MSG night 2 (10/4)

[Jeff House <jjthandmeh@juno.com>]

The set list was the same as night one, except Naked Eye was substituted
for Bargain.  TKAA2K had the mini opera that is sounding more and more
like Simon & Garfunkel to me.  Roger's voice gave out during the "nothing
is everything" section of Lets See Action, so Pete did some of the MG
vocals.

I thought they sounded great.  As other posters have commented from the
southern & Cleve reviews, they have tightened up the sound quite a bit. 
They are now playing better as a unit, which is allowing them to extend
and increase the complexity of the jams.  

John still is the best player in the group.  He must have a compact PA
for his rig, they keep his volume down on the big PA and if you are not
in the right spot in the arena you get either too much or too little
John.  Pete's playing continues to improve and it seems he is getting
more comfortable with the sound and the instrument.  Roger was having
problems with his voice and he seemed a bit bummed about.  

Zak is very energetic and is providing a great bottom to the sound.  He
is all over the toms and the kick basses (I know-not the technical term).
 I kept thinking that he is playing the beats down the middle of the jams
(ala Kenny), but he keeps up the Keith fill factor by thrashing the toms.
 As Al Gore said, he is his own man.  Keith was much more of a cymbal
crasher than Zak.

Rabbit - some good solos, but kept pretty quiet in the mix.

Some stage banter.  Roger kidded Pete about the lyrical quality of  "Now
Im a Farmer".  Pete proceeded to tell that the origing of that song was
that road boredom let to fucking sheep.  Quadrophenia is about "a guy who
gets really fucked up."  A few internet porno references that make me
wonder what Pete is doing with his days off.

Highlight for me:  "Naked Eye" was extended with a beautiful blues jam
that ended the old rock crescendo (ala Isle of Wight).

I was feeling rather sick all day leading up to this show.  I could not
even entertain the thought of pre-show partying.  I was able to pick
myself up off the floor to enjoy the show from my seat  (which was about
halfway up the bowl of the arena).  Back in July I started the show
standing and finished jumping up and down.  My aging body disappointed me
this show.  The Who did not. 

Having three bands on the bill, pushed the finish to until after
midnight.  The Wallflowers were good but their act is better suited for a
club or theater.  

Jeff