Subject: *You Can Feel Good About Vega$ Hood*
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 13:49:42 -0500 (EST)
From: Zach [...]
12/6/96 - The Aladdin - Las Vegas, NV I like this show a lot, especially the Jam after Simple. The list of Mike's>Simple>Harry>Weekapaug is practically out of one of my wet dreams, so I was oh-so-psyched to get a good sounding DAud2 copy from Todd Zander. Unfortunately, I disgaree with Charlie's opinion about this Harry, he called it *GORGEOUS*. But, hey, isn't that what rmp is about? Voicing different opinions? Charlie said that he wouldn't review the Harry, but maybe if I can piss him off enough with my review, he will ;-) Anyone else who disagrees should feel free to post their thoughts too... 0:00 - Upbeat opening, everyone participating. 0:25 - Nice descension from Trey. More fills from Trey in this intro. than in most. Even a Spooky tease at about 0:57. 1:15 - Looong sustain from Trey. 1:30 - Trey moves to his drumkit for a while, it sounds like he's playing the chimes(?). 2:33 - Harry verse. Audience "Hood!" participation in full effect. 3:00 - Composed section. 5:15 - Heavy metal Mr. Minor. Thank you Mr. Hoooood... 6:03 - Jam segment. 6:25 - Some "floating" notes from Trey. These are the notes that aren't really going anywhere, up or down, he just sends them out toward the audience and lets them float around. They inspire images of waves and clouds... and milk chocolate. Hmmmm.... 7:40 - Now Trey starts to pick up the pace. Fish is grooving on the hi-hat. 8:45 - More floating. This time Page joins Trey with some floating notes of his own. 9:40 - Fishman changes the jam's tone a bit by switching to the snare. Trey adds some layers to his guitar sound, making it heavier. 10:45 - A short run and a mini-release. 11:10 - Hints of the ending theme, but we know better... 11:55 - Another slight build and mini-release but where's the *energy*?! I mean, Fish is banging away, but Trey and Page aren't really jamming yet. 13:00 - A little tension building from Fish on the toms. 13:25 - Release. No exclamation point deserved by this release, but it kind of qualifies. No real build and no soaring. 14:00 - Ending theme... drawn out... prolonged... I keep waiting for them to start singing... 14:50 - You can feel good... 15:10 - Where they USED to shout "I feel good!" 15:30 - Great segue into Weekapaug initiated by Fishman's drum beat change... Total Time = 15:30 Grade: C. This is a typically good Harry, mainly because of the mellow beauty of the jam section. However, where is the f$%^#%$@$in' energy?! I mean, there's no tension building, no Medeski-esque banging from Page, no soaring releases from Trey, certainly no "gear-shifts".... IMHO, a Harry must have some of these elements in order to be classified as above average. This version really doesn't get past the energy level of the first four minutes of most of the other Harry's I've reviewed. Get these tapes for the Mike's, the Simple>Jam, and the Weekapaug, but don't expect too much from the Harry. Comments are welcome, just make sure to CC me. Zach