SAN FRANCISCO - JUNE 12
See set list by Torn n Frayed

Tantalized began the night and it EXPLODED, you could feel the rushing energy flowing from The Church and hitting you in waves, I imagined that the front row looked like the "blow away" guy from the Maxell ads, the force was palpable as Slim's room temperature spiked. Well, all of that energy must have blown something other than our minds because after the second song, Block, Tim's equipment suffered a meltdown which lasted longer than a few minutes. Steve, Marty and Peter took this opportunity to story-tell and fool around with different melodies that seemed to want to morph into an improvised masterpiece if only given the time. While the mostly female stage crew (they rocked) ran around trying to set things right the audience maintained their "sophistication" and graciously waited for things to be sorted. It was a mutual love fest between The Church and the Slim's audience, except when a couple of drunk guys became too verbose and brazen, but they were dispatched quickly by Steve's action and wit. I enjoy it when someone is cleverly put in their place, insulted, so to speak in a matter that escapes the receiver yet thoroughly finds the mark with everyone else. Good times!
There were many, many highlights throughout the set with the guys going all out, uncorked, unabashed, unleashed, uninhibited, unreal, unfuckin' believable! I sent out as much energy right back to them grateful for being able to bask in such an atmosphere of pure magic; I was (am) thankful that I never jumped off The Church Experience, thankful for my core feeling that slapped me in the back of my head and demanded I pay attention, thankful for my foresight which telegraphed me from the early '80s that these musicians, men, artists were and would always be something extraordinary. Thankful for two decades + of music I could have never done without. Talk about feeling blessed. Enough of being nostalgic for now, wait, let me dry that tear in my eye...wink...there...
Let me just finish by saying that ALL of the songs were mini-musical land mines (classics sounding brand new, the new sounding like future classics), each one detonated with an intensity so excruciatingly powerful that the musical notes and words transformed into beautiful color making the night something that transcended dimension and reason. (tsk tsk all this hippie talk - hell, people I'm in San Francisco!)
One last thing: Space Saviour is so different from the record, it's a blistering meteorite live - GET READY!