Author Topic: More Concert Reviews (Ad Nauseum), LOL! (Read 981 times)

kmh364 · « **on:** August 28, 2006, 10:01:15 AM »

OK, after a conspicuous absence, I'm back to bore and/or annoy the Alembic Collective with yet another edition of my endless series of concert reviews. For brevity's sake, I'll make one blurb covering the three shows I've attended this past week. (all shows were at semi-outdoor PNC Bank Arts Center in centrally-located Holmdel, NJ)

CSN&Y:

Yes, Neil is back! The boys are looking a little worse for the wear these days, what with their Senior Citizen cards in full effect, LOL! Stills is looking particularly bad, and appears to be more portly in girth than even the mighty David Crosby!

Looks aside, they're still in fine voice. I was teased and pleased by Graham's and David's cameo during the David Gilmour show I caught earlier this year, so I just had to catch this show.

I wasn't disappointed. It was a nice night (weather wise) and I was able to sneak right in and park up front on the bike. The place was mobbed.

Despite the inclusion of (nearly) every new Neil Young protest tune off of his new album (including his CNN-style LWW: Living With War vids (same name as th album) chronicling the US deaths and faux-pas of Bush's Iraqi War), which were not bad at all (especially if you're anti-Bush), they pulled out a bunch of chestnuts to satisfy the dinosaurs in the audience (like myself). At least they were mixed in with the old stuff...Rolling Stone's review of the earlier dates stated that the whole first set was NOTHING BUT LWW).

Wooden Ships opened the show, and Long Time Gone (both from the debut CSN album) was thrown in as well. Guinnevere was stunning. Lots of Deja Vu tunes including the title track, Teach Your Children (with a decent non-Jerry pedal steel accompanyment), Our House and a reworked Almost Cut My Hair. Neil did Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Graham threw in Military Madness and Neil and Stephen did a number from one of their Stills/Young albums that escapes me at the moment. A few of Crosby/Nash ditty's (Southbound Train, Carry Me and Immigration Man) rounded-out the show. As I was walking to the bike so I could scoot unmolested from the venue (I made it out in less than 2mins!), they were encoring with a heavily re-worked Buffalo Springfield classic For What It's Worth as part of a medley I didn't stick around to finish hearing.

All in all, it was a good show. While singing Find The Cost Of Freedom, they displayed the pix of all the US casualties from Iraq, and tallying the losses telathon-style. It was sickening to learn that, as of last Sunday, 2,604 Americans had lost their lives in Iraq since Mar. '03. Apparently, CSN&Y are as politically active as they were back in the day. Regardless of your political view, it was still a great show. Catch 'em before they dissappear for good.

Highly Recommended!

The Allman Bros. Band:

Gregg and company are still in fine voice and tune. The band line-up hasn't changed for years. My only complaint would be that they are (still) playing a lot of newer material and not solely concentrating on the old Duane-era stuff. Bummer, because both Warren and Derek can wail on slide.

I support the Bros. and go see them at least once each year. If you like lot's 'o dual guitar jams, you can't go wrong with the original Southern Rock band.

Highly Recommended!

Steely Dan:

What can I say that hasn't been said already about the mighty Dan! No new album (although Donald Fagen released his Morph The Cat cd this year and Walter's new solo cd is due imminently) to support this time, so they reverted to old chestnuts. For the first time since '96 there were NO tunes from the 2vN and EMG discs (orig. released 2000 and 2003, respectively).

This year's tour, billed as the Steelyard Sugartooth Steely McDan Tour includes an opening act for the first time since '93: former SD sideman, Doobie Bros. frontman and current solo artist Michael McDonald.
While Im not a huge fan of his solo stuff (nor of his DB-era stuff either), he has a sublime voice that is integral to, and easily discernable from, early Dan studio stuff. He was well received by the crowd, and played for at least an hour and a half. He mixed in alll his stuff and even had a gospel choir for his Motown bit. Despite his Pop-leanings, he's very talented and the show was good. The more he played, the more enthusiastically the crowd responded. Later on in SD's set he came out for a few numbers and the encore.

The Dan Band is still the virtually the same since 2000...just substitute Freddie Washington for Tom Barney on bass, Jeff Young for Ted Baker on keys, and Keith Carlock for Ricky Lawson on drums (of course, the late, great Cornelius Bumpus was not in attendance). This is the DF Band I saw earlier this year, plus Walter Becker and minus Wayne Krantz.

Thank God that Walter no longer sings (lead) and isn't noodling as incessantly on the guitar as in the past...although he still plays too much and too often. Jon Herrington gets better on guitar each time I see him...he needs to be: Larry Carlton (et al) left big shoes to fill!

Regardless, it was still great. They played most of AJA. I would have prefered all of The Royal Scam or Katy Lied as I've heard lot's of AJA.
If you're a fan, catch 'em while you can before they disappear for good.

