Intro
I want to write about reliving the irresponsible days of my youth while traveling on the road having the best time of my life because it sounds romantic and exciting. In reality, I am living the best time of my life right now; furthermore, the story of my youth is not that of a hardcore free-spirited road warrior. While by the time I was almost 19, you might say I had too much too fast, I was given a second chance at life. Once I got comfortable with my second phase of life, I was able get back into my passion for live shows and getting on the road to see them. I felt alive and comfortable in the live music scene. When I was younger the scene revolved around the Grateful Dead. I would take long weekends from work and go see two or three shows in towns such as Oakland, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Buffalo, DC and Hamilton to name a few. In every town, there were familiar faces and I was one of them. We were all there for our own purposes and we were all insiders but at the same time we were all checking each other out. My dirty little secret...I was just a regular guy in my early 20s. At work the secret was that I was into this dirty dead-head lifestyle and when I was on the road the secret was that I was an ambitious, competitive and driven professional.
At shows I was chasing what I will call "The Moment". For me "The Moment"was not about how I could save the planet or get messed up enough to actually see that dragon with matches that Jerry Garcia sang about. "The Moment" for me was a musical high point. This is the moment that is built up between the audience and the band. I have heard the Grateful Dead talk of it in terms of an exchange of energy. Sometimes, you can feel it coming before the show. The crowd is ready for something special and gets the band going. The band reacts with something special and it goes back and forth until you get to "The Moment". Although the band is all in line during this moment, it doesn't mean that they are playing tight nor is it sloppy. It is at that moment that the audience becomes possessed. People are screaming, jaws are dropping and yes, I have even cried (kind of cheesy!).
Rebirth-
Fast forward 15-20 years. I am a happily married father of 4 living in the suburbs. I have no dirty secrets and no apologies. I still love "The Moment" and pursue it with the same passion. The Grateful Dead is gone and now I have bands like The Levon Helm Band, Govt Mule, Furthur, The Warren Haynes Band, Tedeschi Trucks, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and WideSpread Panic.
WS(MF)P!!!
I first got turned on to Widespread Panic (WSP) in October of '92. My brother, Greg, and I went to see them at The Riviera . They were the opening act for Blues Traveler who we didn't really have an interest in. We wanted to see this Jam Band from Athens (the term Jam Band really hadn't been used much at that time) after reading a newspaper article about them. They were fantastic. Their music was both familiar in style and unfamiliar in content. As time went on I went to see them a few more times and then Jerry Garcia died. While it may sound weird to talk about the death of Jerry Garcia while writing about WSP but, it is significant. Jerry Garcia's death brought the Jam Band scene to life.
Fast forward to 1999. In '99, Greg flew in from NYC to see The Funky Meters with me at the UIC Pavilion but when he did, The Funky Meters were the opening act for WSP. This is the same band that was an opening act at The Riviera (capacity 2300) and now they are headlining The UIC Pavilion (capacity about 11,000) 7 years later. Bands like WSP were filling the void that was left when Jerry died. For the hardcore "spreadheads" (term used to speak of followers of WSP) out there, this is not to say that WSP has no merit on their own. This is about taking lemons and making lemonade....and some fantastic lemonade at that!!!!
Fast forward to 2011. This weekend, I caught WSP at The Chicago Theatre Friday and Saturday. They are an exciting show for me because their tunes are still unfamiliar even after seeing them about 15 times. They have a distinctive sound with the raspy voice of John "JB" Bell at the helm. They have one of the best rhythm sections in modern Rock and Roll lead by Dave Schools on Bass. While Schools is solid on the basics that create the pulse of this band, he lays down some of the funkiest bass beats I have heard. He moves the band from dark heavy metal and muddy blues on to trips to the 70s with dance beats that John Travolta would be thrilled to gyrate to. Schools is far from being retro, his bass work would not be out of place at a rave today. On kit drums is Todd Nance who is rock solid but the complex percussion work goes to Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz. You can see Sunny playing conga with his right hand while playing steel drum with his left, I am guessing his only wish would be to have been born with more limbs. On lead guitar is Jam Band regular Jimmy Herring. Jimmy has been around this scene forever playing with bands like The Other Ones, The Dead and The Allman Brothers Band and he is right at home with WSP. Jimmy replaces original lead guitar player and founding member Michael Houser who passed away from cancer in 2002. Rounding it off is John "Jo Jo" Herman on Keyboards and Vocals. Jo Jo adds some fun New Orleans flair to the band (even thought he is from New York.) The influence of New Orleans legend Professor Longhair and The Band's organ player Garth Hudson can be heard in Jo Jo. His music adds the fun playful element that rounds WSP off.
WSP gave me "The Moment" many times over the last two nights. First set of the first night rocked hard, while they played the familiar Walking, part of the excitement for me was the lack of familiarity of the whole set. I am not able to anticipate this band's every move so they just lead me around by the figurative leash while I submitted to their musical whims. For me it was really Dave Schools that I got caught up in. He laid down the tracks that Jimmy would color. When you really listen, it is Schools that was getting the audience moving to Jimmy's jams. Second set was even better with an incredible tune called Stop and Go. Stop and Go is spacey, funky with a flavor that is very close to The Grateful Dead's Fire On The Mountain. After some great jamming, in out of various tunes, Jimmy led us into the JJ Cale classic Ride Me High. This is sung by Jo Jo with tons of audience interaction which is always fun but more importantly, it brings on "The Moment". Schools, Jimmy and Jo Jo all got a piece of this moment. They encored night one with the folk classic Baby Let Me Follow You Down (popularized by Bob Dylan), Baby, Please Don't Go (recorded by many and popularized by Alvin Lee and AC/DC) and WSP's own Makes Sense to Me.
Night two gave me an extra experience. Due to a number of friends' change of plans, I went to the show solo and really enjoyed it....only my own agenda and total anonymity. Tonight it seems that back stage the band may may have said something to the extent of ' we are in Chicago, let's do some blues'. This first set was full of muddy and sometimes dark sounding blues opening up with JB at his deepest and raspiest for Going Out West. Jo Jo sang the American classic Stagger Lee as arranged by Professor Long Hair. They got out of the blues and mixed in a funky tune that I liked called Little Lilly. First set was good but second set blew my mind. It was like they stacked up so many of those incredible moments that it was one big intense high point that lasted for 83 minutes. In a set built of many high points, I was particularly impressed by Greta which is another fun tune by Jo Jo into the hard rocking Fishwater. They jammed through to my highpoint of the weekend, Arleen. This is probably my favorite song by WSP. It is hard rock, reggae, funk and loads of fun! At WSP shows, you almost never see anyone sitting in their seats but for this Arleen, there wasn't a person that wasn't shaking from their heads down to their toes. It was so intense and lively, every time I heard the lines "I CANT STAND IT! NO!!" It became a very personal and meaningful experience. This was "The Moment" of moments. They brought it back to Fishwater and left us begging for more. Quadruple Encore was the Doors' Peace Frog into;Blue Sunday and then End of the Show (by Bloodkin) and lastly they ended the weekend with the song and message Ain't Life Grand? This was a poetic way end to an incredible weekend of music.
There is no longer any conflict. I am a suburban dad that loves music. I got turned on to the good stuff as a kid and am able to know it when I hear it as an adult. This isn't for everyone but for me, I can't picture my life without chasing "The Moment"
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Warren Haynes Band- Vic Theatre, Chicago, 11/17.2011
After being critical of Warren Haynes for many years with statements like "He can't replace Dwayne Allman" or "Dickie Bets blows him away" I gave in a few years back. All I had to do was stop arguing and realize, this guy is the real deal. He wasn't trying to be Dickie Betts or Dwayne Allman and when he played lead guitar for The Dead, he wasn't trying to be Jerry Garcia. On the contrary, this man respects and has learned from the genius of all of these men and many more. So when I opened my mind to Govt Mule, one of Warren's projects outside of the Allman Brothers Band, it was a real treat. Govt Mule is hard rocking music. They get their influence from Blues, Funk, Heavy Metal, Southern Rock, Hard Rock and Jazz. They took me back to the 1970s which is my favorite era of music. I jumped with both feet into Govt Mule; these guys are everything that I want a rock band to be. So when I heard that Warren was out touring with a different project, called the Warren Haynes Band (WHB), I knew we were in for a treat.
I got my first chance to see WHB in May at the Park West. This show was amazing, much different than Govt Mule. While not a rhythm and blues revue per se, they dove deep into R&B with their own music from the album Man in Motion. They also dug into other genres with covers such as Tupelo Honey (Van Morrison), What's Hip (Tower of Power) and Roller Derby Queen (Jim Croce). This show was one to remember.
Warren being, without a doubt, the hardest working man in show business (now that James Brown is gone) came back to Chicago 6 months later to give us another show. This time, WHB played the VIC Theatre. The Vic itself is a great venue. I have not been in years and have seen some great shows there in my early 20s (Mickey Hart's Planet Drum, Subdudes and Poi Dog Pondering to name a few). To put a cherry on this treat, my mom was in town to join me for this show. She is not a regular concert goer but an energetic 63 year young woman that was as happy as could be to share this experience with me.
The show opened with a five way call and response. This was their way of saying "take a look, this is what we have in store". It started off with Warren picking it up ripping a lead, and then handing it to Ron Holloway on Sax, to Nigel Hall on Keys, to Alica Shakur on vocals and finally off to Terrence Higgins on drums. While we didn't hear a solo from Ron Johnson on bass, he was a powerhouse through the show and many times led the band from his little spot out of the spot lite. They opened up with River's Gonna Rise and Alicia Shakur made it the straight gospel with her soulful voice. Another highlight of the 1st set was the cover of Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic. Pretzel Logic turned into an incredible jazzy jam with the Nigel and Terrence trading licks on Keys and Drums. Towards the end of this jam, Warren came back with the guitar and reminded us why this is the Warren Haynes Band. In the first set it became real obvious that these guys have true chemistry. In particular Ron Holloway and Warren really play well off of each other. First set was 6 songs and just between 70-75 minutes. It was a jam band paradise.
Second set opened up with a-capella Baby Love that had lots of spirit.....made me want to grab a tambourine. They went into a slow intense jam (I don't know the name) that went from slow, to hard rock, to reggae and then Ron took over on sax and for the next few minutes Ron and Warren did some great call and response jamming. While they were on the hard rock kick they moved into Jimi Hendrix's Spanish Castle Magic which was loud and strong, the way it was meant to be. Warren went into the Albert King classic Feel Like Breaking up Somebody's Home (for those that haven's seen heard Govt Mule cover this tune with Joe Bonamassa at the Riviera, go look it up...it is a real treat). Nigel than takes over on keys and vocals with Don't Change Horses In the Middle of the Stream. Warren Takes back over with Take a Bullet into a very familiar jam that works it's way into the Stevie Wonder tune I Wish (sung by Nigel) and then back to Take a Bullet. They closed the show with Sick of My Shadow. Ron Holloway really jammed out on this closer. For the encore WHB gave us the expected but always loved Soul Shine and the surprised us by going back into Baby Love.
Warren has turned out to be the most consistent pleasure in my music life over the last 3 years. After cheating myself for too long, I can't get enough of this man. Each incarnation has been fantastic. The Allman Bros, The Dead, GOVT Mule, WHB and his countless jams with musicians like Los Lobos, Tedeschi Trucks, Grace Potter and Eric Clapton are part of a resume that can't be ignored. His passion for his music has him working what appears to be 300+ days a year. I truthfully don't understand how he is not better known and more widely appreciated outside of the jam band and hardcore musician world but, I am thrilled to have finally discovered (a little late) this TRUE MAESTRO!
I got my first chance to see WHB in May at the Park West. This show was amazing, much different than Govt Mule. While not a rhythm and blues revue per se, they dove deep into R&B with their own music from the album Man in Motion. They also dug into other genres with covers such as Tupelo Honey (Van Morrison), What's Hip (Tower of Power) and Roller Derby Queen (Jim Croce). This show was one to remember.
Warren being, without a doubt, the hardest working man in show business (now that James Brown is gone) came back to Chicago 6 months later to give us another show. This time, WHB played the VIC Theatre. The Vic itself is a great venue. I have not been in years and have seen some great shows there in my early 20s (Mickey Hart's Planet Drum, Subdudes and Poi Dog Pondering to name a few). To put a cherry on this treat, my mom was in town to join me for this show. She is not a regular concert goer but an energetic 63 year young woman that was as happy as could be to share this experience with me.
The show opened with a five way call and response. This was their way of saying "take a look, this is what we have in store". It started off with Warren picking it up ripping a lead, and then handing it to Ron Holloway on Sax, to Nigel Hall on Keys, to Alica Shakur on vocals and finally off to Terrence Higgins on drums. While we didn't hear a solo from Ron Johnson on bass, he was a powerhouse through the show and many times led the band from his little spot out of the spot lite. They opened up with River's Gonna Rise and Alicia Shakur made it the straight gospel with her soulful voice. Another highlight of the 1st set was the cover of Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic. Pretzel Logic turned into an incredible jazzy jam with the Nigel and Terrence trading licks on Keys and Drums. Towards the end of this jam, Warren came back with the guitar and reminded us why this is the Warren Haynes Band. In the first set it became real obvious that these guys have true chemistry. In particular Ron Holloway and Warren really play well off of each other. First set was 6 songs and just between 70-75 minutes. It was a jam band paradise.
Second set opened up with a-capella Baby Love that had lots of spirit.....made me want to grab a tambourine. They went into a slow intense jam (I don't know the name) that went from slow, to hard rock, to reggae and then Ron took over on sax and for the next few minutes Ron and Warren did some great call and response jamming. While they were on the hard rock kick they moved into Jimi Hendrix's Spanish Castle Magic which was loud and strong, the way it was meant to be. Warren went into the Albert King classic Feel Like Breaking up Somebody's Home (for those that haven's seen heard Govt Mule cover this tune with Joe Bonamassa at the Riviera, go look it up...it is a real treat). Nigel than takes over on keys and vocals with Don't Change Horses In the Middle of the Stream. Warren Takes back over with Take a Bullet into a very familiar jam that works it's way into the Stevie Wonder tune I Wish (sung by Nigel) and then back to Take a Bullet. They closed the show with Sick of My Shadow. Ron Holloway really jammed out on this closer. For the encore WHB gave us the expected but always loved Soul Shine and the surprised us by going back into Baby Love.
