First Reflections

Friday night's performance was a perfect cap to the two-day run. Gone were the acoustic guitars and wide open spaces of Thursday. But the payoff was huge: from the opening notes of Good to Be Gone, the beast was back!

A sellout crowd grooved through about 135 minutes of boneshaking fury. Once again, the band mixed it up with a setlist that stretched from beginning (Barely, Better, My Man Joe, Garbage Man) to end (Luggage), to some crazy place inbetween (Stinkpot, Bonecrusher). The vibe onstage was exceptionally positive (lots of smiles and even some wackiness, as when the band signed a fan's poster during a song).

Unlike the last set of reunion shows - which seemed more like a "return to form" (or where we expected the band should've been after two years) - this was more about getting back to what was. For while the jamming wasn't nearly as heavy as the Liberty Lunch shows nine years ago, the band more than made up for it with the conceptual choices they made. Firstly, the band wasn't nearly as stingy with their song selection, and were ready to go back to places they hadn't even considered in 1996. Better? Garbage Man? Electric Man? Mailbox? I mean, c'mon! What's more, by altering the setlists to fit the theme of each night - acoustic, electric - the band was able to draw deeper into its repertoire. They even performed two songs on KUT's promotional jaunt on Friday that didn't make it into either show - For the Drinkers, and Talking to Plants - further extending the scope of their reunion and proof positive that not only did they practice, but they actually thought about what they were going to play (and not content to rely on the easy choices).

After nine years, their song choices seemed a lot less about having something to prove than enjoying themselves, and kind of reveling in the "fun" of the moment (as Kevin said on KUT before Friday's show).

With so many old school regulars in town for the event, there were moments when it honestly felt like being back at the Black Cat or Steamboat -- err, even Antone's -- circa 1992, when the Austin music scene was at it's vibrant, jamming best. It's been said that any time you can leave 'em wanting more, that's a good thing. And they did that -- Soulhat delivered big on an unexpected reunion that came to fruition in an amazing ... three weeks. Whew!

Thanks to the fine folks at Antone's for putting this together, and the countless others who will be bringing you tidbits from the run over the next few days.

One Set