It was an amazing night. Even though the show was to begin a 5pm, it didn't actually start until around 6pm. However, while waiting outside we could hear Rhett during his soundcheck and he performed (very) short versions of St. Ignatius and Elvis Costello's Brilliant Mistake.
Once the crowd entered the Club Room we were greeted by the sounds of the Beatles playing over the sound system and there was a small table in the corner which sold special shirts made just for the show ($20), show posters autographed by the band ($10) and Murry's I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way ($15). One hundred percent of the proceeds from the table went to the campaign.
Murry took the stage (playing Rhett's guitar) and performed What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?, Between The Switches, Lost At Sea, White Port (a new song performed live for the first time), Next Time Take The Train and I Believe, I Believe. The songs were even more beautiful and powerful live than on record (if that is even possible).
Rhett came on next and immediately commented what a hard act Murry would be to follow as his songs are pretty. After a few quick strums of the guitar he told the soundman he might want to adjust his levels as he's much louder than Murry. With that he went right into The El. Next up was Nineteen, which he commented was a song the 97's never play live nowadays. He then told of his drive to the club from New York and said he heard a song from the new Rachel Yamagata album on WXPN while driving through Philly. As a result, he said he would perform Fireflies. He forgot the words a few times and had to stop and ask the crowd up front for help but it was a great performance. He then finished with Come Around, Singular Girl and Our Love.
Before the crowd was allowed to enter the main room for the evening performance, Murry came out and mingled and gladly signed autographs and posed for pictures before going off to finish an interview he started before his set. I know I'm preaching to the choir but he is a true gentleman.
The first opening act was the Desert Boys and they came on around 8pm or so and were quickly followed by Caleb Stine & The Brakemen (who was by far the better of the two acts). After two short movies by Sarah Silverman and Paris Hilton, the band finally took the stage around 10pm or so and opened with The Fool. A woman up front took Murry's set list (hand written by Rhett as usual) during the song and when Rhett noticed it was gone quickly mouthed "where's the list?" to those up front. Four or five people pointed to her and the list quickly re-appeared. The sound was great from the beginning and the boys really smoked. The complete set list:
The Fool
Barrier Reef
The One
Buick City Complex
No Baby I
Mama Tried
Indefinitely
Early Morning
Alone So Far
Question
Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue
Victoria (was to played here but Rhett dropped the song)
Dance with Me
Hands Off
My Two Feet
W. Tx Teardrops
Rollerskate Skinny
The Easy Way
ENCORE:
Salome
Murder (Or a Heart Attack)
Timebomb
When the band left the stage after The Easy Way, a girl up front quickly grabbed Rhett's setlist. I was coveting Murry's throughout the show but did not want to take it in case he didn't know what they were playing for the encore. When he came back on stage he saw me eyeing it, quickly looked at the list and said "Salome, Murder, Time, it's all yours". Needless to say I was excited to finally get my first setlist.
After the encore, the rest of the band left the stage but Ken stuck around for a good fifteen minutes shaking hands, talking to the fans who were still around and thanking them for coming. He gladly posed for pictures with anyone who asked and was super cool. It was my first time meeting him and he couldn't have been any more gracious.
My wife and I are so glad we made the trip from Chicago. The show was great and Baltimore is a beautiful city.