what exactly is going on there instrumentation wise? i like it quite a bunch, arguably even better than the original.

He's playing it on a mini guitar. It's hard to describe in words. A bit larger than a uke, but not a full guitar. He plays I'm Open and MOTH on it and that's it.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what he's using, but it looks like this:

http://cachepe.samedaymusic.com/media/q ... 98cfa6.jpg

And yeah, the tone from that mini guitar is phenomenal. Fits the song perfectly.

I saw this thing for 60 bucks here. And now I am much more tempted to buy one to carry around

I definitely like the original version better. But of course, that's just my opinion.

I like the new version a lot. It doesn't carry the heaviness of the original but it works. It's a nice little reworking of the song that works in my opinion.

For those who haven't seen the shows, he is not really playing "I'm Open" as you might be imagining it based on the studio version of the track. It is basically just an intro/segue to Man of the Hour. He plays the basic notes and sings "I'm Open, come in" a few times and then makes a fluid transition into Man of the Hour. So I'm Open/Man of the Hour is basically performed as one piece of music. The I'm Open part is only about a minute long, give or take.

I liked it when I heard it.

I thought that this was the best version of this song that I've heard (from this tour)....so I agree with everyone except Nothingfan

In my book, I'm Open still has NOT been played live.

I love the new version of "Man of the Hour."

I like the solo electric and acoustic versions of "I'm Open."

Any recordings of this?

Yes, I want to hear it and don't want the hassle of looking for it on RM or otherwise. PLEASE HELP