Pretty kick-ass show, a lot of segues! I love the way they used Eppy III to tie the other songs together. It\'s like Eppy III is the base layer for the set but then they keep building additions on top of it. Really good job with that. They\'ve been getting more and more into using a song as the basis of a set and bouncing off of it over and over for other songs. I don\'t think any other band is doing this to such an extent. Solid selections coming down the stretch of set I with No Regret, Gladys, and The Chase. One of the better first sets I can remember.
Second set opened up fantastically with the best Honey Butter yet. Honey Butter was SWEET! (Loved the Butterfield shout out too!) I like how everyone\'s comparing versions already, that\'s great. But know this: The Breakfast really come around with their new originals around play #15-20. If you think Honey Butter sounds good now, wait until June when they\'ve got 20 plays under their belt, then you\'re really in for heavy thunder. This is one of the most exciting aspects of following The Breakfast. When they come out with new tunes, and they sound awesome, the truth is that the tune ain\'t even half of what it\'s going to be.
After the obligatory Amherst/Northampton Phaddy Boom Baddy and a very good Rufus > short drum solo, they closed with Hot For Teacher. I\'ve got problems with this call. First of all, second set closer is the showcase spot of the night. You need to highlight one of your own tunes in this spot. Van Halen doesn\'t need the props. You need people to walk out saying "Holy smokes! How about that [Taboo or Not Taboot] closer!" Read all the reviews in this thread, nobody\'s getting finished off by Hot For Teacher. Rather, they\'re talking about everything else in the show. Secondly, Hot For Teacher can get tossed on the Born To Be Wild/Jumpin Jack Flash/Touch Me pile of cute rock songs that people smile at during the show and forget about 10 minutes later. They have some purpose because a lot of people like hearing them, but they should only be used in the middle of the show to cuten up the set a bit. If you have to close with a cover, it needs to be from the Echidna\'s Arf/No Quarter/Karn Evil 9 "holy shit!" pile and definitely not a 5-minute radio version of a song that any old bar band could play. I also think Bugs is a very soft encore but Bugs has been my least favorite original for 5 years so if everyone else liked it then I\'m fine with it.
Overall a well structured and very well executed show. The crowd was phenomenal as well. Nothing like being back in Amherst/Northampton for a Breakfast show. See you all soon!
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P.S. An incredible Breakfast show took place at the Iron Horse on 9/14/01. It was 3 days after 9/11 and 2 days after the band got their van and ALL their gear stolen. It was also the first western Mass show after the UMass Baker Quad show (the band\'s biggest show ever at the time) and it was so completely and utterly packed that a lot of people never got in. A night to remember for sure. Read the review here
http://www.thebreakfast.info/modules.php?name=Reviews&file=viewarticle&id=69
