So what's the verdict on the new songs?

I don't entirely agree with your analysis. You have access to more concert bootlegs than a Catholic priest who collects Sesame Street recordings, so I don't deny that to you can make judgments off of what you see. That said, in Philly One the crowd totally dug a lot of the new stuff: there were more people on their feet for WWBTF or Superman than there were for KTF, which goes to show how dumb Americans are, but also indicates these songs do not fall on deaf ears live. The exception was LTOR, which I do like live, but the crowd just refuses to get into it for a main set closer. Still, to be honest I'm glad the band is sticking with something they like and refusing to budge for once, instead of giving in like they do 95% of the time. And let's face it, crowds always want the hits. For any band. So the fact they get excited for any of the new stuff is impressive to begin with. I don't think Jon has been limiting the amount of Circle songs because he sees they tank live- he limits them because he does this with all the new albums: the crowds want to hear the 5 or 10 hits they know and that's about it.

I think you may be confusing your own opinions- and disdain- for the songs with whether they actually operate well live. Yes, LTOR would rock more with a higher chorus, a key change, and some other things, but it still sounds good live- regardless of the crowd reaction- and it's a new song that Jon clearly gets into performing, which we must admit is very rare. You may think WWWB is a turd, but I like the song very much and think it sounds more alive, er, live, than it does on the album version. I despise WWBTF- it sounds more distinguishable live than it does on the album, which isn't saying much- but the crowd (unfortunately) likes it a lot over here. And Working Man and Superman really sound fuller live, and the crowd was not mulling around for them. Of course, you could say I'm biased because I obviously like the album a lot more than you do, and therefore like the stuff live more than you do. That is true. Which means our live judgments are merely a reflection of our album judgments.

I'm probably in the minority on this, but I'd love for them to play the whole album, with an older song back-to-back with each new song that contrasts or complements it nicely. I'd dig shit like that. Then again, I'm also a bit of a nutcase.

I do wish they gave brokenpromiseland more shots; yeah Jon basically skirted the whole song, but they'd probably a find middle ground for it, like they eventually did with Undivided.

Yeah same ol same ol - opinions on shows based on crappy sounding bootlegs or yt clips. !

I always skip the first 3 (and made my own version of TC with a completey different running order!)

I agreed with you Ice but watching some of these songs being performed bring them alive... like Happy Now I wasnt that blown away by it on the record it was ok but on stage it comes across well.

Dawn

I agree with whoever said they should give Brokenpromiseland more chances live. Take a risk and perfect the song which I know they can. Maybe rotate it as an opener with Happy Now, maybe with the energy of it being the first song Jon could give it the effort it deserves.

I do not agree on BPL. The song has no energy on cd and is even more lame live. The third worst song on TC (after the obvious 2 WFTWM and WWBTF).

Happy Now, Love's The Only Rule, Superman Tonight, Thorn In My Side you find boring?

I think those are 4 of the best songs they're had in 10+ years.

Perfect:
1.Love's the only rule
2.Happy now
Very good:
3.Thorn in my side
4. Bullet
Good
5. When we were beautiful
6. Superman tonight
Average
7. Workin man
8. Follow (i think it could be perfect in the acoustic moment)
Need one more liste for broken

Follow - actually one of my favorite songs, only sounds good live if you're in person. Live recordings of the song fall flat, mostly because of mix.

Beautiful - if Jon could pronounce Beautiful correctly it would be awesome. Otherwise it's still pretty good, but the song itself is almost too slow.

Working Man - hate it recorded, hate it live. 'nuff said.

Superman Tonight - I liked it better live than recorded. I like the heavier sound. Mixed with the presentation of the song in the live setting (the visuals), it's a great number.

Bullet - lose the maracas, has the potential to be a real rocker.

Thorn - works the best.

Brokenpromiseland - This would work 100x better if Lorenza were still with them. The backing vocals have a female part to them that doesn't work as well with a 6-piece male band. Oh and yeah, it's something called TEMPO...the song was performed way slower than on the record, when it should be performed a little faster.

Love's The Only Rule - is great, but the crowd as a whole doesn't know the song well enough (or understand it) for it to really be a knockout.

Happy Now - Great song, works well live, I think as an opener it works good but not sure if it would fit anywhere else in a set.