We've got our new digs and we'll be getting the infrastructure set up over the next week. We won't have internet access until next week (not that it would affect my posting regularly). I'll be updating our contact info shortly for those interested.
We’re settling in…
Concert Review - Rush in Dallas, 8/11/07
Rush returned to Smirnoff Music Centre in Dallas after a 3 year hiatus following the 2004 30th Anniversary tour. They performed in support of their most recent studio album Snakes and Arrows, their 18th studio album (I don't count Feedback) and first new release since 2002's Vapor Trails. They brought the monstrosity that is a Rush tour in it's full glory to the stage for over 3 hours of proggy splendiferousness. (feel free to quote me there).
Featuring the standard Rush show of lights, video, ear crushing decibel levels, rotisserie chicken (wah?) and fricking laser beams, there was something for everyone. (don't forget you can't get something for nothing, though) (sorry, couldn't help it). They opened the show with the perennial favorite Limelight (bookending with the last tour as this was the previous closer) and brought back some deeper album cuts including Digital Man and Entre Nous, followed by Mission and Freewill before introducing some new material.
The first new cut was the instrumental The Main Monkey Business which featured videos of monkeys and various other primates performing chucklelicous tasks like talking on the phone and driving a car (looking like the old film reels you've probably seen before) whilst a couple of the crew chefs came out and basted the rotisserie chickens. Yes, chickens. This year Geddy decided to escalate the superfluous gear arms race by replacing the dryers and rotating vending machine with three separate full size rotisserie chicken ovens like you would see at a restaurant. And yes, they were miced. Apparently he's no longer satisfied with the warm/dry tone and wanted a little more gristle and grease in his signal path. (lest we forget, talking about tone is akin to swimming about politics)
This was followed by The Larger Bowl from Snakes & Arrows and then Secret Touch from Vapor Trails. That led to a very deep cut in Circumstances from Hemispheres which I know hasn't been played in a long time, if ever. Next was my favorite Grace Under Pressure tune, Between the Wheels and then the set was closed out by Dreamline, which is one of the standouts off Roll the Bones.
Another amusing moment from the first set was about halfway into Limelight when Alex got a chance to see the little board babes (barbie dolls placed down by his pedals holding up post it notes like they were signs). The generally describe acts that are illegal in most countries or make salient observations you would expect from a groupie. I think the crew members make new batches up every night. As is typical, he was laughing until he had to focus on the solo. I hope someone is keeping a track of these messages as the ones I have seen are pretty funny. Examples are listed below.
After the intermission, they returned with a mini-set of all new material including Far Cry, Working them Angels, Armor & Sword, Spindrift, and The Way the Wind Blows. The pictures in Angels were especially moving, featuring people from various walks of life like construction workers, janitors, waitresses, nurses, and soldiers all with pairs of angel wings on their backs. All of the new material sounded even better live and got a really positive response from the crowd. After the new material they dipped back into the vault with Subdivisions, Natural Science, and Witch Hunt before returning to the new album with an instrumental section including Malignant Narcissim, the drum solo, and Hope. PGA tour Rocco Mediate (who had been checking out the stage pre-show, and gave me a very puzzled look when I shouted his name) came out to perform the chefly duties wearing a Rush baseball shirt and the chef's hat, of course.
They closed out the second set with Distant Early Warning, Spirit of Radio and Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer included an intro by the South Park kids with Cartman portraying Geddy Lee on the keyboards totally screwing up the lyrics. It was hilarious. There's a clip of that below as well. They came out for one encore, starting with One Little Victory (including that darn dragon and his flamethrowers), A Passage to Bangkok, and closing the show with YYZ.
From a technical standpoint the show went very well. There were no major equipment or performance problems and the sound was good to my ears which were admittedly overloaded in the second row. I'm sure the best sound was in the second tier of seats near the middle. It's always a trade off between a good view and a good sound mix. All three players performed superbly as expected and they still seem to be enjoying themselves putting on these shows. We had an excellent view of the whole stage from the second row on Alex's side and I was able to feast on the fretboard as much as I desired. The front row center got all the picks though. Bastards.
