12 Mar - 9:30 Club Washington, DC USA

Order		Song
01		Rectify
02		Heartland Truckstop
03		Conceived
04		Heart of Soul
05		Safe in Your Arms
06		Someone’s Daughter
07		Stolen Car
08		Worms
09		Shopping Trolley
10		Shadow of a Doubt
11		Comfort of Strangers
12		Feral Children
13		She Cries Your Name
14		Pass in Time
15		Godsong
16		Countenance
17		Pieces of Sky
18		Sugar Boy
19		Absinthe
20		A Place Aside
21		Feel to Believe
22		It’s Not the Spotlight

SETLIST

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CONCERT NOTES

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I got to the venue a bit late, missing Willy Mason altogether. It was a sold-out show and the place was packed. I found a little nook about 6 people back from the stage that allowed me to see and hear everything. The 9:30 Club is one of my favorite venues in DC as they usually have nice sound no matter where you stand in the room. The place kind of reminds me of the Astoria in London a bit. I'd love to tell you that I got some amazing piccies of our Beth, but I had to check my camera at the door. Sorry.

So, Beth came out with the band. She was wearing white and creme and absolutely glowed in the spotlight as she smiled and greeted us, "Hello Washington! It's great to be back!" No strings this time round like at Letterman, but they sounded great just the same. The handsome and friendly Sean Read was on piano. New Yorker Matt Johnson, whom some of you may remember playing with Jeff Buckley, was on drums. (He also played drums for Beth at the Jeff Buckley celebration in 2000 at the Angel Orensanz Center and my bf at the time came with me to the show because he thought it was going to be Matt Johnson from The The. Ha.) Leroy Bach, formerly of American indie alt-country darlings Wilco, played electric bass guitar (no standup like Ali!). M. Ward on guitar and backup vocals.

Are you ready for the setlist? It was what I considered a really nice mixture of old and new songs. I was really impressed with how many people in the crowd seemed really into the new songs, because that's kind of unusual for an East Coast crowd. So, kudos to Beth!

Rectify

Heartland Truckstop

Conceived

Heart of Soul

Safe in Your Arms

Beth commented that her guitar had been a bit damaged in transit and that it was sounding cool- like a sitar- and that she kind of liked it. 

Someone’s Daughter*

Stolen Car*

Worms (Beth on piano! She made a funny comment about “doing it all- singing, dancing, etc.”)

Shopping Trolley

Shadow of a Doubt (She mentioned taking guitar lessons from Bert Jansch and said this song was dedicated to him and Anne Briggs. She thought none of us would know who Bert Jansch is- not true!)

Comfort of Strangers

Feral Children

She Cries Your Name*

Pass in Time*

Godsong

Countenance

Pieces of Sky

Encore:

Sugar Boy* (by request!)

Absinthe (Beth plays both harmonica/guitar)

A Place Aside (Beth mentioned that this is one of her fav songs)

Encore II:

Feel to Believe

It’s Not the Spotlight*

Despite some technical difficulties (which are to be expected on the first gig of a tour), I thought the sound was great. I thought I might really miss the strings, but Mr. Bach's bass was sounding really warm and I soon forgot all about them. Overall, I thought the band's sound was nicely balanced with the vocals. Beth told us she had a lung infection, but she sounded pretty terrific considering. She coughed now and then, but her voice was strong and steady and broke tenderly in all the right places. She seemed in good spirits, joking and laughing as usual. Shall I list some of the jokes? Oh, of course I will!

1) Q:What do you say to a man with no arms and no legs bobbing in the middle of a pool on a sunny day? A: Cock got the time? (Hardly anyone laughed and she explained the joke and went on to tease us about the "American language barrier" later on in the show.)

2) Q: What's E.T. short for? A: 'Cos he's got really short little legs!

I'm surely forgetting something, but that's all I can think of at the moment. It was really wonderful and I highly recommend catching her live show wherever you can. Keep in mind that I'm completely biased in her favor, but that I also go to a million shows and am comparing her to the best artists out there right now.

A few of us waited out back by the tour bus and she was gracious enough to stop quickly to chat. I wished her good luck in Austin and told her I was looking forward to seeing her in a month when she returns to the East Coast. I was hoping to get a snapshot with her, but it looked like they were in a hurry to leave, so I didn't ask. I had a little attack of shyness. Argh. Maybe next time!

BLUEGIRL

BETH ORTON

Historical Gigs

2006.03.12 9:30 CLUB, WASHINGTON DC

SETLIST

SETLIST

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CONCERT NOTES

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