MSG 7/16 -- the Nomadic Report (edited for Who contect)

     I'm writing this right off the plane from NY, so I
havenm't haven't had a chance to see what others have had to
say. I'll assume that the general impressions are (1)
*Fantastic* show, and (2) Zak and The Ox again take honors
for driving things where they should go. With those
assumptions in mind,

     "Welcome back my friends, to the [review] that never
ends" ... So glad you've come this far, read along -- read
along! 

	Tooling into the office Monday morning, we found the
hyper-short memories of the legal profession -- er, make
that "the law business" -- working again. All sorts of
wonderful people to see & hear on Tuesday. 

	"Not." 

	Explaining with a liberal reference to various means of
painful death, I explained that Tuesday and Wednesday were
.. ummmmm ... "unavailable." We escaped with only an
observation from the wonderful paralegal who promises to
love, honor and prevent malpractice, that I'd better not
come back unless I bring a shirt for her ... I *think* she
was smiling behind those lightly clenched teeth ...

	Swiftly packing the essentials -- tix, toothbrush and a
coupla tapes -- we dashed to the airport for the hop to
Pittsburgh then another to NY. Figured on using the trip to
give another listen to the latest effort to salvage
something from the Hyde tapes. Unfortunately, I had *not*
counted on the first-leg presence of ... "Mr. Lunchbucket."

<snipping the sensory experience of Mr. Lunchbucket>

	Holding the nose and gasping for breath, we staggered toward
the next leg to NY. Settling into the seat, *this* would be
the chance to check the tape ... until we were graced with
the presence of the extremely intelligent and exquisitely
lovely school psychologist. Annoucing herself as my "seat
partner," she slid next to the window ...

<snipping the Close Encounter of the psychological kind>

	Next morning we arose to check the hotel in the light of
day. "%&^*)($%  dump" came to mind immediately -- but a dump
across the street from MSG. Good 'nuff for a day or two,
anyway. Because the air conditioner generally wasn't, we
decided to get a breath of fresh -- well, by NY standards,
anyway -- air. Stepped to the window & threw up the sash.
Leaned out & decided that inside & outside air were about
the same. Starting to pull *down* the window ... it stuck.

	As I turned away from the window, a chill came over the room
- -- coulda been the air conditioner, I suppose -- and an arm
draped over my shoulder. But it wasn't a *physical* arm ...
Instead, it was a shadowy figure that would've had fairly
short, ginger hair in a ginger suit ... and it whispered "Go
on, mate -- finish the job!!!" I watched as my arm reached
toward the window, and ...

	It suddenly occurred to me that plate glass costs a *lot*
more than CO2, particularly if something gets in its way on
the way down ... the hand fell slowly away from the window.

	Needless to say, my shadowy companion was *not* pleased -- I
heard him mutter as he faded from view,

	IT WOULDA BEEN FUN, SO FOO ON YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

	Not wanting to chance the ability to resist a second
encounter, I took to the streets for a walkaround. Ah, the
sights, sounds ... and smells ... of downtown New York.
Fascinating place & people -- all kinds of literary and
multimedia entertainment on every block, many containing the
description "peep show" -- although I can't imagine why
anyone would want to look at a movie through a keyhole --
that's what they mean, isn't it?  Also some "adult
bookstores" -- distinct somehow from *family* or
*children's* bookstores? Hmmmmmmmm -- hafta check this out
in more detail some other time, perhaps. Also somewhat odd
to see the prevalence of optometrists' shops near these
establishments ...

	Eventually stumbled on the HMV record superstore -- finally
a kind of place I recognize! Good Who collection, but
nothing imported or otherwise unusual. Had only Roger's
newest release; nothing from JAE. Anyway, it's mid-afternoon
- -- back to the hotel to meet Bernd!

	Through swapping e-mail, I discovered that Bernd was booked
into the same hotel -- so I headed back after scouting the
Molly Wee. *Good* choice, for reasons we'll discuss later.
Met & chatted with Bernd, making the ticket and Polydor CD
exchanges to get the business done pre-pre-show. As an
aside, it was great of Bernd to come for MSG and "mule" some
of the Polydors -- fantastic gentleman who has a terrific
way of writing reviews. I hope everyone encourages him to
review the MSG shows as well as JAE at Le Bar Bat on
Thursday -- IMO, his insights will be a valuable addition to
the list and elsewhere!

	Time for the Molly Wee, which apparently is a sleepy
neighborhood bar -- but was jammed to the rafters with Who
fans on this day. I managed to meet & chat with a number of
folks, saw but didn't have a chance to chat with others who
I'll just have to come back again sometime! As for those I
neither saw nor heard -- "you ^%(%  well better be there
next time!" Special applause to the folks from Bloomington
who drove 14 hours in a car -- I'm in awe because they *all*
survived to see the show. Also, best wishes to Mark & Kim
who moved from Colorado and have the good sense to be
figuring out how to get back.

