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MSG #2 review
Well, I certainly was going to be lucid for this one. Seats 31st row on the
floor (solid for what I paid). Better than the sec 333 seats the night
before. As many of you know, I saw the west coast gigs, and this performance
approached what they did at Shoreline. Of the 6 shows I've seen (well, 5
1/4, really), I'd rank this 2nd. This puts it ahead of the guitar smash, so
that oughta tell you something about the MSG #2 show.
1. AAA is so damn good at the concerts this year. Pete seems to get consumed
by the music here. Absolutely combustible. He even commented after the song
that they "were about warmed up."
2. WAY is probably my fav who song and they really give it a thorough attack
on stage. Major windmills. Roger's voice is in peak form, but the tough
songs are still to come, so we'll see.
3. I have really grown to love ATD, and the funky Relay is always amazing.
Love Roger's 2002 vocals w/both of these. Pete is ferocious during Relay.
He must really love this song.
4. Bargain has become my test for how roger's voice is holding up
(especially on back to back nights). Verdict: fuckin amazin. Hit the
"haaaaaad!" on the nose and with ferocity. Pete's jam work here was awesome.
5. Best I have heard Roger sound w/BOR. He seems to be moving away from, for
lack of a better term, the rounding off of many of the higher notes. This is
an improvement. It sounds better when he holds them for a good count and
then snaps them off. BOR always fires up the crowd right after many casual
fans hit the bathroom during ATD and relay. Pete did a little booty shake
during this, also.
6. Roger was clearly winded and needed a little break after the harmonica, so
pete did about 90 seconds of I'm One, playing the electric sounding like an
acoustic, before they launched into the Quad songs. SAS and 5.15 great as
always (tho roger had some major trouble catching his mike, then got it all
tangled up. very funny). LROM was staggering! Roger is objectively the
greatest pure live lead singer of all time, all things considered. Anyone
seeing LROM at this show knows this is true. Neat moment at the end when
Roger's falsetto wasn't there for him on "looooove." He went to do it and
nothin came out. Look on his face was priceless.
7. EF was excellent, and a nice break for rog after the quad medley, which I
think are the most challenging songs for him vocally. Pete sounded
EXCELLENT! Love what he does with this song live.
8. Pete mentioned John several times in his TKAA intro, first by stating that
they first started playing together when they were11 or 12. Pete's improved
vocals mentioned seeing the Jay Leno interview with the 7-yr old girl who
escaped her kidnappers by "chewing thru the ducktape," as pete sang, and that
she's now "alright." Roger sang the same lines he has used for most of this
tour, recounting his violent adolescence prior to hitting it big with the who
at age 21 ("a new chapter begun") Great showcase for Pete's flat
jaw-dropping guitar passion.
9. MG was on fire, including the false ending and subsequent jam. Crowd
eats this song up. Nice applause to Pino for John's solos.
10. WGFA- Best god damn scream yet on the tour. Best pitch, volume, and
length. Damn fine job. Can't believe he's the same singer from CFNY when
the scream came out kinda sick. Double end jam with incredible townshend
skill and velocity. Faster and faster. Great shit.
11. Encore was real special. Roger's voice on SMFM was the best yet on this
tour. Sharp and on key and no fudging or yelling. Zak's drumming in
AJ/Sparks and SMFM is tremendous. He is a fucking force to be reckoned with.
Combined with what Pete does here, and the nature of the song, this is the
most amazing show closer in all of rock... even better than WGFA, IMHO. I
felt honored to be in attendance.
SIDE NOTES: Pete mentioned John at least twice, and also seemed to take a
swipe at the nature of his death by saying, "We're not all dead." Pete
seemed to be in a very positive mood all night. Noticed he did a little of
the old hip shimmy he did extensively from 65 to 67, before he got into the
jumping. He actually referred to the band as The Who, dispelling any thoughts
that without John he no longer considers them the Who. He also said he hopes
the band will return to play there again, if they are able. I was very
excited to hear this, interpreting it to mean that he has no plans for this
to be their last tour. Maybe it means they will still try the new album. It
would be a real shame if they didn't try to ride the passion of their
performances into the studio for one last shot at new material. ICSFM was
conspicuously absent, which was disappointing because I haven't gotten to
hear it live yet. Maybe they'll play it in Dallas. Pete did a nice amount
of talking an was witty as always, and also thanked the crowd for paying so
much money to see them, stating that "we REALLY appreciate it." Also, I was
at Molly Wee's from 6:45pm till 7:30pm, but alas didn't know what anyone
looked liked, and hoped maybe some of you would recognize me from
descriptions, but it didn't happen. I sat at a table right near the front by
this table of dudes who had some white t-shirts they were selling. I had on
black shorts and a grey shirt and have a beard. I was disappointed not to
meet any of you. Anyone going to Dallas?? As for Plant, a nice set and his
voice sounds good. I liked the hard rock versions of some of those old
songs, and might get his album. His mike was too low, tho, and we couldn't
hear him well enough. After the Who played, no one cared. Certainly not me.
LONG LIVE ROCK!!!!!!!!!!
mc
"Just fucking listen and shut up!"- Pete Townshend live in Long Beach 1971