[Hummusman@aol.com]

Good god, that was the most incredible thing I've ever been a part of.  It was my first Oils show ever, and the anticipation wrought by nearly 2 and a half hours of waiting from the time they opened the door until when Peter actually showed his bald head was absolutely torture.  They opened with Redneck Wonderland, which I think is the perfect opener to get the energy up.  I especially liked the ambience right before the band showed up, when the speakers played some sort of tribal drum beat, as if to say:  get ready, you're in big trouble now.

I was amazed at how many songs were played - by my count, they played 17, and the choice of a few, namely Time to Heal and Bullroarer seemed a bit surprising.  I thought the opening act, Bleu, was pretty darn good himself, if he would just shut up in between his very catchy songs.  He's kind of a dork, though I liked his music.  What, however, happened to the Will Hoge I've been hearing about from other shows?

A great and unexpected moment came when Peter singled out some guy near the front and said something to the effect of:  "You, the tall gentleman with the long curly hair (at which point the guy raises his arms and shouts in victory like he's expecting praise), you are what where we come from is called, an 'asshole'".  I think everyone was surprised at how direct Peter was, though it was great to hear.  I mean, he went on and on about the guy being a jerk to some girl next to him, and warned, "you've got one more chance, and then you're out on the sidewalk on your ears".  I thought it was wonderful how Peter could be so "harsh" while not damaging the festive mood.

Anyhow, Peter was wearing a hawaiian shirt of some sort for the first few songs, then shirked it off for a black shirt the rest of the show, until the final encore, in which he wore a red lyle hewitt shirt (the tennis player?).  Everyone else wore black except rob, who wore a red shirt.  All the band members looked like videos I had seen, however, I must say that Jim looks a lot different over the years (this being my first time seeing him).  

The energy in the Showbox was great, and I thought the new songs were awesome - especially Golden Age; that guitar opening absolutely kicks ass!  The point of highest energy had to be with Hercules, and again at the end with the final song, Read About it, on the second encore.  

I've waited all thirteen years of my history as a MO fan to see them in person, and it didn't disappoint in the least.  I took my dad along, who is rather indifferent to the band, and after one song, he was screaming:  "That man (peter) is a madman!", and after the show, a satisfying, "HOLY SHIT!  That is one hot band!"  

I'm also going to Friday's Vancouver show - about two songs in to the Seattle show I started to be thankful that I wasn't only seeing one show - it would be too hard to bear thinking I'd get only one night of bliss after waiting so long.  

One of the best qualities about their on stage presence is how much the members seem to ENJOY what they are doing - they are into as much as the crowd is!  Also, Rob had a really cool corrugated metal tube-thing behind his drum set that he played during the P $ passion drum solo - that rocked.  I also like how for 4 or 5 songs they brought the drum set up front and rob played on center stage.  

whew.  

that's enough - someone else can fill in everything i didn't mention.  what a band.  what a memorable 2 hours!

Justin
Seattle, WA