the miles in tokyo with rivers is burning. i've had a number of pipe dreams imagining what it woulda been like if rivers had stayed in the band thru the mid-60s.... and i love electric miles (and altho i love the original jack johnson and a couple of the new cuts on the box, i don't understand the orgasms some critics -- rolling stone, the new yorker -- are having over it). but i don't get nicholas payton's "sonic trance." i would liken this more to something electric herbie would layer together than to the spontaneity and groove and fire of electric miles. really, it didn't do anything for me. guess i'll give it another try tonight. finally, i dug waits' stage set up at the wiltern, skip. minimalist, but very effective -- and deliberate. those overhead lights gave it a fresh, stark look. and that box waits stood on -- when he stomped, dust came flying up like he was on somebody's old porch. ... given waits' rootsy, stripped-down vibe, seemed appropriate.... i won't take issue with the rest of your critique, except to say that as a longtime waits fan and non-pro musician, i enjoyed the show very much. hardly the best i've seen waits do, but very enjoyable. martin