Well, I don't know if this is late, but I just wanted to share my thoughts about
the D.C. show Friday night. I live in New Jersey, and this was my 8th time
seeing the band live. And I have to say it was probably the best show I've seen
them do.

They opened with "Leper" and played for about an hour and 45 minutes, which is
longer than their usual 90-minute show. The new stuff sounds pretty solid live,
although I was just slightly disappointed that they didn't play "Gonna Take a
Lie." "Gauntlet" sounded great live, as did "Soul Reactor." But I definitely
think "Crown" is going to be a classic because it worked well with the audience.
They even did the instrumental, "Pedro Says."

They only played one song from WFAD ("Maybe"), which was just fine with me. They
only played two songs from Boylan Heights, about which I was a tiny bit bummed,
but the songs they chose from that album made up for it. (Choose a Side and
Scotty's Lament). Ring and Fun n Games were well represented, (the usuals,
"Slackjawed," "Running Mary," '74, '75, "Doin' You," "New Boy", "Motel," "Fun
and Games," "Hey Wow," "Sal") and they played two from One Simple Word (Stone
Cold Yesterday and Get A Gun)

The big surprise came during one of the encores when they did "Hats Off," a tune
I hadn't seen them perform live since January 1994.

A rather funny moment occurred when they left the stage after a set of encores.
Naturally, the crowd was going wild, demanding another set. Well, the lights
came up, the recorded music started playing and a roadie started taking apart
the drum kit. However, the guys came back on stage, made the music stop and
instructed the roadie to put the cymbal back on the drum set, and they played
another encore set! Pretty cool. The closing song was Scotty's, which, in my
opinion, is the best song to end with, hands down!!!

I had the chance to chat briefly with Doug prior to the show, and he said
they're going to be doing Surfstock again this year at the Jersey Shore. (They
headlined in 1996). I was very happy to hear that, obviously. For those of you
unfamiliar with Surfstock, it's an outdoor, all-day concert featuring several
bands held right on the beach at Ortley Beach in NJ, right near Seaside Heights.
It's a fun day. The only drawback is they don't usually play a full set (Only 50
minutes-the non-headliners only get 25 minutes each). So they pretty much stick
to the hits.

I'd love to hear some of the thoughts of anyone else who was there.

Jeff