I went over to the Music Hall of Williamsburg to see Bob Schneider do a solo show. It's a nice venue to catch a show. It's set up very similar to the Bowery Ballroom, good sound though the stage is a little high if you're in the front row looking up and, they have a Happy Hour!
The show opened with Adam Taylor who was joined by Kate Young. They did a great set. Both are very talented and strong voiced. I'm going to have to check out his music more.
After having the audience properly warmed up and getting the stage set, Bob came out. The first thing I noticed was, he seemed a lot more relaxed and rested than he did at his show at the Bowery last month. This sho
w we got a talkative Bob who smiled a lot. While I love Bob with a band, I love stripped down shows. This show was about as stripped down as you could get ... vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica.
I was happy to hear "Game Plan." Some songs it doesn't matter if they're done with a band or solo but, that one, I prefer solo and acoustic. Bob's got soul and in its acoustic form "Game Plan" shows that off. There are other songs that show off his soulfulness too but I like that one. No matter how many times I hear "Fist City," it still gives me a giggle. Amie Miriello was in the house. She came out and sang on "Changing Your Mind." There were plenty of sing-a-long with Bob moments. This being the holiday season, we of course got a Christmas song. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we were treated to the classic sit around the fireplace family sing-a-long, "All I Want For Christmas Is My Methadone" ... all that was missing was the eggnog!
One of the things I love about Bob Schneider is he has these not right moments. For those who don't know what that means, I'll explain. There are points during shows where the man just goes off the deep end and you look up at the stage at him and say to yourself, while laughing, 'oh that man ain't right!' Not surprisingly, we in the audience happily dive in head first with him. Well, we got one of those not right moments at the Music Hall. It occurred during "Batman." I'll never look at rats and male body parts the same way again. Of course, the story made my subway ride home more amusing. For some reason, people tend to stare at you funny when you look at rats scurrying along the tracks and burst out laughing. Another thing I love, he inspires man love. For some reason there seemed to be more men yelling out random declarations of adoration then women.
I had a great night. The last time I said I would gladly go out in the rain and sound like an off-key frog again for Mr. Schneider. Well, it was raining again. I didn't sound like an off-key frog while singing along this time though. No, I was just off-key! Is it possible for a twenty-five song set to be too short? The answer to that question is, yes, if you're at a Bob Schneider show.
The show opened with Adam Taylor who was joined by Kate Young. They did a great set. Both are very talented and strong voiced. I'm going to have to check out his music more.
After having the audience properly warmed up and getting the stage set, Bob came out. The first thing I noticed was, he seemed a lot more relaxed and rested than he did at his show at the Bowery last month. This sho
w we got a talkative Bob who smiled a lot. While I love Bob with a band, I love stripped down shows. This show was about as stripped down as you could get ... vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica. I was happy to hear "Game Plan." Some songs it doesn't matter if they're done with a band or solo but, that one, I prefer solo and acoustic. Bob's got soul and in its acoustic form "Game Plan" shows that off. There are other songs that show off his soulfulness too but I like that one. No matter how many times I hear "Fist City," it still gives me a giggle. Amie Miriello was in the house. She came out and sang on "Changing Your Mind." There were plenty of sing-a-long with Bob moments. This being the holiday season, we of course got a Christmas song. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we were treated to the classic sit around the fireplace family sing-a-long, "All I Want For Christmas Is My Methadone" ... all that was missing was the eggnog!
One of the things I love about Bob Schneider is he has these not right moments. For those who don't know what that means, I'll explain. There are points during shows where the man just goes off the deep end and you look up at the stage at him and say to yourself, while laughing, 'oh that man ain't right!' Not surprisingly, we in the audience happily dive in head first with him. Well, we got one of those not right moments at the Music Hall. It occurred during "Batman." I'll never look at rats and male body parts the same way again. Of course, the story made my subway ride home more amusing. For some reason, people tend to stare at you funny when you look at rats scurrying along the tracks and burst out laughing. Another thing I love, he inspires man love. For some reason there seemed to be more men yelling out random declarations of adoration then women.
I had a great night. The last time I said I would gladly go out in the rain and sound like an off-key frog again for Mr. Schneider. Well, it was raining again. I didn't sound like an off-key frog while singing along this time though. No, I was just off-key! Is it possible for a twenty-five song set to be too short? The answer to that question is, yes, if you're at a Bob Schneider show.
Set List
- When The Sun Breaks Down The Moon
- Game Plan
- The World Exploded Into Love
- Blue Mountain
- Gold In The Sunset
- Fist City
- I'm Good Now
- Love Theme From Mork & Mindy
- All I Want For Christmas Is My Methadone
- Bullets
- Changing Your Mind (w/Amie Miriello)
- Ready, Let's Roll
- 40 Dogs & Cigarettes (Romeo And Juliet)
- Mudhouse
- 2002
- Everything I Have Means Nothing To Me Now
- ? (can't read my own writing!)
- Big Blue Sea
- Weed Out The Weak
- Come With Me Tonight
- ? (forgot to write it down and nobody could remember what it was later!)
- Metal And Steel
- King Of The World
- Batman
- Love Is Everywhere
Bob Schneider - Bullets (live)
Bob Schneider w/Amie Miriello - Changing Your Mind (live)
bobschneidermusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/bobschneider
Photo: © L.R. Adams
