i'll only start complaining about set lists when John starts prancing about onstage in a glittery costume with backup dancers. that's when setlists are canned. pretty sure this is what debbie was talking about upthread but i saw 18 JM shows in 2008 (most of those in a straight 2-week span) and not one of them was remotely CLOSE to being the same...even if the set lists were similar on paper. compare a recording of vultures (a song he played almost every night of the last major tour) from shows that happened back to back. you'll be hard pressed to find the same sounding stuff in each recording.

when people talk about wanting to hear the rare songs, i always think back to a howie day show i saw while i was in college. i owned a LOT of howie day music when i went but he'd just started to hit the radio waves when my college brought him in. the place was packed and the guy walked out onstage with a looping pedal and his guitar. the next two hours to me were AMAZING because he played most of his hits but took his time looping things together. i appreciate that kind of stuff as a musician but the little sorority girls sitting next to me hoping to hear collide EXACTLY how it played out on their radio were none too pleased. in fact, about two songs in a HUGE group of people just got up and left. there's a fine line between indulging yourself onstage as the artist and boring your general public in the audience. some people get it if you go on a 15-minute tear of a solo but there has to be a balance.

i think it's important to remember some people who go to concerts only see the same person one or twice in their life time. around MSM, we're repeat offenders. john seems to do a pretty good job of making sure those people sitting on the lawn hear the song they heard on the radio yesterday that made them decide to pack up a blanket for an evening out. do i love hearing the rare gems at shows? absolutely. do i hope to hear them at each show, of course. but i can understand how they're reserved for the right time and the right place.