Date:    Sun, 29 Nov 1998 18:41:08 GMT
From:    Charlie Dirksen 
Subject: 12/31/97 Tweezer

12/31/97 MSG, NYC, NY

Tweezer > starts out of the end of an ok "Auld Lang Syne."  The
opening could be more tight, but the crowd was going crazy, of course,
and the band probably couldn't hear each other very well.  Bit more
slow and funky an opening than usual.. As a result, the jam segment
doesn't start until around 4:40ish.

Jam segment begins with mellifluous tones from Mike, while Trey chords
along repetitively.  Not quite an "ambient" jam, but certainly more
"ambient" than the thrashing jams of Tweezers past. It is cool to hear
Mike leading a groove for a change!  Thanks to Paul, and presumably
PLM, Mike is very prominent in the mix. By 7:15 he is still leading,
while Trey, Page and Fish plaintively coast in the background.

At 7:30 Trey begins soloing in the lower octaves, in a paradigmatic
dark, evil, tweezeresque fashion.  It isn't very "enchanting," in
other words.  He apparently chose to start 1998 out with a ominous
groove -- it isn't the happy happy joy joy Weekapaug of 1/1/93.

Around 10 mins, Trey plays a lick that sounds related to one of the
licks in Cream's "White Room" (see also the 11/14/95 Stash, I think).
This occurs shortly before he releases a few digital delay loopy notes
into MSG's haze, and the groove spirals circuitously about a plodding,
dank theme.  Page plays a note here and there on the synth, before,
around 12:15 or so, Fish begins playing Maze's hi-hat opening.

An excellent -> into Maze, but, imo, the only highlight of this
year-opening Tweezer.  Despite the fact that this version reflects
1997's jamming style more than any earlier style (such as Fall 1995),
it is not, in my opinion, any more musically engaging than many of the
early Tweezers.  An easy borderline-average 4.5 rating.

two cents
charlie