My overall impression of this show is much the same as the R30 show in that Rush is putting on the most complete show of their career and easily one of the best concert experiences anywhere in the world. They manage to combine overpowering sound, lights, video, lazers, smoke, snakes, dragons, humor, a deep set list, and just the force of their wills upon the audience of twenty thousand. I feel truly lucky that these guys still love to write, record and perform music and share it with their fans. Their love of music is what keeps them in the business more than thirty years since they started. I highly doubt there are any financial considerations at all, except perhaps to continue funding their ability to make music in the future.
Geddy closed the show out by saying "I hope we can see you guys again sometime", which I am hoping means they still feel like they have something to offer by returning to the studio and subsequently the stage in the future. No one could fault them for retiring after all they have accomplished in their careers, and we can at least live with the knowledge that we have their very large selection of DVDs and albums to relive the live experience as many times as we want in the future. Something tells me they're not done yet, though. Here's hoping.
Gear:
Alex: He played a variety of Les Pauls, the Gibson Howard Roberts, his iconic White Gibson ES-355 (rumor says a Gibson signature model is in works), various Garrison Acoustics including 6 and 12 strings, and a Mandola. His Les Pauls were outfitted in some cases with tremolos and piezo pickups. His Howard Roberts also had a piezo in it as well. His amps were all Hughes & Kettners with two Alex Lifeson Triamp MKII double stacks in the middle, flanked on either side by Switchblade double stacks. His rack mount was turned away from the stage front and his pedals on the floor weren't visible but I have it on good authority (i.e., guitar player) that he was using a Dunlop DCR-ISR Crybaby Rack wah, TC Electronic 1210 Spatial Expander & Stereo Chorus/Flanger, TC Electronic G-Force multi-effects processors (3) with 1 spare, and Voodoo Lab GCX switchers. He may have added a Loft chorus (the actual one used on Limelight). At his feet were the Ernie Ball Volume Pedal, Dunlop DCR-1FC foot controller, an Axess Electronics FX1 MIDI Foot controller, Korg MPK 180 Bass pedals, and a Boss TU-12H Tuner.
Geddy: Used mainly his black Jazz Bass (which may have been the original '72 or one of his signatures), a red Fender Jazz, the Jaco Pastorius signature (fretted and fretless, respectively) and the Rickenbacker. His onstage amplification was courtesy of the henhouse rotisserie ovens (3).
His official list from the tour book:
Guitars
1972 Fender Jazz bass
Fender Jazz Geddy Lee model
Fender Jazz Custom Shop bass
Fender Jaco Pastorius Tribute fretless bass
Fender Jaco Pastorius Tribute Custom Shop fretted version
Garrison acoustic guitars
Amplification
Avalon direct boxes, model U5
SansAmp RPM pre-amps
Palmer speaker simulator, model PDI-05
Trace Elliot Quatra valve amps
Sampson UR-5D wireless system
Keyboards and Samplers
Roland XV-5080 sampler/ synthesizers
Roland Fantom-X7 synthesizer
Moog Little Fatty digital synthesizer
Korg MIDI pedals
Neal: He played his "Snakes & Arrows" custom kit made by the Drum Workshop and described in detail in the tour book. It was the typical Neal monstrosity setup of acoustic drums, percussion, cymbals and electronic drums/pads.
