Surprise, It's the Slip

Let me start of by saying sometimes things happen for a reason. Sometimes you can expect something and then be blown away by the unexpected. What I expected to see on December 27^th at the Narrows was a show by Surprise Me Mr Davis, but due to a blizzard what I got was a sprawling 2 set throw-down of songs new, old and virtually forgotten by my favorite band on the planet. Instead of cancelling the show due to 2 members not making it, the Slip (the trio are 3/5 of Davis) decided to go ahead with the show.

I have been seeing the Slip for 14 years and have loved them through every twist and turn in their musical style (and trust me there have been a few) but it's not often we get them all in one show. The show started on the quiet side with beautiful renditions of "74" and the much coveted but unreleased "Reddish Moon" before bringing down the house with the new "Give the Devil Back His Heart"(found on the Barr Brothers record). The boys seemed loose and playful; willing to reach deep in to their catalog to please the crowd that dug themselves out of the previous day's blizzard to make the show. Inspired by taking requests for the 2^nd set they shocked us with stellar versions of "Headshot > Meowskers" (featuring the tastiest bass solo ever) and old favorites like the "Weight of Solomon" (w/ Brad on piano) and the latin jazz of "Yellow Medicine" which hasn't been played in years.

Many people have argued that the Slip has forgotten about the old stuff and play the same old set of Eisenhower era material at every show but on this night they showed how a vast repertoire of a variety of sounds can gel perfectly for one evening. Hopefully they'll keep it going this way.

Opener/s: none
Venue Info:
beer sitch: BYOB
parking: free lot behind venue or plenty of street parking
layout: top floor of an old mill building. big open space
Capacity: 550 (probably half full)

1: (75min) 74, Reddish Moon, Driving Backwards with you, Give the Devil Back His Heart, New Tune*, Paper Birds, Mudslide, before You Were Born
2: (73 min) If you Knew, intro jam > Mother Wolf, Headshot > Meowskers, Solomon**, Yellow Medicine***, Predicting the Rain, Poor Boy, Soft Machine
E: Children of December, If One of Us Should Fall**
* chorus lyrics include "I dont care...I dont dare" ** Brad on baby grand piano (1st verse only on IOOUSF), *** w/ "Zion" jam. This show was just tremendous. Andrew put out "request sheets" for people at set break to request songs with.

download the show here
View photos by Phrazz here