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Setlist at Columbiahalle Berlin, GER on May 19, 2003
Set One
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
191
Black Math
174
The Hardest Button to Button
225
Jolene
208
I Think I Smell a Rat
17
When I Hear My Name
106
I Think I Smell A Rat (Reprise)
14
Take a Whiff On Me
67
I Think I Smell A Rat (second reprise)
52
Mr. Cellophane
77
I Think I Smell A Rat (third reprise)
88
Hypnotize
144
Death Letter
281
Grinnin' In Your Face
126
Seven Nation Army
223
I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart
208
In The Cold, Cold Night
188
You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)
101
Hello Operator
163
The Big Three Killed My Baby
172
We're Going To Be Friends
139
Offend In Every Way
174
Apple Blossom
129
Ball And Biscuit
343
I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself
163
Look Me Over Closely
145
Let’s Shake Hands
144
I Fought Piranhas
204
Let's Build A Home
83
Goin’ Back to Memphis
402
Sugar Never Tasted So Good
169
Fell In Love With a Girl
112
Astro
98
Jack the Ripper
68
Screwdriver
239
Boll Weevil
233
Columbiahalle
Berlin, GER
May 19, 2003
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Setlist at Columbiahalle Berlin, GER on May 19, 2003
Set One
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
191
Black Math
174
The Hardest Button to Button
225
Jolene
208
I Think I Smell a Rat
17
When I Hear My Name
106
I Think I Smell A Rat (Reprise)
14
Take a Whiff On Me
67
I Think I Smell A Rat (second reprise)
52
Mr. Cellophane
77
I Think I Smell A Rat (third reprise)
88
Hypnotize
144
Death Letter
281
Grinnin' In Your Face
126
Seven Nation Army
223
I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart
208
In The Cold, Cold Night
188
You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)
101
Hello Operator
163
The Big Three Killed My Baby
172
We're Going To Be Friends
139
Offend In Every Way
174
Apple Blossom
129
Ball And Biscuit
343
I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself
163
Look Me Over Closely
145
Let’s Shake Hands
144
I Fought Piranhas
204
Let's Build A Home
83
Goin’ Back to Memphis
402
Sugar Never Tasted So Good
169
Fell In Love With a Girl
112
Astro
98
Jack the Ripper
68
Screwdriver
239
Boll Weevil
233
Show Notes
live sound by Matthew Kettle
mixed and mastered by Bill Skibbe at Third Man Mastering
5/19/03 Berlin
Columbiahalle
Just as the broadcast from Boston felt like the band’s official return to the stage, the way they sounded on the broadcast from Berlin was as if they’d suddenly hit their live peak. Having been moved from the Casino to the larger Columbiahalle due to demand, the band’s setlist is similarly expanded here, a masterful 30+ song display. Coming just weeks after the breakout shows in April and the exploratory performances in Scandinavia, Berlin takes the Elephant set and firmly baselines it into a 90 minute powerhouse. Like watching a racehorse lap effortlessly around the track, over and over, they just sound so healthy here. From the whammy-and-feedback opening in Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground to the final singalong in Boll Weevil, you get the full course – a virtual blueprint for the rest of the Elephant tour. The Hardest Button To Button gets a unique spot near the top of the set just after the openers, which extends the energy rush to great effect. Listen for the ad libbed line “Beating up Swanson and Damstra with a baseball bat!”, a funny reference to tourmates Whirlwind Heat during the marathon version of I Think I Smell A Rat, which also features When I Hear My Name, Take a Whiff On Me, and Mr Cellophane, now in its official live arrangement - complete with Jack letting the audience know when it's time to adjust the rhythm of their clapping. After an excellent Hypnotize, Jack introduces the band to the audience with an appropriate “Hot and sweaty in Berlin!”. Death Letter follows and is just about perfect, complete with Jack yelling “Let’s go Meg!” which she responds to by joining him in a run that culminates with a fantastic burst on the kick drum. This sets up Grinnin' In Your Face, one of the first times that listeners had ever heard the band perform the Son House song live. Again, just about perfect. There are performance highlights all over this show, including the adlib of “I can tell that we are going to be friends...Berlin, Berlin, Berlin” and the nod to Burt Bacharach and Marlene Dietrich before Look Me Over Closely. Even the out of tune guitar that pops up during the transition from Let’s Build A Home into Goin’ Back to Memphis still ends up resulting in a wonderful improvisation that they use to push through and close the main set. The encores play out like a continuous medley, including a complete version of Fell In Love With A Girl, the rare occurrence when they played the song in full. Having also used the soundcheck to record the future B-side cover of Soledad Brothers’ St Ides Of March, on this night they really could do no wrong. Do yourself a favor and fall in love with Berlin all over again, a mandatory performance from the Elephant tour.
