11/27/08  THANKSGIVING

I arrived with Jason at about 9:20 pm. The band was already in full swing. Apparently they began playing at 8:45 and I’d already missed “Motor City,” “Stepping Into the Sunlight,” and “Judgment Day.”  Oh well, I was just happy to be within 5 feet of such an amazing trio of musicians. Glenn was in a very upbeat mood. His vocals were loud and clear, AND FOR GOOD REASON!!!  The vocal PA was BACK!!! What a treat to hear all the words squeaky clean.

              It was a good long first set, but it was periodically halted by a few broken strings. He’d play a tune, break a string, take a break, play a tune, break a string, take a short break, etc… He was good natured about it and somewhat embarrassed, saying, “This is what I get for not practicing all week!”

              In spite of the broken strings the band was ON. They played a stunning version of “Water Streeet,” a rollicking “Old Man Daniel,” and a FANTASTIC “Trying to Make 100 (99 just won’t do)” complete with “My friends don’t treat me” lyrics! What was astounding about this show was the fact that the place was packed, or at least close to about 85% capacity, and through all the preaching and talking, the crowd NEVER yelled out a disruptive thing while Glenn spoke. Hence, we were served up a healthy late night dinner of searing guitar, inventive bass, and rock solid drums. Paul returned to the kit tonight after a 2 week hiatus and didn’t miss a beat. Gene’s playing continues to confound my logical mind and Glenn is at a place where he simply bypasses the guitar and seems to communicate directly to the crowd from his soul (although the guitar is doing the talking on some level).

              As a side note, my good friend Krzys was in town from UCLA. He visits Cleveland about 2-4 times per year and sees Glenn on each visit. Coincidentally, Glenn ALWAYS mentions Sunset Strip when Krzys is in the audience. Glenn has no idea that Kryzs lives in California. Just an odd conincidence….

              Other tunes played : “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlement (twice!),” “Ode to Glenn Schwartz,” “My Poor Generation (twice!!),” “Never Grow Old”

TZ