The detailed set list/equipment blow by blow: (equipment listed as it changes. if nothing is listed they played the same gear from the previous song)
1. Limelight: Alex - Gibson LP Standard Honey Burst with tremolo, Geddy - Fender Jazz Bass Black
2. Digital Man: same
3. Entre Nous: Alex - Gibson LP Goldtop, 12 String Garrison acoustic
4. Mission: Alex - Gibson LP Tobacco Sunburst
5. Freewill: same
6. The Main Monkey Business: Alex - Gibson LP Goldtop
7. The Larger Bowl: Alex - Gibson LP Tobacco Sunburst (with piezo)
8. Secret Touch: Alex - Gibson LP Black Beauty with tremolo, Geddy - Red Jazz Bass
9. Circumstances: same
10. Between the Wheels: Geddy - Jaco Pastorius Fretted Jazz Bass
11. Dreamline: Alex - LP Honey Burst with tremolo, Geddy - Black Jazz Bass
Intermission
12. Far Cry: Alex - LP Cherry Sunburst
13. Working Them Angels: Alex - LP Cherry SB with Piezo, Mandolin with shubb capo
14. Armor & Sword: same
15. Spindrift: same
16. The Way the Wind Blows: Alex - Gibson Howard Roberts with piezo
17. Subdivisions: Alex - LP Cherry Sunburst
18. Natural Science: Alex - LP Honey Burst with tremolo
19. Witch Hunt: same
20. Malignant Narcissim: Geddy - Jaco Pastorious Fretless Jazz Bass
21. Drum Solo
22. Hope: Alex - Garrison 12 String
23. Distant Early Warning: Alex - LP Honey Burst with tremolo, Geddy - Black Jazz Bass
24. The Spirit of Radio: same
25. Tom Sawyer: same
Encore
26. One Little Victory: Alex - Gibson ES-355 White
27. A Passage to Bangkok: Geddy - Black Rickenbacker
28. YYZ: Geddy - Black Jazz Bass
Here are some additional show notes taken from 2112.net that further explain some show features better than I did:
- The opening video begins with a dream sequence of Snakes and Arrows images, then Alex sits up in bed, saying, "Snakes? Who would dream about snakes, that's so creepy. Honey? Honey - wake up. I had this weirdest dream, it was a snake…" then the person lying next to him sits up and its Neil. They look at each other and yell in surpise and yell 'AHHHHHHHHHHH!", then after another sequence, Geddy wakes up in a chair and says "What did they do to my food?" and then in walks an old man in a Scottish kilt who speaks with a Scottish accent who tells Geddy he doesn't care how he is feeling, to "…wipe that chicken off your face and get out there!" after which they which they all ran out. The guy in the Scottish costume is actually Geddy, dressed in make up and wig. At the end of the show, another video of Scottish Geddy plays, where he tells people to go home because he wants to get back to eating his chicken.
- The video intro for the second set is all Alex in rare, comical form, playing several characters on the Snakes and Arrows Leela board. The board shifts around the screen and highlights certain lines to which Alex pops up and executes typical Alex rants.
- There is a video of Bob & Doug McKenzie to introduce "The Larger Bowl"; "The Larger Bowl" has video snippets showing alternating images between the rich and the poor, etc. Towards the end you see iron gates on 2 screens, but as they focus in on the buildings behind them you see that one is a mansion and the other is a prison.
- Alex plays a mandola mounted on an Omega stand during "Workin' Them Angels"; "Workin' Them Angels" had a video accompaniment similar to the album art of various types of workers and soldiers with angel wings.
- There is a South Park video intro to Tom Sawyer; during the video, the South Park characters begin playing Tom Sawyer but Cartman sings the wrong lyrics, "…floated down the river on a raft with a black guy", which leads to an argument with Cartman saying he's read the book and that's how the story goes, but the other quickly corrects him saying "that's Huckleberry Finn, stupid!". Cartman then says "I am Geddy Lee! And I will sing whatever lyrics I want!". They then start again to count off the beginning where Rush takes over and plays.
- During "A Passage To Bangkok", a video plays showing footage of far east trains, poppy fields, marijuana plants and many other scenes related to the lyrics. (including reefer madness clips of stoned teens during the 50s)
- "Digital Man" has a new arrangement, missing the first "He's got a force field" lyric.
- The drum solo has been completely revamped. Neil has a slew of new marimba samples, which give the middle section including the "Momo's Dance Party" part an Oriental percussion feel (the "Scars" and "Pieces of Eight" sections have been dropped). Instead of "One O'clock Jump", the solo now includes a complete big band triggered sample of "Cotton Tail", which Neil performed with the Buddy Rich Band on Burning for Buddy Vol. I.
- Geddy Lee is playing his 4001 Rickenbacker bass on stage for the first time in 25 years (last seen on the Signals tour).
- Geddy Lee is using a minature Snakes & Arrows drum as a cup holder!
- There are multiple "Barbie Doll" groupies standing on stage in front of Alex Lifeson, holding "Post-It" signs with various sayings on them, apparently created by the roadies. Sayings have included: "I Like The Drummer", "My Grampa Says Your Cool", "Can I Roll Your Bones?", "I'm A Dino-Whore AKA Suckasaurass", "I Was Conceived While My Dad Was At A Rush Concert", "I'm Not Wearing Any Panties", "My Mom Thinks Your Hot!", "I'm Only Doing This To Pay For College", "Freebird!", "I Thought ZZ Top Had Beards", "Bass Player's Cute! Is That His Real Nose?", "I Golf Naked", "Nice Dinosaurs-You Must Be A Caveman", "If It's Too Loud You're Too Old"
Finally, a few links to fan vids taken during the show:
Intro sequence and Limelight
South Park Intro to Tom Sawyer
Bob & Doug's Intro to The Larger Bowl
A small excerpt from Malignant Narcissism
A Passage to Bangkok
Not a review as such…
…but a reflection. I made a recommendation to a potential Mac buyer on the Native Instruments forum (software synth makers, among other things) based on my positive experience with the Mac so far. It resulted in a flame from a fervent winsciple about how NI products (and software in general) run so much better on Windows compared to OSX (Mac). He quoted several "tests" that supported this notion by demonstrating CPU efficiency improvements with the same products under both operating systems.
