Tom Waits - Times-Union Performing Arts Center, Jacksonville 7-1-08

This was, for me, the greatest concert ever!

However, I can’t give this an unbiased review since Tom Waits quickly became my favorite entertainer since I first heard him back in 1988. So, after 20 years I finally had a chance to see him perform.

My friends probably think I’m crazy for driving by myself four hours from Tampa to Jacksonville, a city I’ve never been to, and laying out a ton of cash on a nearby hotel and gas money – not to mention the $106 ticket price, including taxes and convenience fees. To me it was worth every red cent.

In fact, a dialog often would arise about the costs of ticket prices when high-dollar acts would blow through Tampa. I remember someone wondering if they should pay $100-plus per ticket to see some tired old wreck of a band play on a reunion tour. I would always say I wouldn’t pay that much money to see anyone – except for Tom Waits. To see Tom Waits perform, I would probably be willing to pay up to around $1,000 – possibly as high as $1,500.

So, this go round I got off cheap.

I was not alone, however, in my love and appreciation for Waits. The couple that sat next to me had driven five hours from Lake Worth, Fla. Later I spoke to two women who had traveled from Cleveland and I later heard that some folks had flown from Canada to see the Jacksonville show. Apparently, the Columbus, Ohio show, the northernmost performance was sold out in seconds with fans from Maine and New York to Indiana and Illinois scarfing up the tickets.

Tom Waits isn’t for everyone. (When I was still living at home, my mother referred to him as “that drunk guy.”) For diehard fans - people like me who dug deep into their pockets and wells of time to travel - there is no greater live entertainment experience.

At the sold-out Moran Theatre of the Times-Union Performing Arts Center, Waits didn’t perform all the songs that people wanted to hear – that would be impossible. His catalog of music is vast – spanning about 30 years or more. His last recorded offering alone was the three-CD set “Orphans.”

Personally, I wanted to hear “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis,” “Hang on St. Christopher” or “Time.”

Was I disappointed? Not a bit. I’ve never been more satisfied by a performance. Waits delivered everything I could have asked and hoped for and more. Yet, I want to see him again – and again, as his set list varies from stop to stop.

Other than seeing the concert film “Big Time,” I’ve had to use my imagination to conjure up what the magic of a Tom Waits’ show would be like. I almost couldn’t believe I was sitting there. It was a dream to me, which is why I won’t even attempt to explain what I saw, heard and felt. I only hope you will have the opportunity to experience everything I did.

The Dresden Dolls – Tampa Theatre 1-10-08

Even before The Dresden Dolls finished the third song in their performance Jan. 10 at the historic Tampa Theatre, fans were begging the band to return.

From the back rows of the darkly atmospheric, Mediterranean-style theatre designed in 1925 – and possibly the American venue most perfectly suited for the band’s "Brechtian punk cabaret" – came an earnest plea.

“Come back!”

A couple other fans joined the call for the band to include Tampa on future tour stops.

Amused and a bit surprised, Amanda Palmer (vocals and piano) essentially said, “We haven’t even finished this show yet.”

The second of only two performances by the Dolls in Florida, and the first time they appeared in Tampa, Palmer and Brian Viglione (drums, vocals and guitar) delivered an amazing musical experience. What they created was much more than just a concert. Over nearly two hours, everything the band did that night was a highlight.

Taking the stage dressed in long dark trench coats and caps reminiscent of something a Nazi general would wear, The Dolls opened the show with a masterful interpretation of Pink Floyd’s “In The Flesh.” It was a great start to a great show that never faltered and only got better.

Every song performed was notable, but standouts included the intense rendition of “Half Jack;” the total audience sing-along cover of the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right (To Party),” which featured Palmer on drums, Viglione on guitar and help from Christopher Schiel, one of the two bass players from Two Ton Boa; and the rousing, hand-clap inducing “Night at the Roses.”

The most riveting moment was during the torch song, “The Gardner.” Palmer’s passionate performance was chilling. While she sang the vitriolic closing chorus, she slowly, absently squeezed a flower to pulp as moisture trickled between the fingers of her clenched fist.

Closing the encore, the band unleashed its wicked awesome cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” which they made their own while doing justice to the original.

In the end, there were a number of songs from the band’s albums that would have been welcome additions to the set list. However, concerts of this caliber are rare, so it would be surprising if anyone seriously asked why specific songs weren't played.

The only questions that remains? When will The Dresden Dolls come back?