September 10, 2022 – Apollo Theater, New York, NY, USA

Show Notes:

The seated portion of the show continues to be showcase for rarities, as Footsteps opens a show for the first time since the 1996 Bridge School. Ed checks in with Matt and Stone afterwards, adding that he’s feeling  “shaky…I’m feeling,…

Show Notes: 

The seated portion of the show continues to be showcase for rarities, as Footsteps opens a show for the first time since the 1996 Bridge School. Ed checks in with Matt and Stone afterwards, adding that he’s feeling 

“shaky…I’m feeling, just, energy already. Could be the energy of the people in this crowd, could be the energy of New York City…”

He goes on to mention that the show is being broadcast on SiriusXM (as part of the Small Stages series) and what an honor it is to play in this historic venue. Sleight of Hand appears for the first time since the Binaural album show in Toronto 2016, and Parachutes since the show prior to that! Before Parachutes, Ed says that he has a “secret” but he has to wait 2 songs to tell it. He adds that he has news that brought “tears of joy,” and says Glen Hansard and his wife had a baby today, After Hard To Imagine, the secret is revealed, the show has to be stopped because a computer needs to be rebooted, and the PA system goes out temporarily. Mike teases Little Wing, and then the crowd joins together to sing Daughter. Ed comes out with an acoustic guitar and plays Keep Me In Your Heart solo unplugged. They return with Who Ever Said, after which Ed says 

“Alright, is it back? Are we up out there?” 

Who Ever Said kicks off a run of seven Gigaton tracks in the next nine, only broken up by a stellar Even Flow, featuring Mike soloing on his knees at the front of the stage, and Spin the Black Circle, which is dedicated to Howard Stern, Gary, and Robin Quivers, who Ed says he got to meet for the first time tonight, adding “I love the sound of your voice, bringing us joy when we need it.” He tells a story about a girl coming up to him in an airport back in the early 90’s and saying “I hate to bother you…,” to which he replied “…then don’t.” He continues the story, adding

“…so, she looked at me and then the pools of water starting going up these little Bambi eyes, and she turned and walked away…about five minutes passed, and I went to all the gates, we had 10 minutes before we board, I went to all the gates and she was gone, I couldn’t find her. So, if you’re out there somewhere, I never got your name, I was just a rude individual at the time, I was under some stress…no excuses, but all apologies. If you’re out there somewhere 30 years later, I know you’ve forgot it, but I haven’t and I just want to say I’m sorry and maybe I’ll get to meet you and say hi to you another day in the future.”

Someone in the crowd jokes that that was their mom, to which Ed replies “fuck you,” laughing. Whipping falls apart a few seconds in but it’s restarted from the beginning without further incident. Mike shows off his technicality and shreds the Porch solo. Ed talks about Bessie Smith, a blues singer from the 1920’s who was in an accident and the doctors wouldn’t treat her because of the color of her skin. The heat inside the venue was unbearable for some, due to no air conditioning.