He even admitted to owning a Mac Pro, but stated that he bought it to run Windows because the Mac Pro is "just a windows pc with mac labeling" or words to that effect. He had told the potential buyer he should get a Win pc because of the so called improvements for NI products. Oddly, he didn't state that buying a Mac would actually be the best solution if you truly believed the numbers since you could have the option of running either OS, unlike Win PCs which can't run OSX.
To make a long story short, although I doubted his claims I attempted to load the programs in question into my Windows drive on my Mac (yes, I do run Windows under my mac, but mostly just for a couple of games I can't run on OSX). Scratch a perfectly good Saturday out of my life for that. I spent most of the day loading the programs, and then found I couldn't get my audio interface to work for more than a few minutes before it quit responding and resulting in three BSODs before I called it quits. I think there may have been an eventual solution and I should add that I have Vista which isn't fully supported yet.
It just demonstrates the amount of additional hassle that any Windows related operation involves. I had truly forgotten what it's like to need a regular tweak of various components in your computer just to keep it running. I have been using the Mac for a couple of months now, and with the exception of a program update every couple of weeks, I don't have to do anything except turn it on and use it. It's really as simple as turning on a television or other appliance.
The bottom line is that my personal experience with the Mac has mostly lived up to the hype. The thing works, and it works well. It's not perfect, and I have had a few hiccups along the way, but they all were sorted out in very short order. I can't see ever going back to a Win PC except to run work related stuff if I can't avoid it at home or the odd game that isn't released on Mac.
Who needs milestones?
Not me, no sireee. I (ahem), passed a certain chronological milestone a few days ago and realized I should probably put my thoughts down about it. Trouble is, I'm not really thinking about it that much. It will sink in later when I have to fill out a form where the age range is something like 20-29, 30-39, Ancient and decrepit, etc. Age is clearly a state of mind, but it's something that the younger take great pains in reminding you of. Apparently they're going to be young forever.
I'm fairly happy where I'm at in this part of my life. I have some regrets and some accomplishments I have yet to achieve, but my age isn't going to preclude me from reaching them. It's safe to say that I still wouldn't make it in professional sports even if I could be eighteen again. I hope I'm only at the midpoint of my life now, I'd like another 40+ if I can have them.
Sold! - Line 6 Variax 700 Electric
Thanks to all who checked it out…
Sold - Tascam FW-1884 Mixer
Thanks to all who looked…
Concert Review - Police in Dallas June 26/27th 2007
The Police returned to the stage on their reunion tour for the first time in over twenty years and we were fortunate enough to catch them both nights in Dallas. Playing to a sold out crowd in American Airlines Center, they offered songs from their entire catalog with a pretty comprehensive set list. The band was energetic, played well and Sting is still managing to hit the high notes (evenon Roxanne) without any serious difficulty. The songs mostly featured slight to large modifications in key, tempo, improvisation or a combination of the three. In most cases the songs stayed true enough to the original to please the purists and I found myself liking them more on the second night.
There a few exceptions where I think the original flavor of the song was lost, especially in a song like De Do Do Do where Andy changed the chorus guitar to more of a punkish barre chord version and I really preferred it the original way. Kinda took the Andy out of that song in my opinion. The band stretched out and let Andy take fairly frequent solos and Sting engaged the crowd in the standard call/response he is known for. It may be subjective, but I really think the second night crowd was more energetic as well as knowledgable (it may have been the difference of 1st tier seats the first night compared to 17th row floor on the second as well). The view on the second night was definitely better in our case. We were close enough to see facial expressions and what the fingers on the instruments were doing.
