tbs is a band that really would benefit from fans enjoying their more modern music. they play mostly older tracks because that’s what the fans enjoy, but whether it’s Flicker, Fade or You Can’t Look Back or The One- Adam sounds so much better on these tracks for obvious reasons. i really enjoyed the setlist at the show in Detroit. 20/20 Surgery is a good pull, imo, and they crushed This Photograph is Proof. Fred absolutely crushes the vocals and i hope they do consider keeping him around for future music.
I knew it had something to do with his health. I wish him the best during his recovery, it sounds painful as hell.
I have DDD and have had that surgery twice. The recovery sucks, but it’s a generally low risk surgery. Idk how he’s going to play WWWY though!
I know TBS have had a lot of drama in recent years generally, but the way the John & Fred situation has played out has been so nice to see. A lot of love for that. Get better soon, John!
Adam’s main stage presence influence is Michael Jackson. He’s got big Michael Jackson legs that whole gig
Error Operator and Flicker Fade sound much better now that they're in a more comfortable range for them
Finally had a chance to listen to that full set in its entirety today, and goddamn, having Fred around and the lowered tunings are game changers. Speaking of Fred, that little outro jam they do after The One sounds so good. As a guitar nerd, both John’s and Nathan’s guitar tones were a little too similar. This isn’t a knock on either of them because they’re both excellent guitarists. I’m strictly speaking on live tones and mixing. Having Fred’s more aggressive/trebly tone coupled with his use of delay and whammy effects really rounds out their sound. Seems like they're all having a lot of fun on stage together, plus if you listen to the jams/segues with headphones, you get to hear Shaun playing some really tasteful stuff.
This band has seriously had so many "I can't believe this is happening" moments over the years – both good and bad! This is another one of them. Adam, Fred, John, Shaun ... give it to me.
i adore this band and have always skipped them live because of uh everything i have heard about them in the past...but now i am stoked as hell about the idea of seeing them live and have to do it lfg thank you fred
I wanted to digest seeing them before I commented on this, and I'm going to have to push back on this idea because 1) now we know that John was likely playing through a crazy amount of pain for at least a couple of years, so it makes sense that maybe he wasn't as mobile throughout the set, and 2) while maybe Fred is a better "showman," I don't think John needs to be. John is great because he and Adam have a really natural back-and-forth, and they play off each other with their banter (even for the times when they're not closing out a show like this). I actually found Fred's constant moving around to be a bit unnecessary. I noticed that because he was moving around a lot, it cut into Adam's movements/mic swinging ability, and I think Fred is very lucky that Adam was more aware of where he was than Fred was of Adam. (I also think when it comes to the solos that Fred is doing, Nathan was the one playing them—I know this to be true of the one in Liar at least—and Nathan is incredible.) I think Fred also sounds technically good (and technically better, sure), but after seeing them as Adam + John for over a decade, even the songs that Fred is on the record for in my mind sound better as John songs. John has a much different delivery with a lot of the lyrics that add a bit of personality to them, whereas Fred is more or less just trying to recreate how it sounds on the record (which is, again, technically good, but if I wanted to hear the record, I would just put on the record). I noticed this in particular during Decade, Flicker, Fade, and Cute Without the E (where John really goes for the scream on the "never let you hold me back"). To each their own at the end of the day, and I am glad that they were able to work together to find a solution that made this tour work so John could focus on getting better, but I will be glad to have John back in the future and Fred being an occasional surprise if their paths cross.