STB at The Paradise in San Francisco 11/20/97

[Tim Herrlinger <tjherrlinger@ucdavis.edu>]

     It was nice to see Gad Meir, Lauren Hammer, and to meet Beau McCrury and Brian Cleary at The Paradise in San Francisco for Simon and Ben's acoustic show on November 20th.  Half the fun of these events is hooking up with old friends and meeting new ones.
     Simon started the show at 10:45 PM and was very energetic, bouncing all over the stage.  Ben joined in a little later.  Although the crowd was relatively small (about 50 people), we were treated to a very intimate performance.  The set list was:
     When She Sleeps
     Comeback
     Highness
     The Way It Is
     So Sleep
     Company
     Medicine
     Save Me From Me
     Ecstasy Heaven
     Girls on Girls
     Encore: Tony With The Shades On
     Just after Simon and Ben finished Ecstasy Heaven, a staff member of The Paradise told Simon he could only play one more song.  We responded with ample boos and Simon told the crowd he'd do a medley.  Girls on Girls was to be his last song, but the crowd poured out their appreciation with lots of applause and cheering.  The club relented and the father and son duo finished with a nice new song, Tony With The Shades On.  The whole performance only lasted 45 minutes, but it seemed like the Townshends were willing to play the night away.  We all enjoyed talking to Simon, Ben, Paul, and Kimball after the show.  Ben was especially cordial.
     I've been wondering if Simon ever performed "Flame" (from the Psychoderelict CD) live.  Simon told me that the last time he played it was probably in 1992.  He said he has to hit some pretty high notes and it's difficult.  If you want to hear the whole song, get the Music Only CD which has the complete song.
     Enjoy the rest of the tour!
     Tim Herrlinger
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Tim Herrlinger, Ph.D.                         Email: tjherrlinger@ucdavis.edu
Section of Evolution and Ecology              Office Phone: (530) 752-1117
University of California, Davis               FAX:          (530) 752-1449
Davis, CA 95616
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