--------------------------------------

From: Tom Hall

I was able to attend the gig last night in NYC (love that new job...) and this 
band is AMAZING... there were some sound problems early on... Bob's vocal 
didn't get turned up properly until halfway through 'Art Crisis' and his guitar 
was mixed too low, but the band overcame all of this and just rocked out, non-
stop... as always, there was no banter between songs, just one after the other,
and hearing them in this order, you really see the realtionship between some 
of the 'Hubcap' tunes and the newer stuff (First Drag/IHAR... Classifieds/Art 
Crisis... Reflecting Pool/Deep Karma Canyon)... Hearing BM:BM material full on
with a band was incredible... IHAR and ART Crisis in particular were thunderous,
and a full band 'Eternally Fried' (with harmony...!) really sounded amazing.  
And there were the guitar solos... Bob took a monster solo on 'Skintrade' and 
another great solo on 'egoveride' that were, at least in terms on their style, 
a lot like the early Husker solos... fast and furious, less of the melodic 
style, more speed Also, wait til you hear Jim play bass... fat and tight... 
Finally, because this was an 'industry gig', they didn't cover the older 
Workbook and BSOR material, but I talked to Matt the drummer  (who is a really 
nice guy and was, for me anyway, the highlight of the new band in terms of live 
energy and his playing) after the show and he said they were going to do 'Out 
of Your Life' 'Hanging Tree' 'Hear Me Calling' 'Poison Years' and 'Lonely 
Afternoon' for sure and maybe 'Disappointed' and 'Wishing Well'...also although 
they didn't play them at this gig 'New#1' and 'Roll Over and Die' are on the 
list as well...he also told me, as he wiped the blood off of his palms (no jokes, 
his hands were bleeding, it was that kind of show) that there was a 98% chance 
that a second Irving Plaza show would be added... they're just waiting to sell 
out the first one (so get your tickets now)... Finally, I got to meet Lars at 
the show (very nice guy...thanks again, Lars!) and that was very cool....

Did I mention free beer and vegetarian food (OK they DID have turkey sandwiches, 
but lots of veggie stuff)?  Did I mention Angel Orensanz Center is a synagogue?  

audience response... I knew I forgot something...

I was up front, and folks were head bobbing (no pun intended) but it was pretty 
clear that the majority of the crowd had a passing acFrom: "Tom Hall" 

I was able to attend the gig last night in NYC (love that new job...) and this 
band is AMAZING... there were some sound problems early on... Bob's vocal 
didn't get turned up properly until halfway through 'Art Crisis' and his guitar 
was mixed too low, but the band overcame all of this and just rocked out, non-
stop... as always, there was no banter between songs, just one after the other,
and hearing them in this order, you really see the realtionship between some 
of the 'Hubcap' tunes and the newer stuff (First Drag/IHAR... Classifieds/Art 
Crisis... Reflecting Pool/Deep Karma Canyon)... Hearing BM:BM material full on
with a band was incredible... IHAR and ART Crisis in particular were thunderous,
and a full band 'Eternally Fried' (with harmony...!) really sounded amazing.  
And there were the guitar solos... Bob took a monster solo on 'Skintrade' and 
another great solo on 'egoveride' that were, at least in terms on their style, 
a lot like the early Husker solos... fast and furious, less of the melodic 
style, more speed Also, wait til you hear Jim play bass... fat and tight... 
Finally, because this was an 'industry gig', they didn't cover the older 
Workbook and BSOR material, but I talked to Matt the drummer  (who is a really 
nice guy and was, for me anyway, the highlight of the new band in terms of live 
energy and his playing) after the show and he said they were going to do 'Out 
of Your Life' 'Hanging Tree' 'Hear Me Calling' 'Poison Years' and 'Lonely 
Afternoon' for sure and maybe 'Disappointed' and 'Wishing Well'...also although 
they didn't play them at this gig 'New#1' and 'Roll Over and Die' are on the 
list as well...he also told me, as he wiped the blood off of his palms (no jokes, 
his hands were bleeding, it was that kind of show) that there was a 98% chance 
that a second Irving Plaza show would be added... they're just waiting to sell 
out the first one (so get your tickets now)... Finally, I got to meet Lars at 
the show (very nice guy...thanks again, Lars!) and that was very cool....

Did I mention free beer and vegetarian food (OK they DID have turkey sandwiches, 
but lots of veggie stuff)?  Did I mention Angel Orensanz Center is a synagogue?  

audience response... I knew I forgot something...

I was up front, and folks were head bobbing (no pun intended) but it was pretty 
clear that the majority of the crowd had a passing acquaintance with the material,
and it was mostly new stuff, so there was some dancing around, lots of enthusiasm, 
but it was contained.  the crowd was nice for the event, but not like a huge gig...
the 'house lights' were up the whole time cuz someone was video taping the whole 
show... weird, cuz they were standing in front of this beautiful old Hebrew altar 
piece (I don't know the technical name, sorry...). it was great, and people were 
very enthusiastic about the songs.  If you look at the set, they were all pretty 
'up' and happy songs, not a lot of dark stuff.  Bob seemed to be having a blast...

--------------------------

From: Paul Hilcoff

Brian Schumacher asked:

> Just a couple questions that maybe you could answer Tom, im curious,
> probably as every other lister......
 
I'm not Tom (sorry I didn't get to meet you, Tom), but I'll offer my
thoughts anyway.

> 1. How was cerveris' playing and singing?

Very good, but a little reserved.  He said afterward that he wants to
build more confidence before he cuts loose.  (Bob, by the way, had no
such reservations--I don't think I ever saw him so animated.)

> 2. How many people probably attended the show?

About 350-400 I guess.  Famous no-shows (they were on the list, but *I*,
at least, didn't see them): Andy Richter; Jon Stewart; Matt Pinfield,
America's & Australia's fave Kookie Kouple, Clare & Ben.  But Lizz
Winstead was there; John Giorno; Jack Rabid--the usual suspects, more
or less, along with a whole lot of people who acted as though they
might be famous or important (it's all in the attitude).

> 3. WAS IT LOUD? As loud as some of the Sugar shows?

YES.  No.

Considering that they'd only rehearsed for 10 days, the band sounded
pretty damn  good.  They had about 55 minutes of material ready, but
left out one song (I won't give it away).  Bob wants to get the set
up to 80-85 minutes before the band hits the road.

I was very disappointed in the sound.  I won't bore you with the details,
but I'm glad Bob has someone else doing sound for the tour.