With a packed crowd watching his every move Friday night at Shank Hall, Todd Snider mixed a couple of crowd favorites into his repertoire:

"Easy Money," "Can't Complain" and "Enjoy Yourself" all made the set list and drew good reactions from the loyal fans.

But, there was more to it than that.

The money Snider made for a show that sold out by Tuesday was anything but easy. He could have complained about the fact that he was performing with a 102-degree temperature that had him sweating during his first song of the night.

Like a trooper, Snider survived the set by keeping his trademark stage stories short (He did indulge the crowd with a lengthy tale about his transformation from high school football bench warmer to a member of the "burnout smoke pit").

And, most of the folks in the crowd did seem to enjoy themselves. Snider, who gave little indication that he was under the weather, put his clever songs across with a firm, folkie voice that weakened somewhat as the set progressed and was counterbalanced by underrated guitar playing.

Highlights of the set included wistful songs like "Carla" and "Tillamook County Jail," a song where the narrator proclaims:

"Got a lump on my head and a boot print on my chest
"From what the guys in here call the Tillamook County lie detector test
"Well I did my best but as you mighta guessed
"It's a tough test not to fail
"I'm sitting here waiting in the Tillamook County Jail

"One phone call, two Tylenol
"Four cold gray walls closing in
"If I ever do get out on that highway again
"I ain't ever goin back to Tillamook County
"No, I ain't ever goin back to Tillamook County"

Snider showed his whimsical side with songs like "Statistician's Blues" (64 percent of the world's statistics are made up right there on the spot; 82.4 percent of people believe 'em whether they're accurate statistics or not) and "Beer Run."

Days after the Wisconsin presidential primary, Snider dropped a crowd-pleasing version of "Conservative, Christian, Right-wing Republican, Straight White American Male," an ode to "haters of hippies like me."

Other show highlights included "Alright Guy," "If Tomorrow Never Comes" and the unreleased "America's Favorite Pastime," which recounts the 1970 game when Pittsburgh pitcher Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter while tripping on LSD.

Milwaukee native Kevn Kinney, lead singer of Drivin' N' Cryin', opened the show with a set that was well received by the crowd, some of which braved brutal weather to see his show in the same venue last month.