I was anxiously awaiting this show for 3 months. I have been a fan of Alkaline Trio since I first got into them. Although the band's last couple of albums were subpar compared to their originals on Asian Man (don't get me wrong, Good Mourning and Crimson are still VERY good) and I was iffy about the opening acts, I figured that this would be a good show to check out.

Starting things off were Thieves Like Us. This band featered a lady guitarist/vocalist (good on the former, horrible on the latter), an annoying but genuine guiatrist, a chill basist, and a very cocky, but talented, drummer. The band had a grunge feel and were kind of lame.

After a twenty-minute intermission, up came Rufio while the crowd chanted the infamous line from "Hook." I was never really interested in this band due to the fact that on record they sound very whiny. Live, however, I was extremely impressed. From the opening riffs of "Out Of Control," the crowd busted out three mosh pits. Other notable songs that I can remember were "White Lights" and "Science Fiction." This definitely made me think of buying their new album when it hits the stores next week.

Three brawls and thirty minutes later (to all people that go to concerts just to fight, Fuck Off!) Alkaline Trio hit the stage while the piano from "Time To Waste" was playing. Once the piano gave way to guitar, the hugest mosh pit I have seen since Bad Religion opened up. They followed with two more songs off of Crimson, which made me think that this was going to be a showcase of their newer material. But afterwards they devoted the song "My Litttle Needle" to all that owned Godddamit, and "Private Eye" for all their Norfolk fans. They still didn't play "San Francisco," "Goodbye Forever," "Armegeddon," "Maybe I'll Catch Fire," or "All On Black," but I am very hard to please. Matt Skiba for once diddn't miss a note and Dan sounded wonderful as they -- as always -- split the play list between the two. The set list was as follows:
From oldest to newest

• Nose Over Tail
• Clavicle
• My Little Needle
• Southern Rock
• Radio
• Private Eye
• This Could Be Love
• Emma (extremely good live)
• If We Never Go Inside
• Sadie
• Time To Waste
• The Poison
• Burn
• Mercy Me
• Settle For Satin
• Fall Victim
• I Was A Prayer
• Back To Hell

Encore:

• 97
• Blue In The Face (full band)

If this show did anything for me, it made me put Goddamnit back in my stereo. For that I say thanks Alkaline Trio, come back soon!