The band stuck to the reliables in the equipment area with Sting playing his old Fender Precision (it may have been a re-issue), Andy playing a red Stratocaster (swapped out once with an identical model that was capoed on the 2nd fret), and Stewart had his typical full complement of Tama drums and additional percussion on a riser in the back. Andy had a very geometric appearing set of Mesa Boogies in a mixture of rectangular and square cabinets that appeared custom designed just to allow them to make an interesting stack configuration, otherwise I can't really say what the logic may have been. The same went for Sting and his Ampeg amps. Looked cool, anyway.
The show featured a fairly sparse stage setup with the only enhancements being a set of stairs that encircled the entire back half of the stage and allowed the players to walk up behind the drum kit and interact with the seats behind the stage (yes, those were sold out too). On the video side they had three very large screens up near the ceiling in the front, one on each side and one in the back so that everyone had a decent view of the band no matter where they were seated. Below the screens was a sort of colored display board like you see in sporting events that was used to display various mood centric and album related color schemes. That along with a modest lighting scheme added to the overall ambiance very well. The video screens mostly showed the players but occasionally featured song specific videos like for Invisible Sun. They updated the context of this song by showing what appeared to be mostly Iraqi children. Funny how the song is still very applicable today, over twenty years later. Not to mention Driven to Tears.
Note on these pictures: I didn't try taking a camera in so I have copied these from other users on Flickr. Most of them are actually from the the two Dallas shows.
Set List:
- Message in a Bottle
- Synchronicity 2
- Walking on the Moon
- Voices in my Head (short intro)
- When the World is Running Down
- Don't Stand so Close to Me
- Driven to Tears
- The Bed's Too Big Without You
- Truth Hits Everybody
- Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
- Wrapped Around Your Finger
- De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
- Invisible Sun
- Walking in Your Footsteps
- Can't Stand Losing You
- Roxanne
Encore
- King of Pain
- So Lonely
- Every Breath You Take
- Next to You
We really liked the opening band, Fiction Plane. They were enjoyable the first night and even better the second since we were a little more familiar with their tunes. Featuring a similar setup to the Police (Trio with the bassist as singer) they are clearly influenced by groups like U2 and the Police with a healthy dose of reggae in the beat. I found out later that the singer/bassist is actually Sting's son (wonder if they would have gotten the gig otherwise?) who actually follows in his dad's footsteps fairly well. His vocal range is a bit lower than Sting's but otherwise pretty similar in all respects. I liked them well enough that I have bought their album "Left Side of the Brain" and I really like it.
More Ferrell…
Mantra of the Woodshedder…
I saw this quote on a forum and it's worth repeating:
"Amateurs practice until they can play something right…
Professionals practice until they can't play it wrong"
That very succinctly describes the difference between learning something to where you can play it okay on a good day compared to imprinting it into your brain so fully that you can play it well on a bad day. I have too many songs that fit into the first category and not enough in the second. Better practice some more…
A Note on the Ticket Collages…
It's not lost on me that the ticket collages are gushing fanboy a bit excessive, but I've acknowledged I'm OC about this and that's the first step, right? So, enough with the explanations; Since I can't see the shows again, I'm going to brag about them for all the world to see. PFFBBBTTTTT!!!!! (a raz fa all tha hatas…) (notice how I mixed Bugs Bunny and a warped interpretation of modern slang) (discuss)
Guitartastic… (Collage de Stubs 05/06)
were the years of 2005 & 2006. My "Triad of Guitar Ascendancy" (that's copyrighted, but feel free to quote it) includes Eric Johnson, Tommy Emmanuel, and Pat Metheny; in these two years I was able to see all three of them. Over one weekend I saw Tommy play twice and also attended a four hour workshop where it was Tommy and about fifteen of his truly dedicated fans in a small jazz lab. He started the workshop off by saying "Let's bless the room" and launched into Amazing Grace, and I was overwhelmed. I can't describe what it's like to be sitting about 3 feet away from Tommy when he starts playing in a room so quiet you could hear a mouse breathing.
