Encores:

John was in a great mood and joking with the crowd and the band all night. Mama Kin has a low ceiling and at one point John said "Have to be careful - someone could have an accident" as he points the end of his base up to the ceiling, an obvious reference to Pete at the Railway Tavern.

Having experienced John's solo shows in the past, I purchased a pair of earplugs (they were selling them at the show). It was a good move on my part - I think they actually improved the sound. I took them out a couple of times during the show and it was too loud - like standing next to an airplane jet engine. But the earplugs took the edge off and everything sounded GREAT. And the best part - no ringing in the ol' ears after the show!!!!! I think I'll use these suckers for all shows I go to in the future (now I KNOW I'm getting old).

They were selling copies of John's album "The Rock" at the show, so naturally I bought one. They only printed 5000 copies of it. A lot of the songs from the setlist that aren't Who songs are on the album.

Wow. What can I say....great fucking show! John and the band sounded much, much better than at the Tramps party. Even though they have improved the sound tremendously, I think they still would like to refine it a bit more; at times Godfrey couldn't really be heard, but then again we went to hear John, and did.

I don't have the set list on me right now (someone else please post it?) but it was similar to the last few gigs. The highlights for me were "You", "Success Story", and especially the encore of "Summertime Blues" and "Shakin' All Over". "Shakin'..." was particularly excellent as John really got into the groove. He went out on a long solo which displayed his mastery of the bass. Steve, Godfrey, and Alan were also visibly excited during the encore performance. Really great.

The warmup act, despite the strange rumors, was Joni's Butterfly. These guys reminded me a bit of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, young and full of energy. They are an excellent band but unfortunately get overshadowed by the eagerness of seeing Entwistle & Co. One could sense the mood of "OK...OK...you guys are really good, but when is John Entwistle coming on?!?"...which, of course, is to be expected.

Well, we were all treated to a terrific show at Mama Kin's last night. John seemed a little upset at feedback problems, but was basically in a good mood throughout. Setlist was sort of standard, except he didn't play Long Live Rock during the regular set. However, it looked like he forgot that My Wife was the set closer - finished it out, stood there, looked at his set list, looked back at Steve Luongo and kind of went "oops..." - then they finished the regular set with "Long Live Rock." Encores were Summertime Blues and Shakin' All Over - the latter with some of the best bass playing of the night. Mix was decent, fairly loud (although John complained that he was missing half of his stack - so he was only 1/2 as loud as he should be). He also commented on the low ceiling ("Could have an accident") - but no guitars accidentally ran into it!

All Who fans will love this show. I thought it was the best I have ever seen the Ox on his own; while I didn't see his '75 tour, I did see both '87 and '88. Credit also to Steve Luongo, who did a terrific job on drums.

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