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I'm finally getting around to posting something on this show.

On ThursdayI packed up the van,dropped off the dog and picked up my sister-in-law Freida(aka Freddie) and headed up the back roads out of Kentucky and into Ohio.Hitting Interstate 71 just north of Dayton,we start making up for slow driving until we hit some rather heavy rainstorms.We finally reach our hotel and check in with a few minutes to relax before heading to the Beachland Ballroom.We have arrived a day before the Church concert so I can catch a show by Van Der Graaf Generator with opening act the Strawbs.Originally I had planned on the Church show in Detroit for this evening but decided to see VdGG when I found out they would be appearing the night before the Church.Another plus was that the Beachland shows were all ages which would allow my daughter and wife to attend and not be stuck in the hotel for the evening.Both the Strawbs who opened and VdGG were fantastic,at least if you are a fan of progressive rock.Dave Cousins,Dave Lambert, and Chas Cronk were in fine voice and played wonderfully.Van der Graaf Generator have not toured in over thirty years as I understand it and rarely performed in the states when they did.Peter Hamill's voice has lost nothing over the years,and Hugh Banton on keybords and Guy Evans on drums played fantastically.This was one of the most dynamic bands I've ever seen ,going from whisper quiet to brutally loud and back over the course of their songs.I have to admit my travelling companions while impressed by the musicianship,probably were not into the music as much as I was(progressive rock isn't for everyone I guess) but we still had an enjoyable evening.Marty would tell me a few nights later that he is a fan of VdGG and I really envy anyone who saw both bands in Hamilton,ONT.

With Fridays arrival we decided to spend our day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.There is a really good exhibit on Bruce Springsteen going on there.Unfortunately,with Michael Jackson's death happening the day before we were inundated with his music being played throughout the museum the whole time we were there.TV film crews were there getting peoples reaction and filming "THE GLOVE".After leaving the RnRHoF and a quick stop by the hotel we headed back to the Beachland Ballroom arriving a few hours before the doors opened.Sue Cee had asked for volunteers to help Stephen Judge with the merchandise table and I volunteered.We inquired with the staff and a few moments later Marty came and escorted us to where Stephen was.For the next hour and a half we(me ,Becky,Freida) helped sort and fold tour T-shirts while Stephen set up the other merchandise.I almost wonder if we were much help as he has things pretty organized but he seemed to appreciate the help.While this was going on we were able to hear the band soundcheck.As Stephen made final preps on the table,I noticed that a woman was checking out the merchandise.After a few seconds I realized that I had met her before and said Teri(Terri?Terry?, not sure of the spelling) is that you.Well it was! we had met before backstage at the Chicago House of Blues when the Church played there on the AENT tour.After a few minutes of getting reacquainted,it was like meeting an old friend you hadn't seen in awhile.That's just how it is when you meet up with other Wombers,Seancers and other fans because we all share this connection in our love of the Church's music.

Stephen's wife had came in for the show from Michigan and he asked if I would mind covering the merch table so they could catch Adam Franklin's set together and I agreed to do this.I have to say it was a bit nervewracking to be in charge of the money and trying to find the different CDs quickly,but people were patient,and things went OK and I even did a couple of credit card transactions without messing up.When the set was over Stephen came out and took over and I went into the hall to join my family.Freida ,Teri,and I took a place in front of Peter's amps and got ready for the show to start.Becky and my daughter Kamryn had a table just to the side of us.It was her first time to see the Church.The band came on stage in the dark and we started to hear the various elements of Tantalized starting to be played; at first disconnectedly and then starting to slowly pull together until you have that intensly throbbing pulse that starts the song,building up until the point that Steve's vocals come in and all the stagelights come on at once,briefly blinding the audience.Always exciting and if you want to see it for yourself someone has posted this exact moment from this show on YouTube now . Teri had mentioned that most of the band were recovering from an illness they had picked up on the tour.Marty and Steve seemed OK to me but Peter and Tim especially looked a little under the weather.Even so it did not affect their performance.Tim's drumming was as muscular and detailed as ever and Pete's guitar playing was spot on as usual.In fact I would say this was one of the most incendiary performances I've seen from Peter."You Took" was like being in the middle of a sonic hurricane and continually being pummelled by cascading sheets of sound.And I never get tired of hearing his solo on "Almost With You".If there's such a thing as a desert island list of top ten guitar solos,that one is on mine.Marty's side of the stage is the usual whirl of activity it always is with him covering bass on a number of songs as well as his always excellent electric and acoustic guitar duties.Steve's voice was in good form this particular evening and his vocal range(emotionally and notationally) just seems to get better with time.He has really grown into the role of frontman within the last few tours.It was as recently as the BOB tour(1999) that on stage banter was still pretty much thank you or an occasional song introduction.I especially got a kick out of the way he introduced the band like he was bringing wrestlers into the ring for a title bout and the way he handled audience members shouting out requests by telling them that this tour they were only playing the songs that people hate.It was priceless.

