics as if he gave a "...," and there was no acoustic set in the middle to drag the show down. I am thinking that this show had a lot going on backstage if only because the entire aura was different.

We caught way to many repeats, including "Saturday Night", but I won my dollar. The execution of "Bird Song" left nothing to compare, and I REALLY NEVER NEED TO HEAR "LONG TALL COOL ONE" live EVER AGAIN. It gets really boring, and Hornsby has such a huge catalogue to draw on. Last night's show would have benefited from an "Across the River."

None of the playing last night deserves too much criticism. Frankly, while it wasn't the most inspiring night, there was nothing wrong with it. It was fun. I am very glad that I went to wash the very bad taste of Brendan Byrne out of my system.

This band has the potential to be great; to be one of the best and it is missing the mark on every call. There is a Dead cover band called Border Legion has leaves you with more inspiration than these guys.

Maybe it is my age, though I doubt it. I can derive excitement from just about anyone out there full of talent.

Bottom line. Catch a show and pray for good sound. Going at least once is worth it, but don't expect magic. You will not leave filled up; satiated, any of those things. But you will have the songs, and they do fill the air.
Thanks for the indulgence.

--Lisa Lamborn

* * *

This was a great show; the boys were on fire. Glad to see some old faces.

--JWharfrat

* * *

Bravo!!!!!!! Tonight was the night when everything seemed to go right. The boys came and as we heads say kicked one out. The whole show seemed to flow smoothly, but what a finish: He's Gone, The Wheel, Bird Song, .One More Saturday Night, with a Black Muddy River encore, but wait here they come again, I said to myself what are they going to play?????? Johnny B. Goode. Smokin Show. My 58 year mom and my 5 year old daughter had a ball.

For me after almost 20 years the boys still make some magic. Thank you Guys........

--R Mitchell

* * *

What a great show! Bird Song was the dominant theme throughout the night and a jam they returned to. It was a relaxed atmosphere and the band had a smooth, silky, spherical sound. Although there were occasional pauses during the night, Bird Song was a mellow theme that tied the whole evening together. The whole show was like a gentle passing breeze. The double encore was a surpass to me only because I had been following the setlists but at the show, it was like "of course." Black Muddy River was a pure delight and wonderful goodnight song. Johnny B. Goode was a rare treat and jam song all musicians could get into. They ended on a high note. I was sitting too far away so see what was going on on stage but the guitarists (Mark & Steve) did a solid job promoting the jamming and keeping things rolling. The drumming flowed effortlessly and was superb. Bill K.'s presence made a difference. The sound was clear and clean and the perfect volume. Check out Ziggy Marley... he is worth seeing and he really had the place jummping... his set was energenic and his music sat comfortabily next to his father's classics. "Small Axe" and "Higher Vibration" were high points. I hope Ziggy puts out a live album of this tour. He was the perfect opener for a laid back but engaging evening of music.

--Turkishbaby

* * *

While the show had a couple highlights (Truckin & Knockin), I felt like they never reached a good flow. Weir and Hornsby seemed like they really did not want to be there. Also whoever the big guitar player dressed in blue was has got to go, his solo's slowed down the whole show.

--Frank Z.

* * *

Well I will start by saying that I scored front row tickets for this show. I was just about dead center, right between Alphonso and Mark. I have never been in the first 25 rows let alone the 1st. To start I would like to say that the band is really having fun up there. To be so close and watch everything that was happening from a few feet away was incredible. There were a few rough spots at times, but in general the show was great. The Bird Song opener caught me by surprise, and sounded great, the jams were everywhere, and they were sweet. I found myself torn between who to look at being I was right there and I will let you know that my eyes kept wandering back to Mark. Throughout the show he was incredible. Dont get me wrong, Steve had some really nice liks throughout the show, But for some reason I kept my eyes on Mark.

