peterchecksfield wrote:guilherme mello wrote:Sorry Rocky, but i don´t think this is true! Maybe Peter don´t get too critical and negative on Jerry Lee, but he clearly says when it was an excellent, a very good, an ok, or just a bellow par performance. Of course,it is very different when you see the show and when you just hear it afterward, because of the momentum and the climate generated by the public, which is never fully capturated by a sound or even a video record! Overall, i think Peter Hayman is the best thing for us fans regarding Jerry Lee shows information. He is not too critical but have a good base of comparation to say when Jerry is or isn´t inspired and, most particullar (and i think most important nowdays) happy and fit!
Rock on!
Personally I can see both points of view...
When's the last time you saw Peter mention a "below par" performance? The thing which always makes me laugh is that he'll come out with something like "Jerry was better overall than the last tour" but he never says "Jerry was worse overall than the last tour". I also agree with Rocky (a.k.a. Paul MacPhail) that the songs can't always keep getting better (were recent versions of 'No Headstone On My Grave' truly better than the versions he did in 1980 or 1982 for example?).
But yes, Peter Hayman is really good to all us fans, & if it wasn't for him we wouldn't even know what most U.S. shows were like. A good person.
I appreciate Peter reporting back on almost every show in FBM, but it would be nice to read more reports from other fans. Americans in particular hardly ever report on shows, with a full song list.
I have to admit I find Peter's reviews rather samey and tedious to read, analyzing every piano solo. They are a bit too technical for me.
I'm more interested in how Jerry appeared on stage - was he animated, looking at and joking with the audience, etc. or was he in auto-pilot mode looking straight ahead, as though trying to get the whole thing over with as soon as possible?
Some shows can be dismissed as: average show, usual songs, Jerry on auto-pilot hardly acknowledging the audience. Paris 2008 was a case in point.