Mike Doughty sure knows how to get a crowd on his side.

“I just want you to know that you are literally the most attractive people we have ever seen in our lives,” the Soul Coughing frontman said. “You freak me out — too (expletive) beautiful.”

Yet, he didn’t really need the sweet talk to gain the audience’s favor on Saturday night (Sept. 14) at The Fillmore. The thousand-plus fans that filled the legendary San Francisco venue to capacity for the first of two nights were clearly already in his corner and ready to enjoy their first Soul Coughing concert in at least a quarter of a century.

And the vocalist-guitarist and his formerly estranged Soul Coughing mates — keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg and drummer Yuval Gabay — certainly sounded great during this local stop on their long overdue reunion tour, powering through 21 numbers of jazzy hip alt-rock tunes in roughly 90 minutes.

The whole thing felt so natural and, well, necessary that it left one wondering how it could’ve possibly taken the band members 25 years to get this show back on the road. Sure, the New York City outfit parted on acrimonious terms in 2000, after putting out three highly enjoyable records during a five-year span, but other acts have certainly buried the hatchet much quicker than this when there was a payday involved.

Still, the consensus mood at The Fillmore was “better late than never” as fans swayed to the music in the packed room and sang along to Doughty’s curiously appealing vocal work, which mixes goofy Beat poetry, rap, one-liners, scatting, deadpan delivery, repetition for the sake of repetition, pure nonsense and rare insight.

Granted, that latter doesn’t always factor into the equation — as Doughty illustrated, first in English, as he sang “Bus to Beelzebub.”

“Get on to the bus that’s gonna take you back to Beelzebub,” he sang. “Get on to the bus that’s gonna make you stop going rub-a-dub.”

And it didn’t sound any more insightful when he mixed in a little French — “Voulez-vous the bus,” he sang — even though, we know, that usually does the trick.

The Soul Coughing songbook is littered with those type of oddities — this is probably a good place to mention that that same song ends with Doughty just repeating “Yellow No. 5” (yes, as in the controversial food dye) over and over again. Yet, he gets away with those lines — in part, due to that great deadpan delivery, but, probably more so, because he often wears cool Beat poetry/jazz cafe hats.

Taking the stage right around 8:30 p.m., the band kicked off its first Bay Area show of the 21st century with a fine version of “Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago.” It was the first of 10 tracks that hailed from “Ruby Vroom,” the group’s 1994 full-length studio debut that turns 30 later this month.

Continuing into “Down to This” (another “Ruby Vroom” offering), Doughty sold his lyrics almost entirely with pure rhythm and cadence, dropping words like notes plucked from Steinberg’s upright bass. Things got even groovier as the troupe ventured into “Irresistible Bliss” — the 1996 sophomore outing that lives up to its title and stands as the band’s best album — for “Collapse,” which proved to be a fine showcase for Gabay’s towering mix of power and technique on the kit.

Even the second (and third) tier Soul Coughing material — “White Girl,” “Sugar Free Jazz,” etc. — was well worth hearing on this night, since the band was operating in such a zone and, well, it just felt so good to be hearing Soul Coughing back in the live arena.

Doughty can be quite chatty in his solo shows, which might have something to do with the fact that there is a lot of space to fill when it’s just you and a guitar up there on the stage, but he was pretty quiet, for the most part, between songs.

He also seemed to downplay the whole front man vibe, instead just coasting through the gig in low gear and showing relatively little energy. I kept wanting him to cut loose, and take the whole thing to a higher level, but he never did — even during what should have been a barnburner of a encore with the Soul Coughing anthem “Super Bon Bon.”

Yet, there were so many highlights — including “Casiotone Nation,” “St. Louise Is Listening” and the main-set-ending  “Screenwriter’s Blues” — that it would be wrong to categorize this show as anything but a success, as Soul Coughing rose from its long slumber to once again delight Bay Area fans.

Here’s hoping this is a reunion with legs.

Setlist

1. “Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago”
2. “Down to This”
3. “Collapse”
4. “White Girl”
5. “Sugar Free Jazz”
6. “The Idiot Kings”
7. “Blue Eyed Devil”
8. “Disseminated”
9. “Rolling”
10. “Lazybones”
11. “Misinformed”
12. “Bus to Beelzebub”
13. “Casiotone Nation”
14. “St. Louise Is Listening”
15. “True Dreams of Wichita”
16. “Mr. Bitterness”
17. “I Miss the Girl”
18. “Moon Sammy”
19. “Screenwriter’s Blues”

Encore

20. “Circles”
21. “Super Bon Bon”

Originally Published: September 15, 2024 at 9:36 a.m.

Russell Wilson is coming back to the Mile High City. But more than likely, he’ll be on the sidelines with a calf injury. Stick here for live updates and analysis as Denver hosts the Steelers at Empower Field at Mile High.

Live updates

Pre-game updates

Scouting report (11 a.m.): Check out how the Broncos match up with the Steelers in Ryan McFadden’s scouting report.

Game predictions

Parker Gabriel, beat writer: Steelers 20, Broncos 17

Russ or no Russ, life doesn’t get easier for Denver rookie QB Bo Nix against Pittsburgh’s defense. T.J. Watt rightfully gets top billing, but Alex Highsmith (14.5 sacks in 2022, seven last year) is no slouch on the other side. Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks played it pretty straight last week. Mike Tomlin? Here’s betting he’s got some wrinkles up his sleeve for Nix and company.