The Pat Metheny Group show was the best I have attended out of the five times I've seen him. He started the show by playing "The Way Up" which is an entire album in one song. That song is among the most important American compositions of the last ten years and it's truly meant to be heard live. In a time of ever shortening attention spans, a single composition that lasts nearly an hour (and not by trick or gimmick, it's a fully developed piece that should be that long) is a criticism of the current culture and a perfect response to the hit single mentality of the music business. I think the song has relevance outside of music as well, since anything worthwhile in life takes time and attention. Not one to short change the audience, the group commenced to perform for an additional two hours featuring songs from every era, including tunes like "Lone Jack", "Song for Bilbao", and "Are You Going With Me". It was a very satisfying experience and I was lucky enough to talk with and get an autograph from Antonio Sanchez (drummer), Gregoire Maret (harmonica, vocals, percussion), and Nando Lauria (guitar, percussion, vocals) after the show.
Billy Idol is much better in a smaller venue as compared to when I saw him in 1986 at Reunion Arena. Having just released what I think is his best studio album thus far, his set list was quite good as well. It was general admission but we got there in time to have spots right against the stage on Steve Stevens side. Aeyong had her first near-groupie experience as she seemed to spark a little interest from Steve and he smiled at her several times during the show. I managed fist bump from Billy during "Dancing with Myself" and was content with that :).
Finally, in 2006 we got to see a full length Eric Johnson set at Juanita's in Little Rock. I have previously posted a detailed review of the 2007 show, and the 2006 set was similar. The sound levels were a little bass heavy and loud overall, but it was still great to see Eric live (from 5 feet away). As Eric was walking offstage, I was able to get him to sign a Guitar Player from 1986 that I had kept all these years (see honey, sometimes being a fanboy packrat pays off) (ok, it was just the one time).
Oh, Sweet Nectar (Collage de Stubs 2003/04)…
Didn't realize how much I missed live music until Steely Dan took the stage at Smirnoff/Dallas in 2003. The notable shows were the acts we had never seen live before including Eric Johnson, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Sarah Mclachlan, and Norah Jones. The most enjoyable show for me was easily the Rush 30th Anniversary Tour show. Well documented with a DVD shot in Germany, this tour show was over 3 hours long split into two sets and featuring deep album cuts from all their various eras. Just a great show on all levels from the set list, to the sound, to the production (lighting, sets, etc.) and as usual the videos were always entertaining, whether serious, atmospheric, or funny.
Also notable was the Eric Clapton Crossroads festival where I got to see Eric Johnson, Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, Steve Vai, Robert Cray and many other great players. Too bad it was a festival and all the sets were short. In a bit of self-indulgence (kinda the theme of the site just this once, promise) I pasted a screen capture from the Crossroads DVD showing me in the audience during the Saturday show which featured EJ among others. (That's me behind the Crossroads ticket stub) (Damn, I look good) Fleetwood Mac was also especially good, due in part to great seats, but mostly to the band just being really tight and well produced. They also had a great set list and I must admit that I didn't miss Christine McVie as all of my favorite FMac songs are by Buckingham and Nicks. Steely Dan and Sarah McLachlan (MIA on the ticket stubs since they were internet tickets, wahhhh) were both great shows as well, and we were both very happy to finally see them live. I had been wanting to see Steely Dan for over twenty five years (FMac too) so it was great to finally get the opportunity.
Sting was a bit of a snoozer, unfortunately. He was good on his first solo tour in 1985, and I imagine the "Soul Cages" tour would have been great as well. At this point he is going on about 3 albums in a row that have more forgettable than great songs, so the highlights were mostly his older material and the Police stuff of course. He did play "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", so that was great to hear.
The End of an Era (Collage de Stubs 87-92)…
Here are the dying gasps of my teenage concert going years and a lone Metheny show from 92 when I was stationed in Kentucky and lucky enough to attend a show in Louisville. With the exception of the Metheny show, I wouldn't attend one concert from 1988 through 2003, mostly due to the remote bases where I was stationed. After transferring to Oklahoma for school in 2003, we decided to try and start seeing more shows in OKC and Dallas. I've now decided that no matter where I'm posted, I will try very hard to attend shows with bands/artists that I really like.
Metheny, Hedges, Punk-o-rama, (Collage de Stubs-86)…
Highlights for this year were seeing Metheny again (I had seen him in 84 with the group and on New Years Eve 85 with Ornette Coleman but have since lost the stubs), seeing Michael Hedges twice, and seeing Rush in a better concert environment (Reunion Arena vrs the Cotton Bowl) for their Power Windows tour. PIL and Big Audio Dynamite were a blast, and I enjoyed all the Bronco Bowl shows. REM was a bit of a snoozer and Michael Stipe was in full prick mode. He was unhappy about some fans getting a little rowdy in the front and said something like "you guys are going to calm down or I'm stopping this show right now". A bit full of himself to say the least.
