THE BIG WU
August 27, 2005
The Top Hat
Missoula, MT

Source: soundboard > xlr/rca cables > Tascam DA-20mkII DAT (44.1)
Remaster: Tascam DA-20mkII > Audiophile 2496/hdd > Soundforge 6.0 (edits, fades, norm'd to -16dB) > CD Wave Editor (tracking) > flac
Note: the first 50 seconds are patched from the AUD source MXL-603 mics > DMIC-20 > Tascam DA-P1 (44.1); unfortunately, my AUD source crapped out completely after 35 minutes... [sigh].
Recorded & remastered by Pastor Tim <BigWuArchivist@yahoo.com>

DISC ONE [77.45]
Set 1:
01  "sniffing..."  0.25
02  I Love It When You Drink Tequila  5.29
03  No Place Like A Road >  4.06
04  Southern Energy  14.21
05  Midnight Rudy  5.20
06  Irregular Heartbeat  6.59
07  Got Me On A String  2.50
08  Ray Charles Can See  7.43
09  sidecar-Oregon banter...  1.16
10  Ghostbyrds  7.51
11  Blue Vapor  3.33
12  Roll With The Changes  5.35
Set 2:
13  Three Bennies >  4.17
14  Make Believers  7.54

DISC TWO [73.53]
Set 2 cont'd:
01  "back to the newer stuff..."  0.30
02  Love Handles  5.56
03  Chevrolet  5.40
04  Q: "how 'bout a little Red Sky, eh?"  A: "20 dollars..."  0.44
05  S.O.S.  9.38
06  Minnesota Moon  5.34
07  thank-you's...  0.32
08  Dancing With Lula  8.14
09  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band  6.38
10  In Memory Of ^ Elizabeth Reed tease >  4.15
11  If We Were A Rock'n'Roll Band *  6.12
12  crowd...  2.20
Encore:
13  Andy's "burn in hell" announcement  1.39
14  Won't Get Fooled Again  8.33
15  The Love Boat Theme #  3.26

^ Sarah Elizabeth Reed was dancing in the house... go figure.
* Shel Silverstein > The Clears > The Big Wu... believe it, baby.
# instrumental switcher-WU w/Terry: guitar & Chris: drums

RECORDING NOTES:
The vocals ran a bit high (even distorted) in both the sbd and through the PA, the instruments were somewhat light in the mix all night long (as mentioned above, the AUD recording crapped out in the 1st set), and the house soundman was a bit too 'hands off' for my tastes -- the band even had to wave their arms a few times just to get his attention for minor adjustments.  (Makes you really miss Andy Frey...)  

THE STORY:
Just another tour-ending show in Missoula, that's all.  What made it strange for me was that I was at a Saturday night show -- given that I work on Sunday mornings ;^{)}=>+ -- so I drove home a few hours later... wow, so THAT'S what a Saturday night is like, eh? [chuckle...]  While the audience hung back a bit at the beginning, just listening until Andy's "barbed wire fence" comment after Southern Energy, once they started dancing the floor got packed and stayed that way the rest of the night.  What I noticed most of all was that the guys were SO relaxed from the very get-go of the show -- smiles all around, self-effacing humor, good-natured jokes, and a groove that was as fun for them as it was for us.  The vocal-heavy sbd mix really pays off when you hear the extended harmony section of Dancing With Lula, and the Terry-yoki encore closer was nothing but laughs.  Oh, and Andy's peachy pipe smoke was WAY better than patchouli.  LOL!  This is the band I've known and loved for the last 8 years, and it's always great to have them back in Montana.  

"THANK YOU LIVE AID MISSOULA!!!"

"It's the altitude..."  -- Al
