Well, what else would you expect from me? I was plenty critical last month but this time there was simply far less to be critical of. Both shows this weekend were amazing. Others have put it very well so I'll try not to repeat too much.

First of all, it was wonderful to meet all our first timers. I'd been looking forward to meeting everyone, especially Dave's wife (lovely woman) and Sylvia who was nice enough a couple of years ago to provide me with a copy of the Erection of the Heart DVD (also a lovely woman). Joakim was in from Sweden and it was also very nice to meet him. This was truly an international gathering this time around and for once it was difficult to figure out who had traveled the farthest. It never ceases to amaze me how far people travel for these shows. Such is the power of Jim's music, and the opportunity to meet the man in such an intimate setting though.

There were others I simply hadn't seen in too long and everyone contributed to lifting my spirits for a couple of days. Others in our party have also been through some extremely troubling times lately and I hope we were able to do the same for them.

On to the shows: I was surprised when they didn't open with Bolero this time. It seemed tradition to open with an instrumental number but once Rob launched into Is Nothing Sacred, it really didn't matter. He did this extremely well, especially Sunday night.

Instead of splitting up Future, they did it all at once this time which I think helped a great deal. There was something somewhat jarring, and a little random, to suddenly return to this song after singing several others. I'm glad they didn't use the ending as a reprise this time around.

Bolero (or whatever you want to call it) seemed to have more drums in it this time but I can't say I minded at all. Sounded great.

Rob came back out for Only When I Feel and all I could think was that this was about the most depressing set list imaginable. And yet there was such an energy and exciting atmosphere that it didn't come off as depressing at all - more like the collection of great songs that it was.

Things lightened up considerably when Rob and Elaine did Loving You... Not that this is that much lighter of a song but they are so incredible together. I loved when they did Anything for Love last year and I love their rendition of this as well. I think their voices blend beautifully and their interactions are perfect. This is one of those songs where you can tell Rob is an actor - his expressions are priceless and he and Elaine play off each other very well.

Adrienne then came back out for Safe Sex and, well, wow. I really like her version of this. This song has never been at the top of my list of favorites but she handles it extremely well, and she has really loosened up since last month. I still think most of the problem is a matter of lack of room on that stage but she also seemed far more comfortable and secure with the material.

There were several times during the shows that it was evident they had taken our advice and I was probably happiest with the change in the next song, Objects. Unfortunately, Elaine's second verse got cut but Rob got moved back to the third verse where he belongs and Neal is much better suited to the first verse. I hope if/when they record this for the album that they leave in Elaine's verse. I really like this from a woman's point of view. It completely changes the dynamic and, of course, she sings it great. Giving Elaine more material is always going to be a positive thing.

American Elegy/Braver/whatever - It seemed marginally better this time. I don't know if this was a product of how well the rest of the show was or what. But it still bugs me and was a definite low point.

It's All Coming Back to Me Now. What else can I say - Elaine owns this song and, as Ann said, Celine Dion should have to apologize for her rendition. Sunday night, we gave Elaine a standing ovation after this song, and you could see her fight tears for a minute. But she deserved every bit of love we threw her way.

Not Allowed to Love - I love that Elaine opened this. I think someone else mentioned how much it helped to have a more mature voice do the "not in mid-career" line but then it switched to Rob and Adrienne which was more confusing than anything. It was wonderfully done but I didn't understand why a separate voice was doing the opening when all the female lines sound like they should be coming from the same person.

Total Eclipse - again, what to say? Bonnie was in better form this time, at least until the end of the song Sunday. She really gave her all and it was an honor to get to talk to her after Sunday's show, even briefly. I realized at some point that she really was my intro to Jim's music, even though I didn't know who Jim was when I was 12. I loved this song as a kid and it's still one of my favorites.

What Part of My Body - Let's get this over with. I've been pretty good lately. Knowing I'm going to see Rob in person tends to keep me in check because I don't want to be *completely* embarrassed when I see him. However, by this part of the show Sunday, I have to say that I was ready to personally inspect his body for flaws (not that I expected to find any of course). I completely understand that this job is already taken - this really is all in fun and I'm not about to go after him for real. But in the heat of the moment, when I'm that close to that voice, it's impossible not to think about. It's amazing to me that a voice that good could be attached to a face and body so easy to look at too.

Two Out of Three - On a personal level, this managed to, somewhat, replace Speaking in Tongues. They returned to an arrangement they used at Mohegan last year with Rob singing and Skolnick on guitar. I wasn't crazy about this arrangement last year but, for some reason, it worked better this time around. Rob interacted more with the audience and seemed to sing just about every line to someone different. I happened to be on the receiving end of the line, "there's only one girl that I will ever love." Yeah, I definitely felt the love :D There was also a lot of singing along from the audience on both nights which was great.

Still the Children was definitely better this time but, as it's been pointed out, I think that's more a product of having one less vocalist (I'm so glad the rumors of personality conflicts with Nikki were untrue - congrats and best of luck to her on the Madonna tour. What an amazing gig for a backup singer!). This is one of those songs that I hope will sound better with a studio recording. I love some of the lyrics but I think it must be difficult to pull off live.

One last note on Speaking in Tongues - I didn't miss it. Funny as I thought it was, it never really seemed to fit in with the rest of the material. I'm sure it works well elsewhere, as part of a musical or whatever, but it was more of a distraction than anything in the OTT shows, and seemed to raise my temperature more than the calibre of the show.

So there it is - my position as Leader of the Evangelists appears to be secure. But really, everyone did an amazing job. All the musicians and vocalists were in peak form this weekend.