Episode 106: Atlanta, GA – 4/19/2003

In this episode we celebrate the city of Atlanta, Georgia that deserves praise for their tremendous voter turnout helping the state go blue for the first time in 28 years! And Atlanta knows about long periods of waiting because in this episode we’ll discuss the last non-festival show in the city that happened 17 years ago! That’s FIVE albums since Atlanta has gotten a proper show! This one is an important one, and we invite long time patron Glenn Bobe to tell his story from that night.

After a contentious performance in Nashville the night prior, the political rage was building up during this time period. Anything having to do with patriotism, support of President Bush or the Iraq War set the band off. This show has a moment from the very early onset where an oversized American flag was blocking the view of fans seated on the lawn. This set Ed off during an aggressive performance of Grievance and set the tone for a night where politics needed to be part of the conversation. But that was the era – a tumultuous time that had everyone on edge.

However, the band brought their A (or B+) game for a show that doesn’t get talked about all that often during this era. This show had its crowd pleasing moments with a few rare appearances including Glorified G that made a comeback that year, Present Tense that was played for the first time in 65 shows and only the 3rd appearance of Crown of Thorns with the first noted Chloe Dancer tease accompanying it. You’ll also hear stellar performances of 1/2 Full and Black and a moment in Corduroy that is commonplace for today’s versions, but was potentially snuck in for the first time here.