The facial expressions were incredible. They were so into each other the whole nite, again it was fantastic. Bird Song flew into Jack Straw which I was expecting to open the show. It was nice. Then Sugaree, and it started to get really good. They were playing off each other left and right, and there were long jams through out this song. Steve had some really nice licks during this song as well as Mark, and Alphonso. I may not mention Bobby much but that is because he was on fire throughout the nite, regardless of song, or position. Then Jack-a-Roe, The first rough spot for me. The first few minutes I could not seem to get the groove, but then out of nowhere I found it and forgot all about the 1st haly of this song. Then we had a Cassidy that was sweet as could be. Now the show was about to explode. With Bobby on accoustic Cassidy flowed into Truckin which was unexplainable. WOW these guys are hot, is all I could think, and it seemed apparent because everywhere I turned it seemed that everyone was in tune with the band, or vice-versa. Truckin flowed into another Bird song Jam that was nice and then into Bruce's Long Tall Cool One. Nothing to say about this one, I love Bruce and alot of his songs but this one did not fit amongst what we witnessed so far and what was still to come. It just seemed out of place, as I watched the others members it looked as though they were bored playing this one, pretty much leaving it up to Bruce and Bobby.Then DRUMS, WOW Billy and Mickey still have it. The drums segment was shorter than I expected but none the less was intense. Drums went into another big surprise. While I was expecting Weather Report, which I know they teased at this point, but we got an elegant Knockin on Heaven's Door, which was sung very elegant by Bobby and Bruce. It was great. Knockin went into He's Gone, which kept me dancin throughout. He's gone flowed into one of the most powerful Wheels I ever heard, now, or then. It was excellent. With a long jammy intro I did not know if they were ever going to start singing. It was really well played, then the Wheel flowed back into Bird Song for another verse and then into Sat. Nite which kept us rockin. When that was done I was exhausted. I just sat down and noticed there were about 2 dozen people in front of me. Now remember I was in the front row. Anyway I had no problem with that, everyone made room for everybody and we all had fun. Then they came back for an elegant Black Muddy River. I love to hear that one. Then I thought it was over but being in the front row, I could see the band on the side of the stage discussing something, then out of the blue they came back and went into a rockin Johnny B. Goode. The show was great, The vibes were great, the guys are Definately having fun up there and that is what its all about.
Peace,

--Eric

* * *

Brief - while musically competent, just didn't do it for me.

Settle things with Phil, ditch Mark Karan, LET KIMOCK LOOSE ...........

--Silent Mark

* * *

Enjoyable night on Staurday. Always great to be back in Camden. Thought the show started out slow and lackluster but the band kicked it in gear for Jack-a-Roe which was a highlight. The drum break was excellent. Billy really shone. In fact Bill was the man on drums all night. May sound silly, but the Heaven's Door was another highlight. The whole band really gelled and it came off beautifully. By the way, Kimock was a large presence throughout most of the show. Not like other OO shows I've seen where ol' Similin' Steve made a couple of appearances but was hardly in the game most of the time. Karan didnt impress too much. Possibly this band would be better off without him. I think they lose focus and impact sometimes due to being mindful of each others toes. Of course, they'd also have access to higher planes if Phil were on hand but AJ holds down the bottem just fine. His solo on Jack-a-Roe (!) was also pretty cool. I'll also note that the sound was excellent where I was (about 25 rows from the stage, left center). I've read alot of negative comments from other shows, but it was quite clear, adequately loud and well mixed from my standpoint. That's all from here. I'll let others provide the tune by tune critique. Nor will I make the pointless comparison to a Phil show.

--Skip

* * *

To give everyone a little perspective, I have been to over 250 shows. One of the things I have been seeing here on the reviews, reminds me of the past, nit-picking every little item of each show. So I will not bore you with the setlist, you can see for yourself. Please people, go to the show "and let the music play the band". We are fortunate that the "boys" still enjoy playing this great music for us. And as far as "boys," I have to say that Phil is being a real baby. He decides to pick up his marbles and go home. The music is bigger than that. I can understand that he might want to have his own band, but he could be doing both, just like Bob and Jerry have done for years. So Phil, see ya, this is thanks that you give to all of us heads after all these years.  Now the show, it was great!!! We danced, sang, and had a ball. Hope anyone who is thinking of going to one of the last few shows goes, and just let the music play the band!!!!

