Tom Waits, Austin City Limits, 1978

Recorded in December 1978, the show features the iconoclastic singer, songwriter supporting his classic LPBlue Valentineand deep in the transitional phase of his career, evolving out of the jazzy beat poetry of his early work (I Wish I Was in New Orleans) and into the bluesier, more dissonant sounds (Sweet Little Bullet From a Pretty Blue Gun) for which he became known in the 80s and beyond. He acknowledged the season with the streetwise but lovely Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis, which incorporates a few bars of a betterknown Xmas hymn. And he debuted On the Nickel, one of his greatest ballads, and which wouldnt be released on record untilHeartattack and Vinein 1980. Setlist: Summertime, Burma Shave Annies Back in Town, I Wish I Was in New Orleans A Sweet Little Bullet From a Pretty Blue Gun On the Nickel Romeo is Bleeding Silent Night, Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis Small Change