Jimmy Page, Rush, Police, Yes, et al(83-85)…
After posting the tokalicious (that's a medical term, don't trouble yourself…) Rush stubs, I realized I had kept most of my concert stubs over the years and they were just languishing in a dark box for none to grow envious of see. I decided to give them a little photoshopin' (worthy of the arts & crafts club if I do say so) so here is the first collection of stubs from the 1983-85 tour seasons. I must add that I have unfortunately lost a few of my ticket stubs over the years (most notably from this time frame would be Van Halen on the Diver Down tour with Dave instead of the Samster). Nevertheless, most of the most notable shows I saw in those years are on display here. Please share your concert photos, ticket stubs and hemp clouded memories from back then if you care to.
Read ‘Em and Weep…
Here it is folks, proof that I will be close enough to pinch hit on Alex's Taurus pedals if needed. Check out which row we're on if you doubt that assertion. Can I get a hell yeah? Yes, yes I can.
A co-worker I'll refer to as "Mike" (not his real name) (that would be Michael) "wanted to see them" so I am honoring that request. Suffice to say that they are under more security than the gold at Ft Knox (if you believe in that sort of thing) and any attempts to displace them from the possession of yours truly would be catastrophic for all concerned (we're talking biblical; you know, cats & dogs living together, total chaos)…
(and now we do the dance of the gloat)
(what's the gloat, you ask?)
(it's a very rare species of north american mammal with a predilection for smoky environments and dangerously high decibel levels)
(the first pic is of the gloat's natural habitat)
and zee tickets…
Police in Dallas? Make that a double…
I think it's fairly well known that the best time to hit Ebay for concert tickets is at the last minute when desperation has set in on the part of the seller who needs to make a sale but has probably got a limited field of truly motivated buyers since most dedicated fans get their tickets well in advance. We already had tickets for one show but had heard about so many people attending multiple shows (I know one guy in California who's seeing them three nights in a row) that we decided to take advantage of their two night stint in Dallas. We had good floor seats for Wednesday, so we figured we could get some less premium seats for Tuesday which would make the second show still something to look forward to.
Part of this rationale is also based on this potentially being the last time we'll ever see them (it's been over twenty years between shows already). Since tonight was the last realistic night to get tickets that could be mailed fast enough to reach the buyer in time to make the show, I figured it was worth a look. And yes, there were several good options available, and we managed to get two tickets in the lower stands at half the box office price. Ebay can take away, but sometimes it gives. All I know is I am going to triple the number of times I have seen the Police live, and I never thought I'd be able to say that. I've heard very positive reviews from the other longtime fans who have seen the most recent shows, so I'm stoked to say the least.
Our seats:
(yes, I am gloating)
(no, I wasn't the first person to come up with the seat diagram idea)
(yes, they were gloating too)
(no, I'm not ashamed)
(funny how much our seats look like the Grand Canyon and the inside of our car)
(yes, my head is that big. it has to be to house my enormous brain)
(yes, I can continue to parenthetically answer unasked questions for as long as it takes)
(yes, I meant it)
(no, I won't do anything for love)
(Meat Loaf will)
(but he won't do that)
(he's a bit of a hypocrite)
Vampires are Alive!!!
This is so bad it's good. Apparently it's Switzerland's entry for the Eurovision song contest, which makes it even better. It seems a vampire's supernatural powers include some sweet dance moves. Hey, sometimes you just GOTTA DANCE (he shouted with an effeminate lisp). I wonder how many of those dancers have been out of work since the "Thriller" video? So, what's with the fire breathing and affection for horses? I guess these are some of the lesser known vampire traits (along with the twinkly toes). It's a little too happy for an undead anthem; besides if you follow the "rules" most vampires like classical music. Yep, that's true. And no offense, but I expect my vampires to have names like Marius and Count Dracula. DJ Bobo doesn't quite have the undead ring to it, catchy though it is.
Concert Review - Eric Johnson in Little Rock, June 14 2007
Eric played Juanita’s restaurant/club in Little Rock, which I think has become a running summer gig for him as this is at least the 3rd year in a row he’s played here. We got here early again like last year and I made sure I posted myself in front of his mic/pedals for the next 1:45 until the show started. It was worth it as I was able to stand about 5 feet away for the whole show.
