Tonight was INCREDIBLE! Nuts show. These guys are sick as hell. Kill to see this show if you must. Arlo opened with House of the Rising son, then the show went on (as he couldn't play a full set with a show here in February), and he ended with a full cast (what else?) City of New Orleans. Many highlights, including the non-Arlo opener Jack Nielson blowing the doors off with Hobo's Lullabye, Kevin Kinney's new song Blues On Blues (written for this tour). I had VIP tickets so I got to meet the guys after the show. I put the camera back in my car since they said no cameras, so no pix of me with the guys, but I'll post pix of the signed poster along with the full setlist tomorow.

Good night and sleep well fellow blunderers, and watch out for thems mooses comin over the hill.

Just curious, was the poster you had signed a new poster specifically for the CONO tour or the Alice's 40th Anniversary one. Looking forward to seeing the setlist.

It was the CoNO tour poster. It has a train, a list of all of the performers on the tour, and a map of the train's route. It's a really tight poster. Really sick design, and an awesome souvenier, especially with the VIP and the autographs and such.

Note: I'm at school right now. I will post the setlist when I get home tonight

Note 2: We can edit now! Yay!

Ok, here's the full review. I got to the venue at six (listed open-gate time). I had to go put my camera back in my car since the show was being flimed for documentary (they don't allow cameras in then), and got back at about 10 after six, just as the doors opened. As I waited in the lobby for the theater doors to open, a big guy in a parka with long gray hair (back to me) came over and started talking to a little old woman near by. As I walked by, I heard a very familliar voice saying "Take this lady wherever she wants. She's very important." The woman, as it turns out, was Steve Goodman's mom. I needn't tell you who the man was. I introduced myself to Arlo and talked to him briefly, then went to find a seat. I wound up front row center, and was clearly the youngest person there by choice. The show 'started' with Arlo playing House of the Rising Sun with Gordon and Abe. Then the rest of the show got underway, with Arlo telling stories and such (some stories of past Chicago visits, the old Woodie "Till we Outnumber Em" story, etc) and introducing each performer. Here's the setlist (I'm not 100% confident in the names, but they're at least close)

Jack Nielson
1)Hobo's Lullabye (Woodie song, best version of it I've ever heard; made me cry a lil' bit)
2) Shame On You
3) Half a Century Old

John Flynn
1) Over The Water
2) Minnie Lou (song about Ashcroft covering Lady Justice's breast for a press conference; rivals Alice in funny per minute)
3) Dyin To Go

Abe Guthrie and Xavier w/ The Burns Sisters and Gordon Titcomb
1) Up on the Mountain
2) Runaway
3) Someplace to Go (Rock My Soul)
4) Last Train (what's with Guthries/Titcombs and this song title? This is the third different song with it that I've heard from this group)

The Burns Sisters (A Capella)
1) Sleep Little Babe
2) No More Silence

Ramsay Midwood
(Note: I could not understand anything this guy said, so I have no idea how accurate titles are for him)
1)Rockin On This Ship So Long
2) Something to the tune of Dylan's You Aind Goin Npwhere, I think it was called Land of the Free
3) Always Thought of Home
4) Gladly Retire

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion
1) When The Lillacs Are in Bloom
2) Exploration (with the house band Corner Pockets / Drivin n Cryin)
3) Mornin's Over (with the house band)
4) Take it from Dr. King (with the house band and Burns Sisters, brand new hard rockin Pete Seger song; AWESOME)

Kevin Kinney with Drivin' n' Cryin'
1) No Blues This Morning
2) Country Song (with Sarah Lee and Johnny)
3) Blues on Blues (with Sarah Lee and Johnny. Written for this tour, as he told me after the show. Highlight for sure)

Cyril Neville
(Served as headliner with Arlo unable to perform due to contractual obligations)
1) Aint no Funk Like Louisisana Funk
2) Fire on the Bayou
3) Thank You Sister Rosa (Cyril dedicated this to Rosa Parks, even though the song is all about her; awesome intro speach)
4) Got to Get Away (Lenny Kravitz song, Cyril played drums while his wife/girlfriend sang)
5) Redemption Song (Bob Marely cover; tear jerkingly amazing, a highlight without question)
6) Up-Town Rulers (Cyril on drums and singing)

Finale (Arlo with everyone)
City of New Orleans

The show was absolutely incredible. There were many showstopping performances, most noteably Jack Nielson's Hobo's Lullabye, Kevin Kinney's Blues on Blues, Sarah Lee and Johnny Irion's stuff with the band (I had never heard Johnny go electric blues before, very tight soloage), Kevin Kinney's Blues on Blues, and Cyril Neville's whole set, particularly Redemption Song. And of course, in Chicago and with Steve's mom in attendance, City of New Orleans had everyone standing and singing along. It was absolutely incredible. That song hits such a deep emotional chord, especially after Katrina, that I'm sure I wasn't the only person choked up at it. Absolutely amazing show.

After the show, my dad and I stuck around in the theater, awaiting dirrection to the VIP meet and greet. We got to talk to the lesser known performers there. I mostly talked to Jack Nielson, who's as awesome a guy as he is a performer. Security started clearing people out, and we were dirrected upstairs. We chilled there with some fellow Blunderites. Slowly but surely, the performers and doccumentary cameras made their way up. I talked to a great deal of them, and got autographs from my favorites of the night (the pictures will be added when I finnish uploading them). I had a really awesome time there. I got to talk to Kevin Kinney for a while, which was awesome. He was really nice. I also spent a good deal of time talking to Cyril Neville. It was amazing getting to just talk to one of the true legends of funk music. He was really nice and humble, something you don't see often enough these days .I got to talk to Sarah Lee for a bit, which was really cool. I've seen her a few times and I gotta say, she and Johnny are pretty awesome. Of course, the most anticipated of my conversation that night was the one I had with The Folksinger. He was awesome. He was really great about talking to people. My dad told him that I'd been raised on folk music (mostly Pete and various Guthries), and we talked to him about Farm Aid. It was classic. Arlo mentioned the irony of the Thanksgiving Day broadcast of Farm Aid, where he played Alice's Restaurant. On the way out, I was interviewed for the doccumentary. I'm 17, and they were excited to see someone my age so visably having the time of my life down in the front row. They asked me tons of questions about how I'm viewed by peers for listening to Arlo, stuff like that. It was a really really really great night, and I wish I could afford to miss the school and follow this show "Through the Mississippi darkness, rollin down to the sea."

Grrrrrrrrrr the pictures aren't posting for some reason. Here's the url for my photobucket album of the pictures:

http://photobucket.com/albums/c1/Alices ... %2012-5-05

Hope that works!

What a nice art job on the poster and Sarah Lee has a very distinctive signature Sounds like you had a awesome time....thanks for sharing.

Peace

Thanks for the setlist! What a great show! Great pictures!

(if you put "%20" everywhere there is a " " in the link, it might be clickable...)

kurt...

Good call, Kurt. It worked!

Thanks for sharing the experience you had of going to the show. It's hreat to see the young people interested in our music! They will keep it alive after we are dead & gone on to glory...