	Had an interesting encounter with some non-list locals
attending the show, who saw the Hyde Park shirt & asked :

NLLs:	Have you been inside already?
NRep:	Nope
NLLs:	Where'd you get the shirt?
NRep:	London
NLLs:	You saw them in London? Where're you from?
NRep:	Kentucky/southern Indiana
...
NLLs:	Why're you seeing them again?
NRep:	Well, it's a *great* show. And I've probably seen more
		great shows than I have left to see. And they've
		probably played more shows than they have left to 
		play. So it's worth it to come celebrate both the memories
		and whatever time is left to see them live ... And did I
		mention that it's a *great* show?

NLLs:	Oh ... Wow ...

	Further chatting revealed that their collective experience
dated only to the '89 tour, so they're still on the upswing.
Good kids.

	Also found that the "Wee" is a great place to tip -- a
decent tip and a smile gets three-for-two after Happy Hour
..

	SHOWTIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seats aren't
superb, but second deck a little more than halfway back was
a good vantage point. First up is Joan Osborne, who plays
for a half hour then says "one more song, then we'll all get
ready for THE WHO!!" Great voice,  meaningful lyrics,
grunge-band instrument style. Lots of class. Good job.

	Right at 9:00, the lights go down and the collage starts.
Then Phil's narration and away we go. Patchless Roger this
time, twirling the mic in good form. Gary Glitter -- who's
either dropped some pounds or loosened the costume to lessen
the overhang -- is largely confired to a platform. Whenever
he and the whipping mic stand stray toward center stage,
Roger stops twirling and keeps an eye firmly in that
direction ... good idea ...

	Quad was performed per Hyde Park specs, except that (1) Pete
was acoustic-only, and (2) the smaller stage meant only a
coupla guests instead of the meandering mob that wandered on
& off in London. Billy Idol was an improvement as The Ace
Face, and played a more straight role than as "Cousin
Kevin." OTOH, as a punk brought low himself, the part really
is a natural for him ... Only two glitches in his work that
I saw -- once the sound board was late on his lead, and he
had trouble finding his mic during "Bell Boy." Latter glitch
meant another line from Zak & John, which was okay with me.
Last time offstage, Roger gave Billy a kick "to help 'im on
'is way."  :-}

	Sound and coordination was somewhat better than Hyde, as
Pete predicted -- but IMO the volume started too low and the
%^&($  horns got out of hand a coupla times. Also, the
spotlights just couldn't match the sunbeams during "Love
Reign O'er Me" -- difference between inside & outdoor rock.
Also, something apparently went wrong with the timing during
"The Rock." John looked at Zak & gestured; they both looked
at the keys & Jody. Zak kept time for awhile & John ripped
up his sheet music -- kinda cute to see the band looking at
sheet music like an orchestra -- finally Jody hit the
cymbals, the synthesizer picked up and we were running
again.

	I assume everyone's heard about the acoustic encore, of
"Behind Blue Eyes," WGFA, "Magic Bus," and Roger playing
lead acoustic on "Naked Eye." Greatgreatgreatgreat stuff,
and it's also a reassurance that The Ox will be playing with
his band aftershow on Thursday -- but for "5:15" he was
playing with plenty to spare.

	Crowd was a bit uneven, perhaps seeing the show as a
collection of singles and quieting down when the less
familiar numbers came across. But everyone gave Zak and John
their due for "5:15," and made MSG shake on the familiar
songs as well as at the end of each set. Aftershow we went
back to the Molly for awhile. 

	On the way, I stopped at the shirtrack to examine the black
"Quadrophenia   North America 1996" shirt. No dates listed.
I'll plan to buy one in Chicago ... or LA ... or maybe SF
.. or maybe not at all. In which case I'll spend my pennies
on JAE's second leg ... 

	Back at the Molly, the combination of exercise and
hoarseness made the smaller crowd gratified but somewhat
subdued -- at least to me. So after awhile it was back to
the room with the partly open window and a night hoping that
"superrat" didn't come to visit. 

	Wednesday we staggered from the hotel to a cab driven by
Emily, Bane of the Rain Forest ...

<snipping Emily>

	Making the plane, we encountered no Mr. Lunchbucket or
exquisite psychologist this trip -- just a friendly
attendant who asked if the seat next to me was empty, or if
my "imaginary friend" would mind her sitting for a few
minutes. Not a problem ... Tape from Hyde ended up about 45'
somewhat decent, 15' miserable and about 20' utterly
hopeless.

	So this is another great one, folks -- do what it takes to
see it live or catch the simulcast. Meanwhile, your Reporter
will be resting for the Fall & Winter round ...

Bob