I left 3 songs into the 2nd set. I had seen these guys in Atlanta GA in October- the very first time for me, and they blew me away with their fire, desire, and incredible playing. I suspect it was their best show of the year down there. Tonight they were going through the motions, and it showed. I tried to turn a long time music buddy on to the band, but he wanted to leave too- this should had "special guest" syndrome, which broke any natural flow they may have had.

Revised 12/17- I think EcoBen is a closet conservative as it is only right wing maniacs who think there is only "one way"or "one opinion" that is valid. There is no reason to jump down my throat because his experience differed from mine. I can assure you after 500 or more live performances I have attended over the years since 1976, I have a pretty huge frame of reference for comparison:

Dead, ALlmans, Moe when they first started, Phish (including the New Years 1995 show I was fortunate to attend), Moon Boot Lover, Godstreet Wine, Bela Fleck in the Howie days as well as later, etc etc (just to name a few jambands)


Did the "Gentle Ben" see the Georgia performance? Did he hear that performance? Did he even comprehend that I was comparing the two experiences? If I gave 5 stars to the Atlanta performance, it is my opinion that this show is a "2"

Hey- I would love to see these guys continue to do well- I really do like them a great deal, and if someone has the Atlanta show, please please upload it. Now the Head at that show was REALLY off the wall- as a number of people there that night agreed- more than a few said it was the best Head they ever heard. My review is not malicious in any way- but the malicious manner in which I was attacked here has no excuse

It just goes to show once again that no matter what the generation, no matter what the decade, tapers have some emotional maturity issues, and go out of their way to alienate others. I guess there is no cure for this.

Can a band pull out a very average performance with a good last few songs and encore? Sure- But I paid my money, man, and I did not like what I was hearing- so I chose to leave when I left- Warhead was good, no doubt- but can Warhead be transcendental? Hell yeah. 5 stars and 4 stars are reserved for performances that are far above every night shows. 2 and 3 stars are for average shows and shows that maybe are not quite there. 1 star shows are shows where the performace is being "mailed in", and it was MY feeling that this was the case.

EcoBen behaves as if I attacked his wife- he needs to grow a thicker skin if he is going to be a shill for the band. If it makes him happy, I am raising my review to a "2" for the quality of the taping here.

Revision- 12/26/2005

Thank you, Ben, for acknowledging that your first approach to my review of the show was not in the spirit of this forum or the band.

My first revision was not in the spirit, either, but I do have a presence on the internet and I could not leave what I saw as a vehement written assault on my opinion unchallenged- this is not an excuse- only an explanation.

Hell- Ben and I will be at future shows together, so we should "kiss and make up" and enjoy the music. REgarding the show, a prior poster said it best for me- "coasting" was the word he used- and that is what I was experiencing- compared to Atlanta- I did not see them in 2003 or 2004.

Actually I think this was one of their less pedestrian (by RRE '03-04 standards) of late largely due to the presence of the Nershi's.

After relistening to the copy(I was there too)... there are some moments that I feel they are "coasting" and others where they evoke the spirit. IMHO the May show was better... and one of the best of the year.

The Mess and Whiskey River (and the other sit-ins) got a shot in the arm and were not as predictable due to Bill's added influence. The Cuckoo Bird & Warhead alone were worth the $20 to get in.

Kudos to Liam for telling it how he feels. This is a business afterall and if I had a forum where my good customers could tell me that I was losing steam, I'd surely want to know about it.

Perhaps some of the other reviewers should examine the purpose of this forum.

"Please limit your comments to issues pertaining to the show and sound quality, not other reviewers."

I am not shilling for the band, but Liam, you initially gave the show a one-star rating which is what incited my comments in the first place. I think your revision sinks to pejorative levels but since I went there first, I'll let most of what you wrote slide on by. I'm actually a liberal though - so comparing me to a conservative whose wife was attacked, well, that's just funny.

Going through the motions? A pedestrian performance? For my money, I would take a Railroad Earth show over most other bands in NYC or NJ. I don't expect that every show I go to will be like Ringoes - my first show - or even Mexicali (October 2004)- my second show.

