1/27/12 - Chicago:
By Your Hand
Romance Is Boring
Death To Los Campesinos!
Life Is A Long Time
A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State; or, Letters from Me to Charlotte
Songs About Your Girlfriend
We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
There Are Listed Buildings
Straight In at 101
To Tundra
The Black Bird, The Dark Slope
You! Me! Dancing!
The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
Hello Sadness
Baby I Got The Death Rattle
Encore:
Miserabilia
Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks
I'm pretty sure that las night's setlist was almost exactly like this, but we didn't get The Black Bird, The Dark Slope. Which really pissed me off. And I don't think there was a replacement song.
Positives: Gareth is really leaving it all on stage. I was pretty blown away by the power he was putting into the "loud" vocal on To Tundra. Some funny stage banter as usual. He came into the crowd during Sweet Dreams, but unlike last time I saw them none of the band members followed him.
Kim is definitely hotter but her stage presence still sucks; she only showed signs of life during You! Me! Dancing! and Sweet Dreams. And it must be said, maybe she was just low in the mix, but her backing vocals just don't hit like Ellen, who was sorely missed on stuff like Miserabilia and Death to Los Camp! This is another reason why I missed Black Bird/Dark Slope because it's the one song she gets to actually go for it.
Ellen was looking pretty damed fine in a tight white tank top and her hair pulled back. Unfortunately I was a little further back then I like to be and she tends to hide behind Tom. Which leads me to an interesting observation: it's pretty odd that the guy who writes ALL the music and is playing all the lead guitar parts is so off to the side stage-wise. Like, if you were standing on the right side of the floor, you couldn't even see him because he was blocked by the stack. I feel like he used to be closer to Gareth, but now Kim essentially shares center stage and that's kind of bullshit. Ellen used to be on the far left IIRC, and now Rob a.k.a. Sparky Deathcab is in that spot.
Did we ever discuss Harriet's departure on here? I feel like I noticed her absence before, but apparently she left in August of last year and I don't remember hearing the news. Anyway, I kind of miss there being a violin, not to mention another hottie.