--Jay Osselburn

* * *

The Show was awesome!!! We drove from Ocean City, Md. Would have liked to seen more shows, I am hoping and praying they will tour again next year. We are planning to save $ and tour for a couple of weeks for our honeymoon.
Take Care & Love Always,

--Julielynn

* * *

I must have been at a different show then most of you, because I thought this was the sloppiest performance I've seen by any band, ever. I was at Montage the week before and thought that was pretty solid. In fact, I really enjoyed that show a lot. I'll stop short of saying this show sucked, but it wasn't very good. They came out ON FIRE with Bird Song > Jack Straw and a knock-out Sugaree, but Jack-A-Roe was a trainwreck. What was up with that out-of-key bass solo by Alphonso? Ruined the song. They never got back to speed. After they ended that nightmare, they waited a few minutes and choked back into a Bird Song jam as if to say, "Well, we're out of ideas." A passable Cassidy and a solid Truckin' led into a wonderful drum segment, which simply ended. No jam out of it. After a very long conference and the expectation they were about to launch into something huge (Weather Report, Sailor > Circumstance, Help > Slip > Franks...), they launch into Knockin' on Heavens Door. KNOCKIN'?!? Following drums with Knockin?!? This is the only encore I used to leave at Dead shows. I couldn't believe it. They took at least 5 minutes to figure what to play, and then launch into this?!?! Maybe I'm being jaded here, but I was not in the mood for a high school dance song. This was lame, even if played nearly flawlessly. They follow it up with Long Tall Lame One. BORING!!! Out of all of Hornsby's catalog, they have to play this adult contemporary cocktail rock. He's Gone was an abomination; the Montage version was much better. They wheezed and sputtered through this, save a strong vocal jam on the outset. A standard Wheel with a missing verse led into the evening's only real interesting jam, with Hornsby going off on the Turkey in The Straw theme and Kimock answering with some pretty cool licks. It almost seemed like Bruce was saying, "This show was a joke, might as well have a little fun here." This got interesting... and then they came back into Bird Song. Nothing interesting to speak of. Then the obligatory One More Saturday Night. Weir gave it his all, but it was too little too late. I left toward the end of Black Muddy River quite disappointed, and I'm not sorry I missed Johnny B. Goode.

A mostly weak setlist and an extremely mediocre performance made this a real downer of a show for me. They came roaring out of the gate and then after that horrid Jack-A-Roe, all the energy was sucked out. I'm not very critical, but this is the worst show I've seen, ever.

--pipecomm

* * *

My second show of the tour, the first being Nissan. I had to miss Boston (sigh) because car trouble kept me in Mannasas an extra day. I just arrived in Virginia to await the Hampton show and have my first access to a computer this week. Nobody has reviewed Camden yet, so I'll give a couple of thoughts. Man it was cold Saturday night; fall is definitely coming. It felt great to me though after spending all summer in Florida. The band was way more gelled tonight than they were Thursday I thought. This show had many creative musical moments, with Hornsby taking charge tastefully. I loved the tritone run he would play during the chorus of Sugaree. Bird Song was well jammed. The was plenty of space during the verses with the band really taking their time. Nice stuff. The first Bird Song jam of the night had some very jazzy moments and some of the evenings grandest music. Cassidy definitely had some of the evenings highest peaks. I was very happy to hear this now-rare tune. Great mini drum solo during Long Tall Cool One. Find a tape and listen to how the go back into the song from there, its musical moments like those that keep me coming back. The verse out of there ends with a very interesting note choice. Nice improv. Hornsby definitely amazes me with his creativity. As usual drums were stellar. The post Drumz segment was the true heart of the set. Very moving stuff. It's during moments like this where you get those incredible insights into life and transcend the normal concert experience. Hard to explain but you all know what I mean. Strange, the crowd were I was located were sitting and talking throughout this part. I just love Garcia ballads and I thought Black Muddy River was much improved over the Nissan performance. I was surprised by the second encore, but not by its choice. The only tune possible that could cap this moving tribute. I have definitely seen more rip-roarin Johnny B Goode's , but this one was very fun. I really like the contrasts in Kimock's (modal) and Karan's (bluesy) playing, the band truly benefits from them both. Overall, great ensemble performance. The band is very in tune with one another. Please check out Ziggy and his band, everybody who hasn't. I can't think of a better opening performer. Can't wait for Hampton/Greensboro. Peace...

--Matthew Vakos