A review from Bill Hoy
8/10 Great Woods review

Absolute INCREDIBLE show last night in Mansfield.  They came on at about
7:55 and played for roughly 45 minutes.  They started with the 1st verse of Jump, and
then the kick drum mic blew out - sounded like a giant explosion in the P.A !!  It only took a few seconds to fix that,
and they went into the standard setlist.

The guys were ON all night and they did the job they set out to do this
tour.  Dave was moving from song 1, and he never stopped.  He was shaking, dancing, throwing the guitar, spinning.
Of course, I was the only one in the place standing, till everyone
behind me, tugged on my arm, pulled my shirt, and threw rotten fruit at me to sit down.   I then had to enjoy the show sitting down.This was the best show I've seen them play this year.  Better than theradio station festivals.

As I said they did the job this tour is intended to do - bring the music
to a new audience. And it REALLY worked last night.  Dave's energy on stage attracted many
people's attention.
By the time the GDU portion of the set came along, people were
cheering.  From Runaway Train on, they had won the crowd over.  I thought the place was going to explode during Just Like Anyone.

Candy From a Stranger closed the set.  During Dave's typical dance, he
almost lost his pants!
He pulled them up in time though!  By the end of the show, people were
floored by what they saw.  It made me proud to be a Soul Asylum fan, especially in light of what people had said about the Atlanta shows.  I'm sure we picked up a few converts last
night.

Dave's voice was absolutely beautiful.  He had a certain strain /
hoarseness to it that, coupled with the way the PA sounded last night, really shot the vocals out.
Sometimes, Dave tends to yell the lyrics out, but tonite everything was perfect.  You could
hear the desperation in Runaway Train.  I've heard that song enough - but last night it was a pleasure.  I think we can all agree that we like the way Dave's voice sounds a bit more strained live than what was
recorded in the studio for the Candy From a Stranger album.

Of course, it was a let down to have to see MB20 after SA, but I stayed
anyway.  I don't think MB20 necessarily sucks, they're just not great.  All the songs are OK, they just lack a certain element that SA has - hooks, melodies, can't put my finger on it.

I'm on to Wallingford tonite.  I'm not sure they can top last night's
energy!

Don't be disappointed, folks, with the lack of album sales.  Last night
was a huge advertisement
for Soul Asylum.

Bill
bhoy@eaw.com