Over the weekend, Spafford performed over two nights at the Marquee Theatre in their hometown of Tempe, Ariz., just outside of Phoenix. The celebratory run saw former Spafford drummer Cam LaForest join for most of the show on the first evening. The second night marked keyboardist Andrew “Red” Johnson, who has been with Spafford for 11 years, final show with the band.

On Dec. 30, LaForest assisted the band through a 21-minute opening, “Comfortable,” which flowed into “Plans.” Other highlights included “Simon & Silly,” a cover of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post,” and a second set that closed with “Ain’t That Wrong.”

The second evening had the theme of “Take It Away Red,” where fans dressed in red in honor of Johnson’s last show. They opened the evening, fittingly, with “Red’s Jam,” which flowed into a soaring “Left On The Runway.” Other standouts from the first frame were their take on “Slip and Squander,” which held an exceptionally emotive cadence, along with a cover of The Who’s “Eminence Front.”

The second set kicked off as a non-stop jam with “Diesel Driver” > “My Road (My Road)” > “Alternate Ending,” which found its way into Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic.” Later in the set, they performed “To The Nest” from their latest album as the last track of 2022 before welcoming the New Year with a jam of “Auld Lang Syne” > “Electric Taco Stand.”

Before the encore, Johnson gave an emotional speech to the crowd before opening up the emotional acoustic keys found on “Beautiful Day,” the band then joined him to close the performance with “All In.”

Spafford
Marquee Theatre – Tempe, Ariz.
Dec. 30, 2022

Set I: Comfortable > Plans, Simon & Lilly^, Mind’s Unchained*, The Postman*, Whipping Post*%

Set II: Steak Sauce* > America*, Windmill*, Weasel*, Ain’t That Wrong*

Enc.: The Reprise*

Notes:^ – Cameron Laforest on drums // no Nick* – Nick and Cameron on drums % – Allman Brothers Band cover

Spafford
Marquee Theatre – Tempe, Ariz.
Dec. 31, 2022

Set I: Red’s Jam > Left On The Runway, People, Slip and Squander, Eminence Front* > Leave The Light On

Set II: Diesel Driver > My Road (My Road) (>) Alternate Ending > Into The Mystic^, Backdoor Funk, To The Nest > Auld Lang Syne > Electric Taco Stand

Enc.: Beautiful Day, All In

Notes:

* The Who cover

^ Van Morrison cover