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From: FMartens

Wow, Bob was in such great form tonight. He started by saying that this was 
the first time he's played the guitar in 3 months, and it was evident that 
his voice was resting that long too, and waiting to jump out of his throat. 
He was in good spirits, joked a bunch about his new job, and just seemed real 
happy to be up playing in front of an audience again. After about 3/4 of 
"First Drag," he abruptly stopped and said how he hated the song and didn't 
know why he was even playing it. Highlights - a stellar "New #1," very 
inspired "The Last Night" and "Brasilia," and a ripping "Moving Trucks." "Too 
Far Down" was heartfelt. All of the new material came off much better than 
the Barracuda show in July, possibly due to better sound, and probably due to 
Bob ironing out a few of the rough spots (I didn't notice backing vocals this 
time). And he just kept on playing - the show was on the long side.

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From: DCGaySLP

Glad to see someone posted the set list..things zipped by so fast I didn't 
get a chance to write anything down....was that you "FMartens", standing next 
to me writing down song titles?  I was in the black University of North 
Dakota sweatshirt trying to stop people from cutting in front of me (us, 
everyone around us).

After the show I stayed around to meet up w/ Bob and congratulate him on a 
great show.  He remembered me from meeting last year and wondered where Joe 
was ( where WERE you, Joe!???) and even got to hang out with him for a while 
over at Brownies (if you've never been, its Avenue A & 11th...it's worth 
it...very divey-funky in the East Village!). Briefly and chatted some more 
while there...he was with a guy and a girl straight out of the pages of the 
wrestling magazines.....sort of looked like Ted Nugent's lost brother and 
warrior girlfriend :)

AnYhOw...asked him for some additional info on the bit about 'hating' "First 
Drag of the Day" and he said, 'Well, it just shows how really tired I am of 
those kind of songs".  Having heard the new material for the first time 
tonight, I was really impressed with the majority of the songs!  I hope he 
puts a CD together soon....like he said at the show "it's gonna be all over 
the place".

Bob WAS in great spirits during the show, smiling lots, stellar voice and 
clocking one of the longest shows I've ever heard him do solo.  It was great 
night and I'm VERY glad I made the 5 hr ride (in the rain, nearly stuck in 
Hoboken) to get there.

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From: Kevin Parker/Barbara Laudisi

   I just wanted to give a report on last night's show. Bob was in a great
mood and was talkative as usual. He was also in great voice. The crowd was
enthusiasitc and, judging from the roar of screams when he tried to have
some discussion, everyone seemed to be enjoying their Friday night with some
beverages. Bob asked what people had been listening to and the only thing he
seemed to be able to understand was somebody yelling Green Day. He made a
comment about them sucking and asked if anyone had heard any of the new Jim
O'Rourke stuff. When the crowd stared back in silence, he asked if we were
"getting old on him". Also, the comment about hearing the Barbie Girl song
that was popular a few years ago and his impromptu singing of the chorus
were priceless.
   The set was very strong. It wasn't the best show I've ever seen him do
but it was a good one. Good mix of older stuff with a nice version of Too
Far Down in the encore. New #1, a blistering version of Wishing Well, the
return of High Fidelity and Hoover Dam stood out for me. He started out
really fast and played a long set. The new songs were excellent. I saw the
show at Barracuda in July with a buddy of mine and the songs were rough. Bob
seemed to having trouble getting in sync with the backing tracks that night
and the sound system and the size of the room didn't help. My friend was
there again with me last night (I think he's finally hooked) and we both
agreed that the new songs sounded much better. Last night, he really sounded
great and he looked REALLY happy playing the new songs. He was strumming
about a thousand miles an hour to keep up with the backing tracks and he
seemed really enthusiastic.
  I know there was some negative reaction from the crowd in Chicago when he
played the new songs but the crowd last night seemed to have a positive,
albeit restrained, reaction to the new material. He told the crowd that we
better like it or we'd have to go see him play in Topeka, Kansas from now
on. I hope he gets in the studio soon and records some of these songs
because I really can't wait to hear how it will all turn out.
   A lot of people might be resistant to his new direction but I think it's
good. He seems to have a lot of different types of music in his head right
now and the new songs reflect that. He is obviously happy with it and at
least it won't bore him like the First Drag of Day style material obviously
does.
    Overall, a great night and good show. I guess this was his last show of
the century. I, for one, am glad to see him closing it out with a fresh
approach and a renewed vigor for making music after the boredom that he
talked about making the last record.

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From: David Cavalier

When Bob started playing on Friday night I thought he was about to
present one of his best shows ever.  As people have noted, he was well
rested and his voice sounded very strong.  By the time he hit Brasilia
he had us in the palm of his hand.

Then the new stuff started.

I appreciate that Bob is trying to challenge himself and try new
directions, but this stuff was,  absolute
drivel.  It wasn't a really a new direction so much as Bob playing Bob
songs with some samples in the background.  Problem is, the Bob songs he
was playing were C-side material.  Some of the lyrics were pretty
wince-inducing as well ("punch me in the nose and I'll call the State
Police").  As my friend put it, it sounds like the kind of thing you do
when you first take the sampler out of the box and you are just screwing
around with it.  Bob certainly has huge balls to try this, but I think
he fell on his face with this stuff.

It really seemed to me that he lost the crowd there.  After the first
one, almost nobody clapped.  They just stood there.  Similar reaction
after all of the new stuff.  Lots of confused looks and silence. Towards
the back there was a little booing.

All the amazing momentum of the first half of the set was lost and Bob
looked VERY flustered.  He stopped halfway through "First Drag" and said
"Why am I playing this?  I hate this song."  After that he seemed to be
really thrown and looked like he wasn't sure if he wanted it to be over
or if he wanted to try to win us back with some well-known stuff.

So I feel like we got half a great show and then a lesson in how much
guts it takes to stand in front of a large crowd at Irving Plaza with
nothing but your voice and a 12-string guitar.

Techno Bob?  I think not.

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From: chuck

I went to the Irving Plaza show, but my review is less rosy than these. Thanks
a lot for printing the setlist. 

The beginning of the show was great. The first 10-11 songs were about as good 
as I've seen him, though I don't think "Taking Everything" translated that 
well to the acoustic format.

After that, Bob seemed to lose the audience, including me. I look forward to 
hearing his new material, but hearing backing tracks pumped through the 
speakers really wasn't working. As you might expect, it didn't sound "live" 
though the songs were pretty good. I don't mind being a testing ground, but 
combined with what came next, it left something to be desired.

After that, he picked up the electric guitar.  I've seen Bob about 8-10 times,
with bands and without and I've never really enjoyed him solo with an electric
guitar, whether it was "Makes No Sense at All" or "Man on the Moon." If he is 
done playing these songs with bands, he should either find a way to play them 
on the acoustic or stop playing them. Tell me, wouldn't "Man on the Moon" or 
"Moving Trucks" sound great with his 12-string? I saw him on the last tour 
with a band and thought "Last Drag of the Day" was a highlight. What was he 
thinking even trying this without a band?

After the new stuff with the backing tracks and the unsatisfying electric 
versions to close the show, the encores were great. The version of "Too Far 
Down" alone was worth the price of admission. 

One last complaint. Mr. Mould has never been someone who goes out of his way 
to play to the crowd, but he could have helped us out a lot by standing. The 
Irving Plaza had terrible sightlines from the floor, and for the whole show, I
never even saw his guitar, and barely could see his head. I understand that it
might be easier and more comfortable to play while seated, but maybe he could 
have stood for his electric numbers. He is a good enough guitar player to do 
this. Throw us a bone, Bob!