Warren has turned out to be the most consistent pleasure in my music life over the last 3 years. After cheating myself for too long, I can't get enough of this man. Each incarnation has been fantastic. The Allman Bros, The Dead, GOVT Mule, WHB and his countless jams with musicians like Los Lobos, Tedeschi Trucks, Grace Potter and Eric Clapton are part of a resume that can't be ignored. His passion for his music has him working what appears to be 300+ days a year. I truthfully don't understand how he is not better known and more widely appreciated outside of the jam band and hardcore musician world but, I am thrilled to have finally discovered (a little late) this TRUE MAESTRO!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Furthur 9/30/11 RED ROCKS!!!!!!
As a grown man, traveling for music is a treat that brings me back to my youth (16-25). I am a married father of four and as such can't travel as much as I did for music in the past but when I do it is a real treat. Since I was young, I have wanted to see a show at Red Rocks but haven't been able to so, when I made up my mind to visit my buddy Todd and his family in Denver and go see Furthur at Red Rocks, I was psyched. To tell the truth, I was more excited about seeing Red Rocks and the mountains and thought Furthur would be a good excuse. The first time, I saw Furthur (at The Gathering of the Vibes), I felt that they were good but not great and made up my mind that I wouldn't be traveling for them again; their appeal was more sentimental than anything else. The second time got better and the third time this was a band that I would possibly travel to see.
Arriving at Red Rocks the grounds are beautiful. Seeing the huge red rocks from the parking lot can make one feel small. It doesn't even look real, more like a set for a Disneyland ride. The parking lot was getting filled with middle aged hippie types, old dead-heads, and a number of younger fans that looked like they belonged there but not a hardcore scene like days of Grateful Dead past. Going to see a show in the West is more mellow than the shows in the East, less yelling and screaming and sloppy partiers. When I was younger, I really liked the East scene but this is more my speed now.
On to the show! On the inside of the venue was simply majestic. The band comes out and opens up with Aiko and sounds great. Back to the seventies era with the Greatest Story Ever Told. Bobby's voice is sounding better than I have heard since the days of the Grateful Dead. Cold Rain and Snow showed us that John Kadlecik has come into his own. While I used to criticize Kadlecik for not being an artist but a craftsman he sounded like a fantastic musician with a good voice. Ramble on Rose was never a song that I got excited about but the version that the band played tonight was filled with energy and jams that were inspired, not contrived. Staying with Kadlecik, Loser sounded fantastic and inspired. As Todd (my host) and I were watching Kadlecik jam, we were discussing how stoked this man must be to go from being part of a Grateful Dead cover band (Okay Dark Star Orchestra is the premier Dead cover band) to being the lead guitar player in Furthur...it was obvious that he feels that way. On to what appears to be a Bob Weir original called Money for Gasoline. Phil Lesh closes the set with Box of Rain. I am not the biggest fan of Phil's voice but was impressed with this Box, he just sounded good. This shouldn't be the only mention of Phil. Phil is the premier and possibly truly the only world class musician in this band. His bass work is not only powerful, it is complex and gives the band the framework they need to get the job done.
Second set and I see a skinny hippie type with a beard on stage. While at first it looks like it could be part of the crew I notice a new microphone on stage. Hmmm, Jackie Greene? No, on closer inspection, it is Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes!!! What a treat! They open up with Bob Dylan's You Ain't Going Nowhere (occasionally covered by the Crowes). On to the more well known blues classic that made the Crowes famous, Hard to Handle. This was incredible. This song is not only a Crowes cover, this song is part of Grateful Dead history. Anyone who hears old covers with Ron "Pigpen" McKernan putting his heart and soul into it knows what I am talking about. They slowed it down still with Chris singing the seldom heard Two Souls in Communion; showing it doesn't have to be fast to be powerful.. Chris Robinson really brought it to Furthur. This combination could create big commercial success. When Chis left, Furthur brought the show back to the psychedelic old school Grateful Dead sound with Cryptical Envelopment> The Other One >Cryptical Envelopment> Wheel>Supplication (Supplication was more of a tease into a hot jam). They slowed it down to a heavy Death Don't Have No Mercy; lots of good Bob Weir screams during Death and Jeff Chimenti ripping it up on the Hammond B3. After sitting down during Death (I'm not that 17 year old kid anymore) they forced me to get back up and dance to the tried and true China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider. Everyone got a piece of China/Rider. Lastly, the band comes back out to encore with fan favorite Attics of My Life.
