Gillian's 44th Birthday
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
The Fillmore
San Francisco, CA
2 October 2011

MS-TFB-2 In-Ear Binaural Mics -> SP-SPSB-11 Slimline Battery Module (16 Hz, no bass roll-off) -> line-in jack of Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1) -> Sound Forge 7 (for trimming) -> FLAC8 -> BigDee -> Sound Forge & HarBal -> 16/44.1 -> FLAC

Position: Standing at the front of the mosh pit, up against the stage. I was about 4 feet right of the left stage speaker (set on a diagonal on stage to point to the people at the front center) which would have been aiming directly at me had I been 1 person back. The performers used side stage monitors, and I may have also been picking up sound from them. They may have been using the house mix, though, since they obviously all got the same sound under this set-up.

Many thanks to Bigdee for working his usual magic (and then some!) on mastering this recording. I know that it was a challenge with the mix from both the speakers and monitors, but it came out really well. I wouldn't have given up my spot up against the stage for anything in this great concert, so I'm glad that it all came out well!

Format:
Set 1
interval
Set 2
2 Encores

Notes:
1. It was Gillian's birthday and that theme was prevalent throughout in both Gillian's and the audience's comments. Both the performers and the audience were having a blast during the entire gig. This comes across clearly in the recording!

2. This was a very long show - approx 1 hour for the first set and 1.5 hours for the second set/encores.

3. There were a number of special guests, but only one played during the main show - Nate Walcott. The following were part of the encores: Buddy Miller, Robyn Hitchcock, & Mike McKinley (mandolin player).

4. There was quite a bit of chatting in the audience in between songs, but except for the person who got behind me and started coughing & sneezing during the encore, the audience was very quiet during the music.


Setlist:
Set 1:
1. Intro / Happy Birthday Gillian (audience)
2. Orphan Girl
3. Scarlet Town
4. Make Me A pallet On Your Floor
5. Rock Of Ages
6. Good Til Now (w/NW)
7. The Way It Will Be (w/NW)
8. Elvis Presley Blues
9. I Want To Sing That Rock And Roll
10. Tennessee
11. The Way It Goes

Set 2:
1. Hard Times
2. Down Along The Dixie Line
3. Wayside/Back In Time
4. Six White Horses
5. The Revelator
6. Sweet Tooth (w/NW)
7. Wrecking Ball (w/NW)
8. Dark Turn Of Mind
9. Caleb Meyer

Encore #1:
10. That's How I Got To Memphis (w/BM & NW)
11. Candyman (w/RH & NW)
12. Look At Miss Ohio (w/RH & NW)

Encore #2:
13. Dusty Boxcar Wall (w/MM)
14. I'll Fly Away (w/MM)
15. The Way The Whole Thing Ends (w/NW)

Setlist & the following performer info are from a write-up that I saw somewhere else (sorry - I didn't note the source, but thanks to whomever did it!):

Nate Walcott (NW): trumpet player with Bright Eyes

Robyn Hitchcock (RH): solo artist, formerly of The Soft Boys and Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians; Gillian and David, longtime fans, backed him up on his album Spooked (2004).

Buddy Miller (BM): Solo artist, guitarist and producer. Has toured as guitarist with Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin,
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, among others. He produced G&D with the late Solomon Burke.

Mike McKinley (MM): mandolin player with The Santa Cruz, Ca. based bluegrass group, Harmony Grits. Sits in with G&D at almost all their Santa Cruz/Bay Area shows.