From: nickh@CS.CMU.EDU (Nick Haines)
Subject: Melody Makre review of MSG bash
Originator: nickh@VOILA.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Distribution: rec
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 15:59:43 GMT

Just received in the mail a review by Allan Jones of the MSG do,
clipped from Melody Maker 31.10.92. Title `Million Dollar Bash' (of
course). Highlights follow my sig:

Nick Haines nickh@cmu.edu

"John Mellencamp ... is on stage, stomping around like an
ill-mannered pig and doing something to `Like a Rolling Stone' for
which he deserves a spell on a chain gang. ... Mellencamp then does a
version of `Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat' that nearly induces a
thrombosis. Mellencamp is howling now, on his knees. I wish I was
behind him with a truncheon."

"the next guest is a portly man named George Thoroughgood, who plays
an astonishingly dull version of `Wanted Man'. This superannuated old
duffer is as irrelevant to the proceedings  as albino blues
catastrophe Johnny Winter who appears later with a fatuous take on
`Highway 61 Revisited,' and the irredeemably laddish Ron Wood who
makes a poor fist of `Seven Days'. These embarrassments are nothing
compared to ... Sophie B Hawkins ... a curious-looking woman ... with
... a voice like a macaw with its beak in a wringer."

"Lou Reed ... blasts into an astonishing version of `Foot of Pride'.
This is more f***ing like it. The performance takes on the momentum of
an avalanche. ... Lou is raging. Worlds collide."

"Sinead O'Connor ... the majority of the audience are clearly of the
opinion that she is a loud-mouthed harridan. ... These people f***ing
despise her. The atmosphere is poisonous, and there's real hatred in
their screaming abuse. It's like the KKK have just hit town. ... a
despicable demonstration of vicious pettiness and vile prejudice"

"Chrissie Hynde with a cool, beautifully poised `I Shall Be
Released.'"

"I perk up for George Harrison, but that's just out of spite. George
is wearing a hideous purple jacket, someone's old moustache, and the
world's worst haircut. It looks like he's rented it for a bet. He
trots out a dithering `If Not For You' and a geriatric `Absolutely
Sweet Marie' for which he should have been taken outside and shot like
a dog."

"the sinister Roger McGuinn, who gives me the f***ing creeps with the
same version of `Mr Tambourine Man' he's been banging out since the
world was young. There's something strange about McGuinn that makes me
think of root vegetables."

"And suddenly, he's there!
"After all the speculation about whether or not he would actually
deign to make an appearance, Dylan comes creaking out of the wings
looking a tad bewildered, but pretty natty in a black matador outfit.
... Dylan wouldn't appear out of place staring you in the eye from a
windswept slope on Easter Island.
"Erratic hasn't been the word for some of Dylan's recent performances,
but tonight he seems genuinely in focus. The last time I saw him, in
Glasgow, he was as pissed as a parrot. He's a lot steadier on his feet
here, however, and opens with a splendid version of `Song for Woody,'
a touching tip of the hat to his past and the music that inspired
him. `It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)' is coruscating, full of
vintage spleen and righteous anger. He's cheered to the rafters.
"And then we have the more predictable singalongs ... everyone takes a
verse or part of one, and they're faithfully sung. Come Dylan's turn,
of course, and the cantankerous old sod pitches in with something that
takes the song off on [an] almost completely different trajectory. ...
"`BOB DYLAN!' squawks Chrissie Hynde ... like she's just tumbled who
the wrinkled old geezer in the black suit actually is.
"The cast begins to disperse. But Dylan's not quitting yet. Alone in
the spotlight, he sings a paralysingly beautiful version of `Girl From
The North Country.' I can barely recall hearing anything more tender
and lonesome and bruised with such yearning passion.
"Dylan finishes the song, looks around. But there's no one there. It's
over.
"He exits, pursued by tears. Yours, and mine.
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan