A couple of posts were aimed at me, one concerning the similar setlists and the other TR.
First, looking at the setlists, they have been similar for several tours. Come on! Why Aye, WII, STP, BIA, R&J, SOS, Wild Theme, SL, TR, SAN, Sonny Liston. Just consider all the songs that weren't played but could have been played instead. I liked HFB and Marbletown too, I loved them, but they did little to make the setlists varied.
About TR: I didn't mean to say it's a simple song, but something about that one seems to fit Mark better than Sultans these days. Frankly, at least on the shows I saw, he wasn't up to it or deliberately stayed away from the fast licks (in Sultans). TR works a little differently, it's powerful in a different way, with a lot of double-stops and slower guitar parts. Now, his feeling was great and all that on Sultans, but we were talking about energy and it was lacking in, say, Karlstad. Maybe he picked up speed as the tour progressed; we all read Guy stating that they don't even rehearse Sultans! Outrageous. His heart did not seem to be in it, and the end lick suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the final solo. The classic build-up hade been shortened a lot. Mark's playing would benefit from more serious tour rehearsals, and maybe that would lead to some new songs being played too.
Some old DS songs would work great with Mark's new folk sound, such as Iron Hand or (the rehearsed) Man's Too Strong. We'll never hear Single-handed Sailor again, but some songs really fit well with news later musical direction. Play them please
