From: Thorn (ladyhawke_13@yahoo.com)
I'm sorry this is so long. I'm at work and I don't have anyone to rave to....
Unlike so many people on this list (of whom, I might add, I am extremely jealous - in a kind and friendly sort of way), this was my first opportunity to see the Mission live, though I've been a fan for around 12 years. I thought it was something I'd never get to do when they split up. I'm still kind of in awe.
Where to begin? At the beginning? Unfortuately I have no cool backstage stories to tell. We got to the Fillmore at about 4PM, the Mission was already inside. There was one person already in line, Daniel - a very nice Mike Peters fan. Most of the early people (all six of them) were there for Mike. Anyway, after we had been there for about a half an hour a van pulled up and Gene love Jez and Mike and Jules (the Mrs...) piled out of it. Jay & his crew ducked inside, but Mike hung around for a little bit to talk to the fans. Daniel got invited to go inside to watch the sound check and was not seen again until the show started. (I don't hate him. No really.)
Ash & I were alone in line from then until about 6 PM when other people started showing up. Shortly after that, the Mission came out and band and crew all piled into two little cars and went to dinner. (One of the cars was a Volkswagon Cabriolet which had Wayne & Craig & about 3 other people in it - looked a bit like a clown car...) No time to say hi...
Doors open - we positioned ourselves at the stage between the center mike and what would be Mark's. This was not difficult, since there were only about 20-30 people there. I bought a shirt and, more importantly, a copy of the Resurrection CD.
Mike came out and did an incredible set. My boyfriend is now a huge Mike Peters fan. I already was. The crowd screamed for an encore from him, but there was no time.
Gene love Jez was better than I expected. I haven't listened to them in years but I really enjoyed the show. Jay was joking with the audience and not taking himself nearly as seriously as one would expect. They did do an encore, which I have to admit I resented as they were now cutting into valuable Mission time.
During the Jez show, I noticed that if I turned my head just right, I could see the balcony area where the other performers and their backstage guests were hanging out, so I spent most of that performance enjoying occassional glimpses of Wayne and Craig. I didn't recognize anyone else - it was all very dark in the shadows. Craig's bald head kinda made him stick out and, well, I think I'd recognize Wayne anywhere.... It wasn't the same as being there, but still kinda neat.
So, finally, the Mission. A note on wardrobe (hey, I'm a costumer, what can I say?): Wayne was wearing a black velvet patterned bowling shirt and reddish pants, not nearly as flattering as his Carved in Sand era wardrobe, but the man looks good in velvet regardless. (I pause a moment in an attempt to imagine anything Wayne wouldn't look good in. Or out of....) I wasn't wild about the hair - I have a serious long hair fetish - but it is awefully cute and does make him look very young. Mark had on a black shirt with fire going up the sleeves (that looks suspicously like one at Hot Topics that Ash & were looking at recently.) I could only see Craig from about the mid-chest up because of the angle of the stage and amps, but he looked like he was having a good time. I couldn't see the drums at all.
So first Mark comes out and starts this really haunting guitar, the a few seconds later the band comes out and they open with Wasteland... The sound was pretty bad on the vocal mike for the first couple of songs, all fuzzy. I think the sound tech hadn't counted on the power of Wayne's voice, but they got that straightened out fairly quickly. I'll try to remember the set list, but it's really all a blur. Wasteland, Dancing Barefoot, Severina, Raising Cain, Butterfly on a Wheel, Tower of Strength, Swoon(? - I'm embarrassed, I don't know this one! But I like it.), Deliverance - the last song before the encores, which caught me by surprise, it didn't seem like they'd been on that long. The whole set rocked, especially Deliverance - Wayne seemed pleased with the performance and the crowd's reaction.
Encores - Wayne comes out with a Heiniken and announces it is his first beer of the evening. "Do you believe me?" No one did.
Like a Child Again, acoustic (Wayne messed up on the lyric in one spot) and one or two other acoustic songs that I'm really embarrassed I can't remember, no Elvis which was kinda sad - I was really looking forward to that. Though I'm not a big Elvis fan, I think Wayne's voice is perfect for Can't Help Falling in Love - then the rest of the band came out and they did part of Wasteland and stopped halfway through because they couldn't remember it... "We've never played this before, can you tell?" sez Wayne. Slightly intoxicated, were we boys? Like a Hurricane, and 1969.
I'm sure I forgot to include a bunch of songs, though it seemed like a really short set. And I'm certain I got a lot of them in the wrong order. Like I said, it was a blur. The place seemed to have filled up by the time the Mish came out, but I'm not certain - I didn't take my eyes off of Wayne through the whole show (except when he disappeared behind that damn amplifier, and I was forced to watch Mark instead, who is very easy on the eyes himself.) I'm not sure I even blinked. I made eye contact with him several times, which was nice. (I know, it's hard to tell with the sunglasses, but I did, I swear!) Wayne kept coming up to the edge of the stage just out of reach and teasing us, though one time he had his foot up on Mark's amp and I could have jumped up and touched his boot...
Wow. I'm still awash in the after glow. Not a lot of work going to happen today...
- Thorn
From: "Kana Yang" (kyang9@hotmail.com)
Hey Thorn and all! Great review! I was there at the Filmore so, I can remember everything you described. What a show!! I (like you) am also trying to cope with the after glow (2 days later)....And Wayne was the best crowd pleaser (and TEASER for that matter). He even returned the kiss that I blew at him. It was great. I was center stage, right under him the whole time. My knees went weak when he did "Butterfly on a wheel". I loved watching and listening him bellowed out those lyrics with his beautiful voice. I did not move from my post, although that little ruckus behind me and the chick behind me who kept singing in my ear was irritating. Terrific show....I cannot wait to see them again.
I am planning to got to Reno this weekend to catch the show. Anyone else headed up there?
From: Electric71@aol.com
Well it's late so I'll make this short. Mike Peters was brilliant! GLJ Put on a better than expected show, and the Mish were pure magic! It was great seeing the boys again. I haven't seen them play the Fillmore since 1989 for the Children tour. Here are some of then songs in no particular order as the pints we're kicking in!
Wasteland (They didn't forget!)
Beyond the Pale
Butterfly...
Severina
Raising Cain (Wayne said "here's a new song"!)
Swoon
Blood Brother
Like A Hurricane
Tower Of Strength
1969
I know there's more but forgive me! It's late and I'm feeling my age!
I got a chance to meet a few people: Bill, Melanie, and Jay. Great meeting you people. Mish fans are top notch people. Hope to see you all soon for the next tour! SOON!
Cheers,
Michael
