i meant to post a review of the atlanta show earlier this week, but they've actually been making me work around here. Bastards.
first off, i have to say that her tour manager is an idiot for booking her at the roxy in atlanta on a sunday night. due to our location smack-dab in the bible belt, businesses within atlanta city limits cannot serve alcohol on sundays unless they serve food. since we'd gone to dinner and stopped to see a friend's acoustic performance at another bar, my friend and i missed the opening band, which was fine. we got to the roxy 30 minutes before liz was scheduled to go on. since we couldn't have a beer there, they tried to send us next door. "next door" is a freakin' sushi restaurant that was PACKED full of annoying people, so we walked up the street to a more palatable location for a pre-show drink. oops...it took too long, so we ended up walking in during the first verse of "mesmerizing." i was pissed that i missed "6'1"," and since the set list as i remember it is pretty much what emil posted (minus the stratford moment, dammit), i guess i missed "johnny feelgood" as well. we were standing close to the front, but right in front of the right speaker, so i had to strain to see the drummer.
observations: lots of guitar changes, "divorce song" has no harmonica and i missed it terribly, really liked the arrangement on "flower." there were a lot of annoying girls there, like the ones behind us who screamed "this is our theme song!!!" and jumped up and down when she started to play "F&R." they were also really into "rock me." i'm 32 and the guy i went with is 40, we felt old, but it was interesting to look at the crowd and see who was into what songs. she had the head-microphone thing on, and she talked about it more than once, talked about how liked to sit on her couch at home and play her guitar, and with the head mike, she could do things like that on stage (not that there was a couch). it seemed like she was still getting used to it. her hair was down, she didn't have much makeup on and looked like EIG-era liz. maroon tank top, red bra straps poking out, these AWFUL cargo-hot-pants that looked like something teenage girls would get on delias.com with the button undone so we could see her red underwear (NOT faded pink - speaking of which, that song made me cringe visibly) and sparkly shoes. yes, she's in great shape, but she could have been more sexy in a great skirt. oh well. shame on me for commenting on a woman's clothes, i wouldn't say those things about a man, blah blah blah. it was just like she was trying too hard, and that made me sad because she doesn't need to.
overall: experiencing the songs i've grown to love over the years live was amazing, but i really felt most of the new material had no soul, and i had a hard time with the discrepancy. but in the end, "divorce song" and "jealousy" cancel out "favorite" in spades, and i'll go back for more whever i get the chance.