I reserve one-star ratings to shows where they are phoning it in - to be quite honest, I haven't seen any one star shows in a long time. Must be my taste in music or luck of the draw. I always find something redeeming about the show to elevate it.

There was close to three hours of music for the cost of a ticket and considering that it was a local show without much stress of travel on my part, I am standing by my 5 star rating. There was a clown blowing up balloons and creating general mirth, a good vibe from the undulating mass of Hobos (old and young) that filled the Bowery. I had never seen such a big crowd at the Bowery. There was a good pre-show party at several local establishments. Given the sum total of the experience, music, fans, venue, sound, and pre-show festivities - I stand by my rating.

The band and fans alike on the tour had some crappy travelling to do that weekend with winter ice and if they relaxed a bit in front of their HOMETOWN crowd, then what's wrong with relaxing. But the show's performances were not pedestrian.

My reaction was that you wrote a negative review of something you didn't stay through til the end on. You missed probably an hour of music. And while you are entitled to your opinion, I did not feel that your opinion should carry so much weight. The recording sounds great - and the room sounded the best it has ever done. It was a better show than they played there in May 2005.

I was one of the tapers at the show - hot versions of some classics for me, the John Skehan's jam into Like a Buddha, the Railroad Earth, the Warhead Boogie, the Major League Mess and the Insane HEAD were some of the highlights. Ruben's Train was a classic jam.

The flow of the show was fine and the premise of the tour - Honkytonk Homeslice was to encourage cross-pollination of the musicians. Did you even see Tim and Andy warm up on several tunes with Bill and Jillian? Did you even see Lauren, their daughter, perform 16 Tons? Probably not. We even hung with Jillian in the crowd during the Railroad Earth set.

I think its great that this band is versatile enough and gracious enough to have special guests play with them who can keep up and actually add to the music. You left after Mess - that was an intense jam - as good as it gets - or at least as good as I have seen.

The double encore was fun and unexpected - the Whiskey River was a great way to end the show.

In closing, maybe my initial take on Liam's review was out of line. I still stand by my take that this was a good show and should be downloaded. Not pedestrian in my opinion - and certainly worth more than Liam's one-star rating (which he later changed to two)

Ummm Liam I do take some offense to your taper comment, don't lump all of us together like that. Besides if it wasn't for us tapers ... whatever ...

"My rating is not a rating, just to let me post ...

Ben, the guy is voicing his opinon, right or wrong, I think your reaction is alittle over the top. I know I read reviews of shows that were the 'greatest' ever, then listen to them and I think they are average at best. I give Liam props for posting what he felt. I would like to see his comments on the EB though as I am always up for interesting banter, heh.

Take ALL these reviews for what they are, someone's opinion and we all know opinions are like assholes ..."

...so everyone pipe down...;)...first off, the guy didn't have a great experience...whatever...he's entitled to give as many stars as he wants....secondly, excellent recording heikki...i'll give this one a 4 b/c of 1) the sound 2) the setlist and 3) the jamming factor (definitely one of the more interesting shows I've caught in the last couple years...(take that for what it's worth, i haven't seen all THAT many)...as an "experienced rider," though, it was a nice mix)...nice to hear some older tunes and some damn good newer ones (reuben's, whiskey river(my hi-lite)...great stuff)...being a huge nershi fan since forever was a great treat and he and jilian added some excellent flair whenever they hit the stage...not a huge complaint as it's ALWAYS nice to catch a mess, but, honestly, i was expecting even more from the billy sit-in here...i guess i needed some insane, off-the-wall, foot-to-the floor slide jamming to launch me but instead got some nice mellow (though tasty, mind you) grooving.....what do they say: a "pedestrian" mess is still better than a great "picasso moon"?...definitely worth the DL...any show where todd takes multiple solos is a keeper in my book - and we got some good ones here....download it - or not -it's your choice (but i'll still enjoy it either way).