Paul Westerberg Man Without Ties
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Paul Westerberg 2005 Tour - Dallas and Austin, TX

Mar. 7, 2005 @ Gypsy Tea Room, Dallas, TX & Mar. 8, 2005 @ La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX
Mar. 8, 2005 @ La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX

Well, we're light on reviews and setlists for these shows, but have a ton of great pics thanks to Jay, Tom and Sadie.

Reviews from both The Dallas Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News are posted on the message board.


They were both awesome shows. Paul and the band seemed to be in good spirits at both shows. Unfortunately I didn't write the set lists down. However, they were very similar to the other shows he's done on the tour so far. He did play 23 Years Ago, which I hadn't seen on other set lists. He didn't seen to play the whole song, but he did play the same part of it in both shows. It was really cool. Also, in Austin they didn't start with Merry Go Round, Someone Take the Wheel, etc... I really liked the way that in the middle of "AAA" he busts into "Anyways all right," for the verse, I'm the dog that's broken from my leash... After that verse he goes seamlessly back to "AAA."

I knew I would enjoy seeing Mr. Westerberg no matter what he did, but I was very impressed with both shows. The only real start stop in the two shows happened in Austin when he played, "If Only You Were Lonely," after the first verse he stopped and said, "Paul gets stung by another bumble bee," in reference to forgetting the lyrics. Then he explained that he had written the song when he was six. It was hilarious, just as enjoyable as the song would have been. I know he was joking, but I can't help but think the idea of a six year old ordering a Scotch might explain a few things. (That's was also a joke!) Besides that and a transposed lyric here or there the show was very tight. Much more so than I expected after some of the reviews I've read. To be fair to Paul, everybody messes up a lyric here or there. Paul should be very proud of the show he's putting out there.

There were lots of great moments at both shows. Any Paul/Mats enthusiast would love the show. I wonder if the early shows were really as sloppy as some of the newspapers said, or if it was a case of pointing out all the mistakes, while omitting the brilliant parts? In any event, I can only imagine that the shows will continue to get better and better at this point. I think they'll be as loose or tight as Paul and the band wants...but still that alone doesn't necessarily make a great show. However, in my opinion Paul seems to know what does!

Travis Snider


Thanks to Charles Ford for sending in the set list for Austin and Mr. Nurgins from the message board for some additional info:


I thought the (Austin) show was incredible. Very high energy, very loud. I can only recall one song that ended abruptly ("If Only You Were Lonely"). There were a couple of places where Paul took a detour and the band had some trouble following him (I caught a couple of WTF? glances shot between Kevin and Boquist). But I thought that actually added to the charm of the show. The good news is that Paul looked great, his voice sounded great, and everyone seemed to be having a fun time on stage. Boquist was pretty reserved on stage, but Kevin at times was bounding around like a madman.

I've listened to some of the tracks from the west coast and Denver shows. I get the impression that the Austion show was a little more "rocking" than some of the other shows, with songs being played a little faster and harder. Can anyone who has seen multiple shows confirm this?

Paul and Kevin referred to Michael Bland (the drummer) several times as ERB, the Ebony Rhythm Buddha. If you take a look at the pictures, then you'll see why. Definitely a large and in-charge man. And definitely a great drummer.

At one point, when the band was between songs and folks were yelling song titles for them to play, several girls shouted "Unsatisfied!" in unison. Kevin ran to the mic and responded "we can't help you there, ladies, you'll have to talk to your husbands about that." I'm sure this gets quipped at every show, but it was still funny.

After the show, Paul was letting people on the bus, two at a time. I've been a fan since "Pleased to Meet Me," so I was pretty excited about the chance to meet him. He seemed like a great, down-to-earth guy. He was kind enough to sign our ticket stubs and pose for some pictures. When I thanked him for putting on such a great show, he thanked me for coming to see it.

Jay Dryden