March 27, 2010 – He Returned
I had an 8pm dinner scheduled with friends this evening and there was no way that I was going to make the 1st set. The dinner was such a good time that I was lucky to get to the Beachland by 11:20 pm. As we walked in we caught the tail end of set 2. It was a good version of “Your Close Friend.” Glenn looked healthy and well. He was bandana-less. His hair was almost spiky and he was obviously NOT under the weather. The crowd was a little thin compared to the last 3 shows, but there were still probably 150 people in the hall. It was a short set break & then Glenn took the stage for set 3.
The 3rd set began with a nice Old Man Daniel. The band was ON and locked in. Glenn’s vocals were loud and crisp, Paul was focused and Gene was with them in “the zone.” I was happy that my wife and friends were present to hear what I so thoroughly enjoy. After OMD the band launched into a Proud Man for the ages. This version was about 10 minutes long and included the most intense jamming that I’ve seen the band execute since November 2008. Glenn was facing Paul & Gene and wailing away for chours after chorus, relentless, pulling his mates higher and higher up the mountain. I’ve never seen Gene as animated and physically aggressive as he was during this set. His head was down and both arms were moving like a man possessed. Upon further review, I believe that these 3 men WERE possessed by a spirit (THE spirit?) during this set.
They then went into a slower blues jam which had the same high intensity and then finished out with an abbreviated Chicago. Although this set was only 25 or 30 minutes long, it was in my opinion the best playing by Glenn & company in 18 months. I am grateful for the fact that we’ve got a dedicated field recorder who goes to great lengths to capture at least a little bit of this magic for future generations. At 70 years of age, Glenn Schwartz is STILL at the top of his game. God bless Glenn!