Walk Down Abbey Road July 28th 2001

["jacqueline" <jacquelinek@monmouth.com>]

Hey all;
Went over to see JAE do his thang over at Washington Township High School
(!) on Friday night..the usual collection of Fans and Friends (You know WHO
you are!!)....
Not  being a Beatle Fan I was unexcited as I ever was for any kind of WHO
related show.  I knew John would not disappoint (he didn't) but I wasn't
sure how much I could take, between Ambrosia and the Beatles I was kind of
writing this whole thing off as just an excuse to see John.  (it was)
The thing that surprised me most about this show was John was into it.  I
know the many jokes about how he is always the same, but after watching him
for years and years (and years!!!) I am getting better at telling when he is
actually having a good time or not  (like at Jones Beach last summer when he
stopped playing comepletely during MB...waiting for Pete to finish his 'self
indulgent' guitar thang- John WAS NOT having a good time!!!!).  But Friday,
he was enjoying playing the majority of the songs.  He was even center stage
at the end  - next to Godfrey, jammin on Carry That Weight/The End.  This is
just about my favorite Beatle song, if I even have one....what a wonderful
rocking rendition!  Also supberb was "Here Comes The Sun" with Godfrey solo
on acoustic and vocals.  Wow.  That song will never be the same for me now!
Of course, it is quite unfortunate that we may never hear this particular
version on the radio. (Anybody got a TAPE!!??) Barracuda really rocked,
primarily because of the JAE treatment, but honestly, Ann Wilson's voice has
lost none of it's power.  Todd was a sight to behold, with two-tone hair and
endless energy : running around the stage like a hyperactive child.  Steve
Loungo played superbly, as usual.  Never having been an Alan Parsons or
Ambrosia fan, I will refrain from commenting except to say that the three
eyeballs floating through the clouds on the screen behind the artists during
Eye In The Sky gave me the creeps!!
Towards the end of the show when the set list was one uptempo song after
another and people were permitted to stand at the foot of the stage, the
quality of the show improved greatly for me.  However, the first half
highlights were (obviously) The Real Me and My Generation, along with My
Wife (I missed PT's lead on MW, though...got mad spoiled last year!!!!).
The Real Me was very very well receieved, although we did overhear a younger
fan claiming he had never heard it before!!!  Can you imagine??!! That poor
child.  I recall back in 1979 when I was absolutely addicted to Quadrophenia
and a Beatle fan had told me I needed to hear The White Album....I listened
to it twice through, tossed it aside and put Quad back on my turntable!!!!
My assigned seat up until the last 6 songs sucked, too.  I had a choice
during TRM:  Dance and not see JAE at all, or try to reasonably in my seat
and glare menacingly at the music stand that completely blocked my view of
John's hands!!!!  AGH!  I chose to slink into a corner and do my writhing
act....my only moment of release all night!!!!  From my position at the
front after I'd moved up, I was close enough to make faces at John;  tapping
my watch and signaling that he needed to wrap up this Beatles crap so I
could go and get a drink!!!!
My absolute favorite moment was the very very end of the show.  Directly in
front of John was a young kid about 15 years old with a Live At Leeds album.
The moment the encore ended, this kid held up the album in one hand, and his
sharpie pen in the other and looked beseechingly at John.  The most
interesting thing about this moment was John's expression.  He saw the kid,
turned around and took his bass off, handed it to the tech and walked
directly over to sign the album.  There was not a moments hesitation...he
didn't even consider not signing it.  It was like "Oh, look, someone needs
an album signed," and he walked right over and did it, just like that, as if
it were the most important thing at that moment.  Then everyone next to this
kid put their hand up to him to shake, and he did that, too, right down the
line of 5 or so poeple.  I have met John quite a few times; sometimes he was
not in a talkative mood, sometimes he was annoyed about the show or somesuch
other reason...but I have never seen him be rude to a fan.  He may have a
strange sense of humor, he may come across a little stand offish (he is
actually shy, I think), but he is a very considerate guy when it comes to
the fans.  Just like Keith was.
Right, then, gotta go to sleep, gotta go to work.  :O(     yuk

cya
jacqueline