Before I say a single word, as I still am scooping my exploded brains back into my skull, here’s the setlist of Tom Waits’ first show of the Orphans tour:

Make It Rain
Hoist that Rag
Shore Leave
God’s Away on Business
November
‘Til the Money Runs Out
Blue Valentine
Lucky Day
Tango til They’re Sore
House Where Nobody Lives
Don’t Go into that Barn
Lie to Me, Baby (?) - Howlin’ Wolf cover
Whistlin’ Past the Graveyard
9th & Hennepin
Trampled Rose
Get Behind the Mule
Murder in the Red Barn
Shake It

Encore 1:
Singapore
Goin’ Out West

Encore 2:
Day After Tomorrow
Heartattack & Vine (Spoonful tease)

Um, yeah. That’ll do, Pig.

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More than two hours of every song fans wanted to hear. That much of a span of time in which this man performs songs from Blue Valentine to the present, some of which he either hasn’t played in years or songs he’s never played. And they were all glorious. Personal head-explody moments included “Singapore,” “Goin’ Out West,” “Heartattack and Vine,” and “House Where Nobody Lives.”

Waits’ voice was rough and beautiful, and he pranced about with a fierceness that a man of his age frankly shouldn’t have. I like to joke that I think of him as my crazy old grandpa, but my grandfather can hardly walk, let alone put on a hell of a performance for that amount of time. On top of that, put on such a performance that makes me finally come around to Real Gone. Seriously, this man is ridiculous in the best possible ways. And I got to see him for this set?! ::blink blink::

For the most part, the songs were played with bluesier tones than normal (both old and new songs), but it may have been Waits’ intention to have a subtler show; the instrumention was fairly straightforward, and the band played relatively quietly. The percussion was kept to a minimum; no bizarro instruments were used. Waits occasionally traded between electric and acoustic guitars, but midway through the show, Waits kicked the band off the stage save the bassist and played a few songs on the piano (”Lucky Day” through “House Where Nobody Lives”) as audience members had to restrain themselves from clawing their fingers into their eye cavities and ripping off their faces. And that’s a very good thing.

As skilled as the backing band was, something definitely felt iffy about them. At the end of the set, Waits left the stage while the band played the end of “Shake It.” And, um, the guitarist and bassist sang. At that moment, the quartet seemed like your average cover band of old ponytailed dudes in a snotty club - very technical, but not very interesting. Also, the drummer, Waits’ son Casey Waits, is certainly a decent drummer, but he was exceedingly trepidatious, and it showed. The guitarist was a tad annoying, and while he certainly is an accomplished blues guitarist, he really didn’t require so many solos and so much ego stroking via spotlights. Overall, the backing band made it possible for Waits to play all those glorious old songs he never ever plays. However, such a stark difference between the styles of Heartattack and Vine material and Real Gone-type songs made the newer songs sound a little too placid. During “Goin’ Out West,” for example, it truly seemed like the band was excellent at playing the older songs as they should be played, but newer songs weren’t charged and sounded weak.

At the same time, playing songs from such varying periods may make for awkward pacing, but it’s certainly not like we didn’t get the best setlist ever in the history of his career. In addition, the man isn’t 25 anymore. He’s pushing 60. Cut him some slack.

Pickiness aside, the show was stellar, and people who are able to go to any of the remaining seven shows should count themselves lucky. Period.

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Also, a note to Ticketmaster: while the anti-scalper attempt was a valiant one, its execution still needs work. To avoid paying $1,500 on eBay for a ticket, Mr. Waits and Ticketmaster decided that tickets would only be available through will call, and only an hour before show time. After tickets were received, ticketholders were ushered immediately into the venue. The problem was, the venue set up four lines, and each line was assigned a certain range of names to be called. Once the letter of your name was called, you could rush in front of the, oh say, 800 people in front of you to get your tickets, and even then, the names were often listed under the wrong name. This process was so arduous that the show had to be pushed back an hour so that all the people who were lined up around the block could actually get in to see the show. Hence, most people were left standing for more than five hours, if people even stayed for the duration of the show (many did not). Not cool. Again, nice idea, and fans appreciate the thought, but the process seriously needs revision.

*images courtesy of Access Atlanta