The set list for the show was pretty much the same as the previous shows where I've seen one listed.At first I thought it was a bit heavy with older material,but having seen the show,it works really well in the way it mixes up the old(make that classic) with the newer material.The sound was good for this show but I was a little too close to the PA subwoofers and therefore was swamped out with a bit too much on the bassy side of things.Moving over some helped this situation.In addition to other things I've mentioned ,other highlights and surprises this tour would be hearing "Dead Mans Hand" and surprise that Steve plays the central guitar riff and Marty is playing the bass.Steve's expressive motions(I wouldn't exactly call it dancing,but it's close) during "Operetta" ,a majestic sounding song if ever there was one.Another thing would be Marty and Peter's dueling leads on the extended jams on "You Took" and "An Interlude",something we haven't seen much of on recent tours.Just to remind us what an excellent team of guitarists the band has.(Like we could forget.)Pangaea gets the prize for coolest bassline of the year hands down.I have to admit that I wasn't that crazy about "Space Savior"on the record but live it rocked pretty damn hard.And it made a perfect set closer the way the vocal lines began to repeat,twisting and turning,convoluting upon themselves until they were like an aural tornado of words and disjointed phrases hanging in space well after the band had left the stage.The audience was pretty cool for this show and you could tell the band was definitely feeding off the energy.

After the encores,we headed out to the lobby and I bought the LP version of Untitled #23.I had already bought some other CDs earlier,as well as Robert Lurie's excellent biography of Steve.Becky got a Coffee Hounds bag and Kamryn got a Priest=Aura shirt.Gotta start 'em young.My little girl's not having any of that Jonas Bros/Miley Cyrus crap.Steve came out talking to fans and posing for pictures.He seemed glad to meet Freida who is a frequent commentator on his blog.(I read it religiously,but never comment.)I had a nice conversation with Steve,with him teasing me a bit about being "one of them McCoys" because of my being from Kentucky.We then spoke about his wife being from West Virginia,both states being very similar in that both were formed out of the western frontier of Virginia.Steve signed my album too.I wonder what he thought of my Appalachian accent,it's pretty thick.Spoke with Marty and had him sign the album.My hearing was pretty shot and Marty asked me" how do you spell Chad,Chad?"Not hearing him well,I.m thinking what's a chad chad so I go "chad?".He says "Like the country."I say " C H A D" I'm thinking why does Marty need to know how to spell the country of Chad.I'm sure I had a puzzled look on my face.With me standing there he turns to Stephen and says,I can't understand some of these accents at all.???????????After the crowd dissipates I end up (along with Becky) helping Stephen and his wife(I'm sorry that I've forgotten her name,but she was quite nice) pack up and load out to the van.We finish up and head to the hotel.Upon arrival I inspect my loot from the merch table.I open the album gatefold to inspect Steve and Marty's signatures,and there it is;To Chad with love,Marty Willson Piper.D'oh!Somehow he thought my name was Chad.Did he have me confused with some one?His question made no sense to me because my name is John and I was assuming he would just sign his name,not do a dedication.Oh Well,It makes a funny story.And Marty has signed lots of things for me over the years correctly,so I guess I'll spot him this one.

After a short night of sleep,the family gets up and has a quick breakfast in the hotel lobby.Loading up the car,I notice the bands vehicles parked next to ours.We don't see anyone stirring in the entourage.They are probably catching an opportunity to get a little extra rest.We load into the car.On to Pittsburgh for show number two!