This is Tedheadones review from the show Friday at the Palace Theatre. This entire weekend was a special one for the Noc's Street team the Potterville Posse which I am a team leader. Massive mills on the Merrimack River. That's what I remember about Manchester. I-93 goes right through the city, with downtown and most of the mills across the river on the East side. They used to do a lot of garment work, especially knit items..perhaps they still do. But after a long period of dormancy, things look a little brighter. Several of the riverside mills have been redone. There is a big J"illians Billiards" sign on one of the old buildings. A sign the city has "made it"? And I am surprised at the 7 PM traffic jam as I exit 93 to cross the river. Stop and go. Granite St is undergoing new paving but that's not the problem. But it' soon apparent. Up ahead is the Verizon Wireless Arena..I've never been there, but its a 10,000+ seat joint, I would guess.. Don't know who was there to draw all the folks...might GPN return someday? As I look for a parking space, this place seems like a comfortable liveable city, indeed there are homes right near downtown. I find a space 4 blocks away and pay 25 cents for the last 1/2 hour of meter time. The Palace Theater is on a pleasant, leafy block with sidewalk tables nearby. I head right in and only get about 15 feet inside before running into Dave and Smackie doin' some prep work for Aya and The Leaves. Dave, by the way, gets a sweet shout out by Aya thanking him for his support before song #3. Mike from NJ quickly joins us and we take up enough space in the lobby that the ushers several times ask us to move aside.. The Theater, rumoured haunted by the NH Paranormal Society, but debunked by the Sci-Fi Channel, sits sideways...in other words you don't come in straight from the back, but the entrance is at the back left rear corner of the hall. It is a sweet little 840 seat joint...not very deep, with a balcony that seems really close to the stage..and with some boxes hung along the side. It is nicely restored, and The Posse has managed to score seats in the first 2 rows. Tipi had friends that backed out, to my gain, as he had a seat in the second row for me. SCORE! Thanks, Todd! I am surrounded by Dave, Lainie, Carrjo, Mike wally, Kerri, Smackie, Steve (?), Nancy, I'm not sure who else, but nice presence. John is cowbell-ready. The Leaves open with a nice set of 6 songs. Aya has a great smile in the spotlight, and after getting guitar tuned (restrung night prior) she is ready and their set is well received. Dave says it's nice to hear her with a good sound system, some places he has seen her...not so good. The final song is the second of the set that is more uptempo.. Her EP has four songs, and she did not hit them all, choosing other offerings to round it out. A great night out, and I gotta believe it is the biggest crowd she has fronted. and might be the first time I have seen a drummer (steve Sharon) that also played a harp. After the break, we head back down to wait for the band... Highlights tonight....after a personal two month layoff...last show Cornell April 6th...frankly it's all highlights. Matt was back centered on the stage and had a nice take on set closer, Zep's "Your Time is Gonna Come". Kickin' the set off with "Meantime" M.I.A. "Left Behind" was a welcome returnee. Original bassist Cory Beard, now with The Leaves, had used a standup in their set. Hoped Bryan might grab it...to no avail. Scott ripped this one up, as they all did on "Stop The Bus" "Pain in My Heart" Can NOT go wrong with this song in the setlist. Bryan, proudly holding up the "yodeling pickle" to Matt's cymbal mike. A thoughtful gift from Aya. "Big White Gate" dedicated to recently passed grandfather Padre. His wife was the inspiration for BWG, and they have have both passed in the last year or so. And finally, encore "Gumbo Moon" which morphed into a mega long sing along tease of "Hey, Bo Diddley" I bet the reference passed over a good portion of the crowd....Bo died 4 days ago. He's gone, but the Bo Diddley beat will go on. Thanks, GPN, for this simple act of respect. It means a lot to me...just like "Sex Machine" NYE '06 at Higher Ground... SET LIST Meantime Mary Ain't No Time Mastermind Treat Me Right Apologies Left Behind Pain BWG Bus Sugar NBTW Your Time is Gonna Come //////////////// Gumbo Moon> Hey Bo Diddley