Spoilers: Mandatory World Tour Setlist

[joseyklein]

I heard a better version of foil on youtube... it sounds better than I thought... the harmonies still need a lot of work but its not the trainwreck I thought it was

[mybologna]

I'm kind of concerned about certain aspects of his vocalizing on this tour, it sounds like he's struggling with his pitch even with the ear-piece monitor, he's going flat pretty frequently. Its not AWFUL. But its a noticable problem to those who have seen him previously or those of us who sing or know music. His vocal tonality sounds normal, just the pitch is an issue. They have lowered "Gump" for him, and yes as many of you suspect he is indeed skipping singing the chorus of "Handy". That stretches up to the tenor C5 ("real-YYYY know") and would be a horridly tiring track to try and sing, he is also singing a lower octave of the melody line in the chorus section of "Inactive".

I'm more concerned about 'Wanna B Ur Lovr'. That end falsetto bit has never given him problems before, but in every video I've heard of it from this tour he is struggling like crazy to do the end...I'm wondering if he needs to get his throat checked by an ENT.
Some of you probably know the term "Vegas Throat". The air over in Las Vegas is so dry that most singers lose their voices the first week or so they're there. Maybe starting in Vegas gave him some issues that he is now fighting to work past?

Regarding Foil: one of the issues with how its sounding live was, because he has no key note at the beginning and the click track is so soft, he can't hear the key he's supposed to start in. The song is in the key of F, Al is starting just a hair higher on an F# at times, a halfstep higher. When the pre-recorded vocals and the band come in, however, it starts to sound a lot better and he finds where he needs to be. I just watched a video from May 26th, it cut off the beginning but he was in the proper key here, I'm assuming they've added a key note for him? Idk.

Anyway, he'll either get better as he goes along on this tour or he'll stretch his voice too far...we'll see! Either way this is a cool set list

[joseyklein]

Seeing him struggle with vocals he's never had problems with has raised my eyebrows too, not worried me.. all singers go through it especially ones going as long as him.. just look at Dave Mustaine and James Hetfield... they are perfect examples.. they struggle with pitch all the time and they also have lowered the key for a live setting as well... just comes with age.

[mybologna]

Well I'm more worried because the range troubles tend to come with a much older age, and they're usually accompanied by some slight vocal tonality changes, most notably vocal deepening. His tone sounds the same, just his pitch and his high notes are becoming a lot of a struggle for him. This may just be his tiring schedule and age, it might also be he's losing grasp on his technique?

To be fair, he sings songs much higher than most males of his type of voice do, and does it far more frequently/has BEEN doing it a lot longer than most males. Most males who tour as extensively as he does while singing that high have a LOT of training...maybe its time for some brushing up with Lisa Popeil?

I'd like to add I've watched a few clips of Tacky live from the past week and...this may sound stupid but it sounds like they've cut in the studio-recorded/autotuned falsetto bits in most of the places where he'd have to sing it live, so he briefly lip-syncs the falsetto bits then jumps back into the live singing when it goes back into chest voice. Is anyone else hearing this?

[Demented Dustin]

I attended the May 28th show in Indianapolis.
Had a aisle seat and I happened to be on the side Al used during Tacky.
I may have posted a clip on the internet
Very close to Al and he actually bumped into me.

[Killingsworth]

Yeah, from the clips I've seen it looks like Canadian Idiot may be another song he is having pitch trouble with on this tour (at least not with the choruses but that may be because Jim and Steve are helping him out there.

Speaking of which, does anyone else think Canadian Idiot could work better as a medley closer if Al cut out the second verse and combined the first choruses? Here's how I think it should go...

Don't wanna be a Canadian idiot
Don't wanna be some beer swillin' hockey nut
And do I look like some frostbitten hose-head?
I never learned my alphabet from A to Zed

They all live on donuts and moose meat
And they leave the house without packin' heat
Never even bring their guns to the mall
Eat their weight in Kraft macaroni
And dream of drivin' a Zamboni
All over Saskatchewan

Don't wanna be a Canadian idiot
Won't figure out their temperature in Celsius
See the map, they're hoverin' right over us
Tell you the truth, it makes me kinda nervous

Always hear the same kind of story
Break their nose and they'll just say "sorry"
Tell me what kind of freaks are that polite?
It's gotta mean they're all up to somethin'
So quick, before they see it comin'
Time for a pre-emptive strike!

[TMBJon]

Here's how I think it should go...

Stop trying to shorten Al's shows! These tickets ain't cheap, and I want my money's worth!

[Killingsworth]

Stop trying to shorten Al's shows! These tickets ain't cheap, and I want my money's worth!

You're right, Jon. This tours' setlist is making me realize that even thirty minutes is far too much time to cut off of an Al performance.

[Yankomaniac]

Yeah, with the breaks for costume changes I've always thought they should add another fifteen or twenty minutes to the set so it turns into a full two hours of playing. Making it even shorter would just be unacceptable, those damn ticket prices! I remember Steve saying a few years back he was shocked at how much the tickets cost now, just the world we live in now.

[joseyklein]

The shows are usually 2 hours and 15 minutes already. Mandatory is the first tour to run short of that