Entertaining reviews to say the least. I was on the floor about 50 feet from the stage dead center both nights. Went in early and claimed the "sweet spot." The sound was perfect, the lights were...over the top but I'll hit that more in a bit. To say that anything from Saturday nights show was "standard," "sloppy" or "choppy?" is laughable. The 3 days of rehearsals at the Tacoma Dome prior to these shows assured they would sound NOTHING like typical tour opener shows, and that was 150% spot on. They sounded polished, confident and tight both nights. The Wave of Hope 2nd set opener from night one was a monster- 1st night of tour?? Ok. Golden Road was as drippy as they get. Fluff encore...money. Night 2 1st set is up there for best of year so far. Unmatched energy & song placement. The Seattle "Wolfabella" will stand strong against anything this spring. And no the transition into Izabella was not "a mess" but the complete opposite...it was seamless. The eruption from the crowd confirmed that. The Reba>CDT is why you travel to see this band. 2nd set I really liked. To say that this set was "choppy" just because they played Velvet Sea after a rippin Tube is also laughable. It reminded me of Gorge3 '18 when they did a crushing Crosseyed>Twist>Waves and then followed it up with "Miss you!" It was perfect. We needed a breather, and so did the band! I felt the same way last night. The Circus comes to town was beautiful as well and a nice breather from the 30+ minutes of craziness prior. Knowing they picked to play Velvet late in the 2nd set, you know there's something good coming to close- and boom...a gorgeous Hood!! I'll take a Velvet>Hood all day. I did Merriweather & Dicks last summer and there was some incredible playing during those shows, but this '23 version of this band so far has me hooked. We have great things to look forward to this year as phans. Now to the lights. I love the lights, but this new rig- though multi-everything...is overwhelming and at some times annoying in my opinion. The LED flashes were way too much- I had to look down every time. I know Kuroda goes big, but sometimes it takes away from the music. Maybe it was my location at the show on the floor? But that's my spot most of the time I see them, and I've never experienced lights like that before. There were moments I couldn't see the band because the lights were so thick in front. Don't get me wrong here, I was drawn in, mesmerized and blown the f away by what I saw from the new rig, I just which they could dial down the strobes & LED's a little. Anyway, my .02. I think Night2 was the better night if I had to pick- but not by much. Great venue, fun scene, and perma grins all around. A superb 1-2 punch in the gut to start tour. I'd rate this show a 4.1/5.