I really wanted to like this show and the show didn't disappoint. The crowd was right, the band was right and the venue was right. I normally like a small indoor show, where you can have a real connection with the artist but this was something special. The surroundings were beautiful maybe even majestic and the acoustics were borderline perfect. I look forward to tonight's show but am wondering if it can only pale in comparison to last night
Arriving at Red Rocks the grounds are beautiful. Seeing the huge red rocks from the parking lot can make one feel small. It doesn't even look real, more like a set for a Disneyland ride. The parking lot was getting filled with middle aged hippie types, old dead-heads, and a number of younger fans that looked like they belonged there but not a hardcore scene like days of Grateful Dead past. Going to see a show in the West is more mellow than the shows in the East, less yelling and screaming and sloppy partiers. When I was younger, I really liked the East scene but this is more my speed now.
On to the show! On the inside of the venue was simply majestic. The band comes out and opens up with Aiko and sounds great. Back to the seventies era with the Greatest Story Ever Told. Bobby's voice is sounding better than I have heard since the days of the Grateful Dead. Cold Rain and Snow showed us that John Kadlecik has come into his own. While I used to criticize Kadlecik for not being an artist but a craftsman he sounded like a fantastic musician with a good voice. Ramble on Rose was never a song that I got excited about but the version that the band played tonight was filled with energy and jams that were inspired, not contrived. Staying with Kadlecik, Loser sounded fantastic and inspired. As Todd (my host) and I were watching Kadlecik jam, we were discussing how stoked this man must be to go from being part of a Grateful Dead cover band (Okay Dark Star Orchestra is the premier Dead cover band) to being the lead guitar player in Furthur...it was obvious that he feels that way. On to what appears to be a Bob Weir original called Money for Gasoline. Phil Lesh closes the set with Box of Rain. I am not the biggest fan of Phil's voice but was impressed with this Box, he just sounded good. This shouldn't be the only mention of Phil. Phil is the premier and possibly truly the only world class musician in this band. His bass work is not only powerful, it is complex and gives the band the framework they need to get the job done.
Second set and I see a skinny hippie type with a beard on stage. While at first it looks like it could be part of the crew I notice a new microphone on stage. Hmmm, Jackie Greene? No, on closer inspection, it is Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes!!! What a treat! They open up with Bob Dylan's You Ain't Going Nowhere (occasionally covered by the Crowes). On to the more well known blues classic that made the Crowes famous, Hard to Handle. This was incredible. This song is not only a Crowes cover, this song is part of Grateful Dead history. Anyone who hears old covers with Ron "Pigpen" McKernan putting his heart and soul into it knows what I am talking about. They slowed it down still with Chris singing the seldom heard Two Souls in Communion; showing it doesn't have to be fast to be powerful.. Chris Robinson really brought it to Furthur. This combination could create big commercial success. When Chis left, Furthur brought the show back to the psychedelic old school Grateful Dead sound with Cryptical Envelopment> The Other One >Cryptical Envelopment> Wheel>Supplication (Supplication was more of a tease into a hot jam). They slowed it down to a heavy Death Don't Have No Mercy; lots of good Bob Weir screams during Death and Jeff Chimenti ripping it up on the Hammond B3. After sitting down during Death (I'm not that 17 year old kid anymore) they forced me to get back up and dance to the tried and true China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider. Everyone got a piece of China/Rider. Lastly, the band comes back out to encore with fan favorite Attics of My Life.
I really wanted to like this show and the show didn't disappoint. The crowd was right, the band was right and the venue was right. I normally like a small indoor show, where you can have a real connection with the artist but this was something special. The surroundings were beautiful maybe even majestic and the acoustics were borderline perfect. I look forward to tonight's show but am wondering if it can only pale in comparison to last night
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Riverside (Milwaukee, WI)
We had to miss the August 25th Chicago Theatre Tedeschi Trucks Band show due to a work function (being a grown up is so unjust). Instead we decided to make a small road trip out of it and go see them in Milwaukee. Due to my friend Mike's wife not being able to make the show my son Michael was the lucky recipient of the 4th ticket (he is a big DerekTrucks fan). We got to the theatre around 7:45 after a heavy dinner. The Riverside is an old, ornate and small theatre. Similar to the Rivera but with assigned seating.
