Once again in Asheville for TAB, this year the show moved from the amenable Thomas Wolfe to the bigger and badder Civic Center. Tough call though, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is smaller, has a tidy, mellow vibe, and above average acoustics. The Civic Center is the staight forward 1970s-style entertainment arena, echo-y, lots of concrete and feels like Ringling Bros. circus, Globetrotters game, or Disney on ice go down at any moment. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But 'music venue' seems to be a distant afterthought compared to the lovely Thomas Wolfe next door.

The concourse at this show was stocked with surprisingly cheap microbrews, mostly of the locally owned and operated Highland Brewing Co. persuasion. It was Halloween. In Asheville. Tops off! Total pandemonium. I dressed as Martin Brodeur in full goalie regalia.

The performance was solid and Trey and Co. rocked the heck out. The crowd was super sloppy, lots of costumes, etc. Complete free-for-all. After the 'Saints' and 'Yellow Submarine' shenanigans from the previous year's tour, a lot of folks had high hopes for a Halloween TAB engagement, though the show ended up being pretty standard fare. Not to say it was a let down, but the feeling was in the air that something crazy might go down but didn't in the end.

The highlight for me was 'Sultans' - I had not been keeping up with the TAB setlists much (early interwebs days kids) and I was really pleased to hear Trey rip in Knopfler territory.

The great thing about going to an arena on Halloween dressed out in full hockey gear is that if you tumble down the stairs because you had too many beers it doesn't hurt. Stay safe y'all.