Highly Recommended!

bigredbass · « **Reply #1 on:** August 28, 2006, 06:10:37 PM »

The Big K:

By any chance, as they were wandering their catalog, did they pull out 'Glamour Profession' (chart the bass line to THAT one sometime!)? I always picture this tune being writ back in Walter's bad days. The smarmy disco-ness of it I always felt was a New Yorker's sarcastic take on LA and the days of rolling up $100s for straws . . . An 'outside' tune, even for them.

With MMcD in tow, did they do 'Pretzel Logic'?

J o e y

lidon2001 · « **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2006, 06:24:57 PM »

Sounds like great shows.

Speaking of concerts...

I had the opportunity to see the last performance of this leg of the Adrian Belew Trio. It was in a very intimate club setting, about 150 people at most. The guy is just amazing with his guitar work. Adrian uses a Boomerang phrase sampler often to start the melody then start playing his other guitar work over it. The amazing part is his use of backward guitar effects, where he plays the notes/licks and you then hear them a second or two later while singing in time with the song. I am always amazed at his skills.

Speaking of skills, the duo behind him were Juile and Eric Slick from Pennsylvania, USA. Eric, 19, is just a monster on the drums. As Adrian said, I wasn't that good until I was 24. I have to assume you will hear that name in the future, he's that good. His sister, Julie, 20, did a very good job on the low end with her Fender Jazz bass. Yes, 19 and 20 on tour with Mr. Belew. Their mother was holding down the CD table. Everyone hung out afterwards and were able to share a few moments with the band, pictures, autographs, etc. Just a great night.

They start up again on the west coast of FL in November. Check them out if you can.

Next on my list is Jeff Beck at the Hard Rock in a couple weeks.

(Message edited by lidon2001 on August 28, 2006)

(Message edited by lidon2001 on August 28, 2006)

kmh364 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 29, 2006, 05:19:09 AM »

Joey:

No, not this time around. I have seen 'em do both live in the past, though (if memory serves). I was actually kind of disappointed in the song selection. The pre-tour hype insinuated that a lot of old chestnuts would be unearthed for this tour, but I didn't find that to be the case. They always do AJA stuff, and this time they went overboard. While Hey 19 and Time Out Of Mind from Gaucho were covered, they ignored the rest of the better mat'l, especially my fave 3rd World Man. They had MMD sing lead on a couple of tunes, but my early-morning migraine and early onset Old Timers disease has left me with a bit of a brain f*rt. It'll come to me (eventually).

jet_powers · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2006, 06:47:41 AM »

Sunday night I unexpectedly found myself at the Boston area Steely Dan concert. I was never a huge fan but was amazed at just how extensive their catalog is. As the set went on I kept commenting, Oh yeah, I forgot about that one!. I was disappointed they did not do Pretzel Logic, but it was a good showing by the band nonetheless. I noted to my friend that Harrington was taking more solos than Becker. His response? Well, he should. He's a better guitarist!

JP

hydrargyrum · « **Reply #5 on:** August 29, 2006, 07:04:39 AM »

I had my first oppurtunity to see The Flaming Lips live over the weekend, and have to say it was perhaps the best concert I have ever seen. They have an incredible multimedia stage show, and the band was really tight. The Magic Numbers and Sonic Youth opened. The Magic Numbers did a great set, but Sonic Youth was a little disappointing. Some blamed it on a bad mix, (which is somewhat fair), but the band also seemed to lack energy.

kmh364 · « **Reply #6 on:** August 29, 2006, 10:41:11 AM »

Yes, Jon Herrington is an excellent guitartist, much better than Walter. Walter still plays way too much for my taste. His leads are monotonous and predictable. He solos over Peg almost in it's entirety and it's, frankly, frustrating and boring. Jon plays something different each time. He was an undergrad music student at Rutgers with my guitar teach (Steven Hayes)...Rutgers guitar profs. must have done a good job at teaching improvisation as they're both excellent players and improvisers.

While I've never seen a bad Dan show, they really could have seized more on the opportunity to do oldies, especially ones that feature the vocals of MMD. Regardless, it was still an excellent show.

David Houck · « **Reply #7 on:** August 29, 2006, 05:01:22 PM »

Kevin; for what it's forth, I enjoy and look forward to your reviews.

kmh364 · « **Reply #8 on:** August 30, 2006, 05:35:03 AM »

Thanks much Dave! That means something coming from you. I think I'm safe speaking for the vast majority of the Alembic collective when I say you are both highly liked and respected.

kmh364 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 30, 2006, 06:04:51 AM »

FWIW, I took my buddy to see the Brothers as the girlfriend had a change of shift since I bought the tix. As was the case last year, I was disappointed by the song selection. Since Gregg has been on the wagon he's looking, acting and most importantly, sounding much better. A couple of years ago he did a Q104.3FM (NYC) radio interview (the day of the Jones Beach date, if memory serves), where he came clean about his former destructive behaviour, and stated that the Bros. would be playing more classic ABB tunes.

