Spafford‘s Winter Tour rolled on on Saturday as they were in Washington D.C. for a gig at the 9:30 Club. For the second show in a row, the quartet showcased a brand new song last night they unveiled “Dirt Bath,” serving up an improv-heavy take for its first-ever performance.
The Arizona-based band got things going with “Double Time,” the rarity was revived last year after having been played a total of six times between 2015 and 2017. The pairing of longtime song partners “Lovesick Melody” and “Soil” came ahead of a cover of Alex Clare’s “Too Close.” The tune from the British soul singer’s 2011 release The Lateness of the Hour was liberated last year after a nearly five-year layoff. The foursome then closed out their opening frame by delivering the new original “Dirt Bath.” The song got quite the maiden voyage as they served up an exploratory 23-minute take on it.
“Lonely” was tapped to open up the second stanza. The rising jam act then dedicated nearly a half-hour to a seamless run on “All My Friends,” “Bee Jam” and the setlist staple “Weasel.” Spafford went with Green Day’s “Longview” next, playing the Dookie track for just the eighth time ever. Then, “Home (One Place I’ll Never Be),” got its second ever rendering with the four-piece using “Salamander Song” to bring the set to a close. Spafford went with a jam-heavy, two-song encore teaming “It’s A Bunch” and “Mind’s Unchained” digging in on the pair for 25-plus minutes to bring their evening in our nation’s capital to an end.
Listen to full show audio taped by Taper Will below:
Setlist (via Spaffnerds)
Set I: Double Time, Lovesick Melody > Soil, Too Close, Dirt Bath*
Set II: Lonely, All My Friends > Bee Jam > Weasel, Longview, Home (One Place I’ll Never Be), Salamander Song
Encore: It’s A Bunch > Mind’s Unchained
* – first time played