Ryan McFadden, beat writer: Steelers 17, Broncos 13

This game might get ugly. Denver’s offensive line is already banged up so there’s a chance quarterback Bo Nix will be running for his life against T.J. Watt on Sunday. At the same time, Pittsburgh’s offense is questionable. Denver’s home opener will be a low-scoring contest, dictated by special teams and the run game. Pittsburgh will have the edge against the Broncos.

Troy Renck, columnist: Broncos 17, Steelers 16

No Russell Mania, so this feels like an undercard bout. But there is urgency for the Broncos to win because if they don’t, they are staring at an 0-4 start with back-to-back roadies looming. Bo Nix will be challenged by the Steelers pass rush but will be helped by an improved run game. However, the Broncos will escape because of three takeaways, including a Jonathon Cooper strip sack of Justin Fields for the second straight season.

Sean Keeler, columnist: Steelers 22, Broncos 13

Russ, schmuss. Just when Bo Nix needs most to turn to his run game and keep a nasty Steelers pass rush honest, Audric Estime goes on injured reserve and starting left tackle Garett Bolles and center Luke Wattenberg are walking wounded. The Steelers put four tight ends on the field at one point in Atlanta to run the single wing with QB Justin Fields. Mike Tomlin’s going to be fine with pounding the ball and daring Nix to do the un-Bo-lievable. No. 10’s not there yet.

Broncos-Steelers NFL Week 2: Must-reads

Broncos analysis: Is Denver at risk of relying too heavily on rookie QB Bo Nix to solve long list of Russell Wilson-era offensive ills?

In November 2023, the Broncos had won five straight and just polished off a bully-ball win against Cleveland to get above .500 for the first time all season.

At 6-5, they had legitimate playoff aspirations. Quarterback Russell Wilson had 17 touchdowns and no picks in the red zone.

The 17-0 TD-INT ratio didn’t capture the sacks and penalties that beset the Broncos offense. It didn’t mask, in Payton’s eyes, that Denver was among the league’s worst offenses on goal-to-go situations. It certainly did not convince Payton that Wilson was the guy to get Denver where it wanted to go long-term, Parker Gabriel reports. Read the full story.

Broncos Journal: Denver’s pass rush shows signs of improvement. But can defense be dominant for full game?

The Broncos’ front seven wanted to be a physical and attacking front this fall. They didn’t waste any time in doing so against the Seahawks in the season opener.

While Denver wasn’t pleased with the outcome of its 26-20 loss in Seattle, there were positives to take away from the experience, starting with the Broncos’ ability to apply pressure on Smith in the first half.

After the Broncos finished 29th in pressure rate (18.2%) in 2023, the pass rush showed signs of life. The next step is making the quarterback’s life miserable for an entire game, Ryan McFadden reports. Read the full story.

Renck: Starting Bo Nix was right decision. But soon enough, Broncos’ Sean Payton will have to defend it.

Bo Nix earned the right to start. And it won’t be long before coach Sean Payton is forced to defend his decision.

Hear me out. Six quarterbacks were drafted in the first round last spring. Nix was the last.

Three started on opening weekend. You know how many will face four straight head coaches who were former defensive coordinators? The list starts and ends with Nix, Troy Renck writes. Read the full column.

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.

The Seattle Seahawks announced seven players, including their starting running back, will be inactive against the New England Patriots.

Bump: A Patriots defender the Seahawks need to contain

Running back Kenneth Walker III, tackle George Fant, outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, tight end Pharaoh Brown, center Olu Oluwatimi, tackle Michael Jerrell and guard Sataoa Laumea were all designated as inactive for Sunday’s matchup at Gillette Stadium.

Starting linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker, who were listed as questionable on Friday’s final injury report, are active.

The announcement confirms the likely absences of Walker and Fant, who each carried doubtful injury designations into the matchup. Walker was pulled late in Seattle’s Week 1 victory with an abdomen injury after rushing for over 100 yards and a touchdown against Denver. Fant also left the win over the Broncos early with an undisclosed knee injury. Both did not participate in practices throughout the week.

Zach Charbonnet is in line to get the bulk of the time at running back with Walker out, with Kenny McIntosh and recently promoted George Holani serving as the backups. Four-year pro Stone Forsythe is expected to get the start at right tackle for Fant, who was already replacing injured Abraham Lucas. Forsythe played all 54 offensive snaps after Fant exited in Week 1.

Nwosu (MCL sprain) and Brown (foot) will be out for the second straight week while dealing with injuries suffered in the preseason.

Oluwatimi, Jerrell and Laumea were all healthy scratches after carrying no injury designations throughout the week.

Patriots inactives

Five Patriots players were listed as inactive for the matchup, most notably starting guard Sidy Sow.

New England is also set to be without quarterback Joe Milton III, wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, tackle Demontrey Jacobs and linebacker Curtis Jacobs.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• The Seahawks player Huard wants to see get going in Week 2
• Seahawks elevate two players from practice squad ahead of Patriots game
• Two keys for Seahawks in Week 2 matchup with Patriots
• Mike Macdonald previews Seahawks’ Week 2 matchup vs Patriots
• How Seahawks’ new linebacker duo impressed Wyman

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