This was in contrast to the last time I had seen TBP play in Washington DC at the 9:30 club. As expected the crowd was rowdier, more exciteable, less patient. That crowd treated TBP like a traditional rock band by wooing more than clapping and shouting out the titles of their favorite songs during breaks. I found this to be disrespectful, especially considering that they had a vocalist on stage for their previous album "For All I Care". I did not like the atmospehere in that show - I felt the audience was trying to pigeonhole them to those first few albums, something that I feel is in direct opposition to the ideals of a TBP concert.
In any case, the music. TBP played a wide variety of tunes from their repertoire, playing only a few old standards and promoting songs from the new album and some that had yet to be recorded. Even after all these years I still cannot take my eyes off of Dave King. He garner the most applause thanks to not only the visual aesthete of drumming, but his ability to corkscrew familiar beats and tame a chaotic flurry of hits at a moment's notice. He pops and jumps and surprises, and continues to reimagine tunes that seemed like bulwarks of intricacy. Frank Zappa would have loved and hated Dave King. Ethan Iverson remained that technical and intellectual titan, and Reid Anderson tears heart wrenching melodies out of his bass like a sadistic cupid.
Hearing them play tonight, I felt a desire to play a brand of music that few can understand or willingly seek out. I was lucky enough to have been exposed to TBP, but it is not enough for me to appreciate and love their sound. I want to affect the way TBP has affected me; and I know that to do so is no easy task, nor one that can be obtained in a short amount of time. Someday I would like to be on that stage - whatever that stage may be - and know that were I out in that audience that I would feel the same way that I do when watching and listening to TBP.
Thanks TBP for all the wonderful music and memories. Please come back to Japan.
Side Notes:
- Rick Springfield is coming to Tokyo. It's unclear whether "Jessie's Girl" will be sung ironically or not.
- JoJo Mayer is also coming to Tokyo. I'd probably go see him if his name didn't remind me of John Mayer. Still, this solo makes it very tempting, but I wonder just how much of his music will just be fireworks.