At a smaller show like this I usually dread an opening act. Evey now and then I am wrong but this was not one of those cases. The opening act was Scrapomatic. This was an acoustic guitar, electric guitar and vocals by Mike Mattison (lead singer of the Derek Trucks Band...yes the guy with the funky hair). The sound was awful. It was too loud and the environment was not right. I understood the intent of what they were doing and Mike Mattison has a great voice but this was not where they belonged. This was the right band for a daytime show at a festival somewhere. I could enjoy them more while eating a funnel cake or deep fried Oreo. The best I could hope for is that the sound people heard how bad it was and took the opportunity to fix the mix and get us a better sound for TTB.
TTB came out around 9:30 and got right to work. I have to comment that as a working couple, these two really dig each other...coming out on the stage with their arms around each other's wastes, even though this is what they do night after night. First song is Joe Cocker's Space Captain which set the pace for an incredible evening. Susan starts with just vocals, although with Susan, saying "just vocals" isn't fair. This woman is wicked. She tears right through you. Derek walks around stage without much swagger and just plays like any other band member until all of a sudden you notice he is building into something sweet, complex and beautiful. Without even seeing him coming, Derek picked me up grabbed my feet spun me around the room and threw me into a musical flight that felt great! The closest comparison I can make is Yoda. Nobody realizes Yoda can kick their ass until it is too late.
The band slows down to their own classic (and one of my favorites) Midnight in Harlem played flawlessly. She has the voice of an angel. At this point the only frustration is that the mix is still off. They have the vocals too loud. I am not sure if it is the venue or the people at the Soundboard. Through the night it got better but was never perfect. On to Come See About Me and then what was looking to finally be an uneventfull moment with Don't Let Me Slide. As far as an uneventful moment, I couldn't be more wrong. Oteil Burbidge, starts to lay down some bass lines to set up a frame work for his brother Kofi Bubridge who belted out a wicked keyboard solo. This is probably a good time to mention that Oteil LOVES what he does. This man could not control himself. I have never seen a bass player as animated as Oteil. He couldn't even stay on stage having to walk and jump around (oh and by the way, he is a fantastic bassist). Off to another slow starter with Until You Remember. Then Susan's voice cut me to shreds slowly. TTB changed gears to cover The Beatles' I've Got a Feeling with Mike Mattison and Susan sharing vocals, how do you not feel great after this? On to a slow song and blues song that I dont know the names of. Like all of the songs so far tonight, Derek has built in some sort of tasty jam. Mike Mattison comes back out to share the front on the cover of Eric Clapton's Any Day. This jam turns out to be something pretty special, considering a night of "specials". Derek pulls into his most intense jam of the evening, going so far as to break a string in the middle and without missing a beat changes guitars, twice. After giving us a chance to catch our breath TTB jumps into cover the Stevie Wonder classic Uptight. Uptight leads to a hot trumpet lead and off to a fantastic drum jam with Oteil staying in to create something spacey. Eventually Oteil steps up to the microphone during this spacey jam to scat (and he was good). The show closer was Bound for Glory. Bound for Glory was such a crescendo that it was obvious that they could go no further and had to get off the stage. We weren't going to let them go for that long. On to the three song encore. They played the slow and somewhat uneventful (only by this show's standards)Shelter with background singer Mark Rivers sharing the front with Susan. Then the jam of the night. Sing a Simple Song into I Want to Take You Higher both by Sly and the Family Stone left me drooling. Mike Mattison and Mark Rivers playing baritone and falsetto roles sounded fantastic. I believe even the greatest of concerts have a defining moment and being a funk fan, this would be it for me.
This band is into what they do. You can see that they truly enjoy each others music. There was even a section behind the drums where you could see different member of the band going to play percussion instruments when they weren't featured on stage. If you aren't familiar with the music that I am referencing, go onto youtube and pull up clips of TTB and enjoy.
At a smaller show like this I usually dread an opening act. Evey now and then I am wrong but this was not one of those cases. The opening act was Scrapomatic. This was an acoustic guitar, electric guitar and vocals by Mike Mattison (lead singer of the Derek Trucks Band...yes the guy with the funky hair). The sound was awful. It was too loud and the environment was not right. I understood the intent of what they were doing and Mike Mattison has a great voice but this was not where they belonged. This was the right band for a daytime show at a festival somewhere. I could enjoy them more while eating a funnel cake or deep fried Oreo. The best I could hope for is that the sound people heard how bad it was and took the opportunity to fix the mix and get us a better sound for TTB.
TTB came out around 9:30 and got right to work. I have to comment that as a working couple, these two really dig each other...coming out on the stage with their arms around each other's wastes, even though this is what they do night after night. First song is Joe Cocker's Space Captain which set the pace for an incredible evening. Susan starts with just vocals, although with Susan, saying "just vocals" isn't fair. This woman is wicked. She tears right through you. Derek walks around stage without much swagger and just plays like any other band member until all of a sudden you notice he is building into something sweet, complex and beautiful. Without even seeing him coming, Derek picked me up grabbed my feet spun me around the room and threw me into a musical flight that felt great! The closest comparison I can make is Yoda. Nobody realizes Yoda can kick their ass until it is too late.