The last two years, the opposite has been true. I have become increasingly more disappointed with their setlists. Apparently, the DTB and Gov't Mule jam-band influence has taken over the Bros. priorites. While I'm sure it's frustrating to be hemmed-in to playing the same old stuff for decades (i.e., the Beach Boys), unfortunately, that's what the fans wanna hear (this fan included, and I've been regularly attending their shows since the '79 reunion tour). My buddy (also a long time guitarist) made the same comment. Warren is, I'm afraid, becoming monotonous (my bud commented about the repetitious lead patterns)in his ABB role, and Derek wants to play anything but the classic Duane licks (he forgot the slide lead in I Ain't Wastin' Time No More until about halfway thru).

C'mon guys, some Come And Go Blues or Revival would go a long way! Leave Soul Shine in the dressing room and give us the old It's Not My Cross To Bear opener that spanned the decades! Whippin' Post anyone?

kilowatt · « **Reply #10 on:** August 30, 2006, 02:36:44 PM »

Kevin,
I agree with Dave, as I also like to read your concert reviews. Dave, I also agree with Kevin about your status in our humble community. You have always been very helpful.
I also made the ABB show the same night. My keyboard player's brother-in-law is on the Art Centers board of directors and we sat in the 7th row. I had a great time, but the show was on the short side by ABB standards. I also thought that Oteils bass could have been louder in the mix. Come And Go Blues is one of my favorite tunes and would definately have been a welcome addition. I think that some changes are coming to the ABB in the not to distant future.

Regards,
Pete

kmh364 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 31, 2006, 05:25:06 AM »

Thanks, Pete.

I wish I had known you were there (@ ABB)...I would have said hello. You had much better seats than me...all three of those shows saw me in sections 301 or 304 as I was unwilling to get hosed even more than I already had for overpriced tix. I should have talked to you before buying tix @ the PNC, LOL!

NEXT SHOW UP: 'ole Rog! Roger Waters The Creative Genius Behind Pink Floyd (sic...the official publicity quote, not mine, LOL!) featuring Nick Mason (et al) performing Dark Side Of The Moon in it's entirety at the PNC on Wed., Sept. 6. Boy, did I overpay for this one!

Cheers,

Kevin

bigredbass · « **Reply #12 on:** August 31, 2006, 10:14:58 AM »

It's amazing to me that after Gregg's history of feeding his monkey, he ostensibly parted ways with D Betts over the same thing. Anybody know the real story?

J o e y

David Houck · « **Reply #13 on:** August 31, 2006, 11:58:52 AM »

Well I finally went out to see a show. Last night I saw Eric Johnson. On bass this tour is Roscoe Beck. Beck is of course a highly regarded bass player, so I was looking forward to seeing both players.

I went with the guitar player I play with, and his observations were the same as mine.

The sound was .. painful. The PA was overdriven. The bass was incredibly muddy. It was loud and high in the mix, but you couldn't make out what he was playing; it was just low frequency noise, and lots of it. Johnson is of course known for his wonderful tone; but what's the point in having wonderful tone if it's mixed with loud, painful low frequency noise?

The drummer was Tommy Taylor. I usually enjoy listening to drummers, but Taylor was pretty much buried under Johnson and Beck, so I really can't say anything about him other than the fact that he was there.

At one point Johnson and Taylor left the stage and Beck played a solo. It was the one time you could hear to some degree what Beck was actually playing. It still sounded bad out front, but you could tell that before the PA mangled it, his tone was probably quite nice. His solo was a very nice arrangement of Round Midnight. I would love to have actually heard it out of his rig.

The highlight was Johnson's solo. With Taylor and Beck off stage, there was no more painful bass noise and we could finally appreciate Johnson's wonderful tone. My guitar player, a Johnson fan who has seen him many times, did report that the PA mix did not faithfully reproduce Johnson's tone, saying that it sounded like it was being bumped up in the midrange. Still, this was by far the most enjoyable, or perhaps more accurately the only enjoyable, portion of the show.

My guitar player has been to many shows at this venue, the Orange Peel in Asheville, and he reports that this is the worst sound he's experienced there. He says that in every other show he's seen there the sound has been good quality. He also says that the other Eric Johnson shows he's seen did not sound like this one. So we have no idea why this one sounded so bad.

I enjoyed getting together with my guitar player to go see a show. I guess that was the real highlight of the evening.

lbpesq · « **Reply #14 on:** August 31, 2006, 12:21:22 PM »

Ah yes, another bass player who realizes the benefits of hanging out with guitarists. Keep displaying wisdom like this Dave, and you might just earn your two extra strings someday! (nyuk, nyuk)

Seriously though, the only thing that amazes me more than how bad sound can be at some shows is how many people in the audience don't even know the difference. Having cut my teeth on about 200 or so Dead shows, I am completely spoiled when it comes to P.A. It's too bad that many bands don't care or aren't willing to spend the $ to insure good sound. Just let 'em listen to incredibly muddy ... loud ... low frequency noise, and lots of it, so long as all the red M&Ms are removed from the green room spread!

Bill, tgo