Concert Report by Cutler MSG at JAXX, Springfield, VA, U.S.A. June 25, 2009 Added on 06/27/2009
Ritchie,
MSG live in Virginia, 2009---
Tickets---$30; hotel/gas---$200; MSG live in Concert---Priceless!
All the rumors and youtube videos are right---MSG are playing at an incredibly high level. Michael looks well and is playing with so much feeling and control that it's spine tingling! The band is amazing---Rev is crazy yet unbelievably skilled; Wayne is so multi talented that hefs a show all on his own; Pete can handle anything Simon Phillips can muster (which is saying a lot). And Gary exceeded my expectations by far. Gary cursed himself by writing such vocal acrobatics into the original tunes, but he sounded great and pulled of an outstanding performance. The sound mix was really good---you could hear each instrument from where I was (2nd row center). Hats off to the sound engineers at Jaxx!
Michael's look and demeanor was so confident yet relaxed, with an aristocratic air (like a Count or Baron). He wielded total control of his two full Marshall stacks, truly a beast master. The setlist (same as nights before) was energetic with well placed lows so to accentuate the highs. The 3 new songs sounded great and fit well with the classic material. Every song was special---.here are my highlights: intro to Cry for the Nations (tremendous energy and build), On and On (powerful and melodic/MSG personified), Lost Horizons (Michael extended the ending solo, improvising into uncharted territory with speed, power and emotion) and Rock Bottom was just unbelievable. The combination of world class musicianship, with interesting/powerful and melodic songs, performed with precision and passion---make for a very entertaining evening!
It's hard to say why things are so good, is it Michael, Gary or the band? I don't know, but I would love to hear this group (all 5) record some new material together. I personally think the chemistry and musicianship would translate extremely well.