Episode 231: San Diego, CA – 5/3/2022

On the one-year anniversary of the 2022 tour’s kickoff, we’re taking a look back at the first makeup show for the postponed 2020 tour. It started in San Diego, CA, a place that has always been treated as a homecoming for Ed, who grew up there in his school-aged years. With family, friends and celebrities on hand to witness this event, the expectations and nerves were at an all-time high. But with that being said, the setlist was curated in a way that paid tribute to the ocean and local area which most of his early lyrics were written.

There’s a moment in this show that can be argued as one of the most emotional in the band’s history. Ed makes a touching tribute to his brother before playing an incredibly powerful Long Road, but the tribute developed out of a dedication. Mike Cribier had written into the forums requesting that the band play In My Tree for his brother who tragically passed away back in 2014. Mike will join us on this episode to talk about his brother’s accident and living his final days listening to the band nonstop, the shock when Ed mentioned him by name and the addition of In My Tree as a tag on Daughter. It’s a can’t miss conversation.

Also in this show, the re-emergence of Gigaton songs that were played in a small sample size at the 2021 festival shows. Javier’s Gear Guru segment this week will focus specifically on the equipment used on this tour and how the tone impacted new songs such as Retrograde and Seven O’Clock. And of course, we will go into a lengthy discussion about the reverse Mamasan and how playing it in San Diego may have been more special than any other instance where it’s been performed.