The band slows down to their own classic (and one of my favorites) Midnight in Harlem played flawlessly. She has the voice of an angel. At this point the only frustration is that the mix is still off. They have the vocals too loud. I am not sure if it is the venue or the people at the Soundboard. Through the night it got better but was never perfect. On to Come See About Me and then what was looking to finally be an uneventfull moment with Don't Let Me Slide. As far as an uneventful moment, I couldn't be more wrong. Oteil Burbidge, starts to lay down some bass lines to set up a frame work for his brother Kofi Bubridge who belted out a wicked keyboard solo. This is probably a good time to mention that Oteil LOVES what he does. This man could not control himself. I have never seen a bass player as animated as Oteil. He couldn't even stay on stage having to walk and jump around (oh and by the way, he is a fantastic bassist). Off to another slow starter with Until You Remember. Then Susan's voice cut me to shreds slowly. TTB changed gears to cover The Beatles' I've Got a Feeling with Mike Mattison and Susan sharing vocals, how do you not feel great after this? On to a slow song and blues song that I dont know the names of. Like all of the songs so far tonight, Derek has built in some sort of tasty jam. Mike Mattison comes back out to share the front on the cover of Eric Clapton's Any Day. This jam turns out to be something pretty special, considering a night of "specials". Derek pulls into his most intense jam of the evening, going so far as to break a string in the middle and without missing a beat changes guitars, twice. After giving us a chance to catch our breath TTB jumps into cover the Stevie Wonder classic Uptight. Uptight leads to a hot trumpet lead and off to a fantastic drum jam with Oteil staying in to create something spacey. Eventually Oteil steps up to the microphone during this spacey jam to scat (and he was good). The show closer was Bound for Glory. Bound for Glory was such a crescendo that it was obvious that they could go no further and had to get off the stage. We weren't going to let them go for that long. On to the three song encore. They played the slow and somewhat uneventful (only by this show's standards)Shelter with background singer Mark Rivers sharing the front with Susan. Then the jam of the night. Sing a Simple Song into I Want to Take You Higher both by Sly and the Family Stone left me drooling. Mike Mattison and Mark Rivers playing baritone and falsetto roles sounded fantastic. I believe even the greatest of concerts have a defining moment and being a funk fan, this would be it for me.
This band is into what they do. You can see that they truly enjoy each others music. There was even a section behind the drums where you could see different member of the band going to play percussion instruments when they weren't featured on stage. If you aren't familiar with the music that I am referencing, go onto youtube and pull up clips of TTB and enjoy.
Some shows not posted
So far in 2011, I have been to some great shows. While we dealt with a personal tragedy at home, Stacey (my wife) stayed understanding of my need to let loose at an occasional show. I didn't keep up with posting these shows and write ups but, will give brief run down of some of them:
* Leo Nocentelli at Space-This show started off great and Leo played many of the Meters classics that I love (which makes sense as a founding member of the Meters). Leo put the gas on but never took the petal off. As my friend Mike said during the show "if Leo was a chef, it would be an all Habenero menu" While this may seem appealing, we needed to get a little space between the heat he laid down. A highlight of if the night was Leo's bass player, who played a 7 string bass and made it sound like a mixture of piano, guitar and bass. I am glad I went and had a good time overall
*Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Space- WOW!!!!! These guys blew my mind! I have been listening to them for a few years but this was my first time seeing them. No set list to report (too late for that) and it is hard to express in a blog that feeling you get when you see this type of band but these guys gave me that deep down good feeling. Each musician was brilliant on their own but when they worked together, they created that NOLA sound like no other can. DDBB created the NOLA brass band sound as we know it today. The biggest highlight of the night was getting "Dirty Old Man" Roger Lewis out for the encore of Dirty Old Man. This was my first time hearing/seeing this jam and it didn't not disappoint. By the end of the song, there were a few women on stage to "shake it, don't break it". I don't want to miss this again! Lastly, it would be a shame not to mention the tuba player, Kirk Joseph. I kept looking on stage for a bass player because there were some solid bass lines coming out of this band. What I came to realize is that this tuba player has all the agility of a bass player and laid bass lines with the best of them.
In this same show John Cleary opened up. He was fantastic as well. All I heard about him is that he plays with John Scofield....instant credibility in my mind. Cleary stayed at his piano and gave us a treat with his deep soulful voice Alhtough he seemed like pure NOLA, hearing his English accent, one realizes that it is his sole that is from NOLA but his body is from the UK. This guy is an relatively unknown great musician and a real treat.
