to forward them any of these comments, BTW!)
**GLJ: well, I'm sorry to say so, but IMHO this was their worst set. All songs really slow and dragged out long, even "Desire" which has been the hottest number so far. Jay's voice was in such bad shape that he'd been told - he said - to keep between-song chat to a minimum, to spare his throat as much as possible. Unfortunately halfway through, the band was beset by a loud, drunk-sounding woman who seemingly wanted to request "Love Keeps Dragging Me Down" but kept getting it wrong ("..Keeps Dragging YOU Down") and resisted all of weary Jay's attempts to sort her out, resulting in general exasperation and the complete loss of any remaining momentum.
So..whatever....
Still there were some very cool moments! Jay worked two verses of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" into "Desire", probably our only chance to hear GLJ cover that! There's also a little bit more of "Gorgeous (v.1)" sneaking into "Gorgeous (v.2)" ("I can hardly keep my toes clean...you're such a carbon of my brother") for the old-line fans amongst the crowd - all two or three of us, I think =). GLJ also got their first encore of this stretch, an upbeat "Jealous"; Jay (IMHO) looks so much happier and more free, sliding about and striking those lovely angular poses, when not behind a guitar that one really has to wonder why he insists on it....
**Mission: holy gods in heaven! one I'll never, ever forget. A set that roared and blazed and was just utterly fkn' gorgeous. Pretty much same setlist as before; no "Wasteland" but a knockout "Crystal Ocean", "Serpents Kiss" again (our request! Thanks Wayne!),and Wayne's acoustic encore included "Like A Hurricane"! Band absolutely in top form, super tight with razor-cut pacing. (I envy you overseas fans something fierce; at this rate of climb, by the time they get there they'll be a one-band religious experience. Lucky you.=) Even the
funny moments didn't drop the pace. (Fan requests "Daddy's Gone to Heaven"; Wayne, amused, plays the opening, then turns to the thoroughly stymied Craig and says "I don't think Craig's ever even heard that one." Craig makes baffled protest gesture; Wayne grins and says "Let's play one the ol' gimmer knows, OK?" and sails into "Severina").
Wayne, obviously happy that there was no curfew to fret about tonight, was in rare verbal form ("I'm in a really good mood tonight, can you tell? It's 'cos I'm in Hair Club...actually it's the cocaine. --no, no, that was a joke. Those days are
gone.") and seemed to enjoy taking up the comedy space Jay had been forced to vacate. He even told a lightbulb joke! a GOTH lightbulb joke, yet! =D --Best moment IMHO: someone yells for "Crystal Ocean" (which we had already spotted on the setlist). Wayne, with a broad grin:
"Y'know what? That's written on this piece of paper down here. (crowd yells) And y'know what else? --we've never played it on this tour yet, so you'll have to forgive us if we fook it up." --Trust me; they did NOT fook it up. =)
We and about a dozen fans waited in a chilling wind (and flurries of snow) after the show, and were rewarded with good news: drummer Scott confirmed to EVB after the show that Wayne had asked him if he'd be interested in recording with them, confirming hopes of new Mish material! woo! =)
--Last thing for this night: I got to talk to Jay again as well, and asked him to sign his solo CD. "Ah," he said happily, holding it up for the admiration of the cluster around him, "this is the thing I'm proudest of." I said I was looking forward to hearing it (had just bought it at the show) and he said, "It's a bit dark, but it'll help keep you warm." (Obviously a concern at that point.=)
-- Looking such a pitiful waif in his pea coat and woolen cap, ragged hair in his eyes; when he
handed me back my CD his fingers were so cold I forgot to be shy of him and hugged him, saying "my god, you're freezing."
--"Ah," with a sigh, his head tucked for a second into my shoulder, "it's a cold country..."
....on into the cold country in our next and final installment.
...go back to Ysgarlad.
...go on to the next night's show.