*Rebirth Brass Band at Space- We can keep this one simple. They were solid. While not the Dirty Dozen, they are vibrant and a true NOLA classic. They kept it hot and dirty. Tunes like Do WatchaWanna and Feel Like Funkin' It Up and covers of Casanova and Used to Lov Her didn't fail to bring a smile to my face.
*Warren Haynes Band at The Park West-This one was game changer. Over the last 3 years, I have become a huge GOVT Mule fan so it scares me to admit that this band may be better than the Mule. While I don't know the band that well, Ron Johnson (from Tiny Universe) on bass and Ron Holloway on sax were stand outs. The show played mostly stuff from Warren's latest album which were full of soul. A few highlights (who am I kidding....WHB is a highlight reel) were Soulshine-Tupelo Honey-Soulshine and second set solo acoustic Roller Derby Queen (Jim Groce). I NEED MORE!!!!!
*Steve Miller Band at The Chicago Theatre- Who doesn't lik Steve Miller? He has something for eveyone. I have seen him about 7 times before while he was opening up for the Greatful Dead. He was always fun but never mind blowing(due to the large venues). This night he was very good. This played like a "best of" but, let's face it, Steve Miller's history is like a "best of". It was a real treat having Sunny Charles (leader of the Checkmates) on stage singing back up and leading with songs like Tramp (by Otis Redding). This was not the type of show that blows your mind and leaves you drooling wondering what just happened to you. We had fun and enjoyed ourselves for a few hours listening to new takes on some Steve Miller classics.
So far so good. It has been a fun year for music up unto this point
* Leo Nocentelli at Space-This show started off great and Leo played many of the Meters classics that I love (which makes sense as a founding member of the Meters). Leo put the gas on but never took the petal off. As my friend Mike said during the show "if Leo was a chef, it would be an all Habenero menu" While this may seem appealing, we needed to get a little space between the heat he laid down. A highlight of if the night was Leo's bass player, who played a 7 string bass and made it sound like a mixture of piano, guitar and bass. I am glad I went and had a good time overall
*Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Space- WOW!!!!! These guys blew my mind! I have been listening to them for a few years but this was my first time seeing them. No set list to report (too late for that) and it is hard to express in a blog that feeling you get when you see this type of band but these guys gave me that deep down good feeling. Each musician was brilliant on their own but when they worked together, they created that NOLA sound like no other can. DDBB created the NOLA brass band sound as we know it today. The biggest highlight of the night was getting "Dirty Old Man" Roger Lewis out for the encore of Dirty Old Man. This was my first time hearing/seeing this jam and it didn't not disappoint. By the end of the song, there were a few women on stage to "shake it, don't break it". I don't want to miss this again! Lastly, it would be a shame not to mention the tuba player, Kirk Joseph. I kept looking on stage for a bass player because there were some solid bass lines coming out of this band. What I came to realize is that this tuba player has all the agility of a bass player and laid bass lines with the best of them.
In this same show John Cleary opened up. He was fantastic as well. All I heard about him is that he plays with John Scofield....instant credibility in my mind. Cleary stayed at his piano and gave us a treat with his deep soulful voice Alhtough he seemed like pure NOLA, hearing his English accent, one realizes that it is his sole that is from NOLA but his body is from the UK. This guy is an relatively unknown great musician and a real treat.
*Rebirth Brass Band at Space- We can keep this one simple. They were solid. While not the Dirty Dozen, they are vibrant and a true NOLA classic. They kept it hot and dirty. Tunes like Do WatchaWanna and Feel Like Funkin' It Up and covers of Casanova and Used to Lov Her didn't fail to bring a smile to my face.
*Warren Haynes Band at The Park West-This one was game changer. Over the last 3 years, I have become a huge GOVT Mule fan so it scares me to admit that this band may be better than the Mule. While I don't know the band that well, Ron Johnson (from Tiny Universe) on bass and Ron Holloway on sax were stand outs. The show played mostly stuff from Warren's latest album which were full of soul. A few highlights (who am I kidding....WHB is a highlight reel) were Soulshine-Tupelo Honey-Soulshine and second set solo acoustic Roller Derby Queen (Jim Groce). I NEED MORE!!!!!
*Steve Miller Band at The Chicago Theatre- Who doesn't lik Steve Miller? He has something for eveyone. I have seen him about 7 times before while he was opening up for the Greatful Dead. He was always fun but never mind blowing(due to the large venues). This night he was very good. This played like a "best of" but, let's face it, Steve Miller's history is like a "best of". It was a real treat having Sunny Charles (leader of the Checkmates) on stage singing back up and leading with songs like Tramp (by Otis Redding). This was not the type of show that blows your mind and leaves you drooling wondering what just happened to you. We had fun and enjoyed ourselves for a few hours listening to new takes on some Steve Miller classics.
So far so good. It has been a fun year for music up unto this point
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