Eric’s stage and pedal setup is the standard that most of us have seen. It’s really not much different from the guitar geek circa 2001 diagram, although specific models may change he’s still using the same sorts of pedals, etc. In the amp dept. he had the two Fender Twins and the Marshall double stack with apparently new Hendrix signature heads based on other reports, although I couldn’t see well enough to tell (wouldn’t know what I was looking for from a distance anyway). He didn’t have the Allen/Heath mixer on stage this year, but he did have a couple of echoplexes on the floor (which I didn’t see last year, but they could have been obstructed by the mixer).
I couldn’t figure out all his pedals but he did have the memory man, fuzz face, a Radial Tonebone Tube Overdrive that was labeled as an “Eric Johnson Custom” and looked like a modified classic model by the coloring/size. He had a small mxr pedal with script text that may have been a phase 90 but I couldn’t read it well enough; a TC electronic chorus/flanger, the cry baby, and the multitude of a/b boxes. He had another pedal sitting over by his jbl eon monitor (stage right) that may have been the chandler tube driver but I couldn’t see it well enough to tell. I may be leaving one or two things out here.
He played the black signature model for the whole set except for the three song acoustic set in which he played his Martin EJ signature model. He used his Dunlop Jazz III picks for the whole show as far as I could tell. It was nice and loud again although I think I benefited by not being in the direct axis of the amps this time (they were aimed a little more off center this time). I still think the bass was mixed too loud, but it may have been where I was standing. Eric’s tone was a little lost in the mix for me. I brought my earplugs but never felt like I needed them, and they would have just accentuated the bass more so I left them in my pocket.
Performance:
Set list (there may be an omission or two and the song order may be a bit out of sequence, but it’s relatively close as I tried to write these down during the set):
- Soulful terrain - great opener, just a classic EJ tune
- My Back Pages
- Trademark - he opened this by joking about the show featuring jugglers, acrobats, monkeys, and snake oil salesmen. He then alluded to how that was what this song was about but I think I may have missed something
- Country - (the unnamed as yet instrumental) commented on how they had seen George Jones’ tour bus and it got them in the mood for some country
- Morning Sun - my sequence may be slightly out of order here
- Brilliant Room - i think he introduced this by saying they had just finished recording this at home and he hoped they would be releasing the album in the next 6-7 years (he was joking). he said they hoped to have a new album out “soon” (so, that means 2-3 years probably
) - Manhattan - very well played, and I was glad to hear it as he didn’t play it last year
- Dusty - beginning of three song solo acoustc set
- Song for Life
- Once Upon a Time in Texas (?) - hadn’t heard that before, but I think that is right. This set was played on the Martin EJ signature and he sounded fantastic. I was thrilled to see him play Dusty from that close and those of us in front we’re probably the only ones who could really see what he was playing as he was sitting down. Unfortunately the crowd was well inebriated and growing restless during the set so I don’t know if he’ll want to continue this.
- Columbia
- New Song - couldn’t understand him when he said the name, but I liked it.
- SRV
- Austin - great tune, beautiful chord changes and a great melody, I hope it appears on the next album. He played the coolest arpeggio sequence during the solo.
- Desert Rose - he had played fast all night but I guess he was warmed up at this point because he was really wailing on this guitar solo, although I know he typically really goes for it on this one
- Guitar Solo - similar start to last year with a very beautiful slow intro with some great melodic chord changes with a clean, warm tone which eventually fused into a faster portion with a little overdriven but more punchy and not so sustained tone which eventually culminated in the classic lead tone and the intro to Cliffs. I’m not sure but I think he cut off early because he faced Tommy Taylor (who had been playing some light percussion as texture) and waved his arms out to the side like he was saying stop. He started playing a more lead tone and it looked like Roscoe had to hurry to get his bass back on and get ready for Cliffs
- Cliffs Of Dover
- (Encores)Spanish Castle Magic - very extended jam and Eric and Roscoe had some great interplay where it looked like they were goading each other on a bit. Whatever problem he had during the guitar solo seemed to have been forgotten by the end.
- Righteous
The show was a little shorter this year with a few less encores, but I think it ended up running about 1:40 total. Tommy and Roscoe both played fantastically as usual. I apologize to them both in admitting that as a guitarist I can’t resist the call of Eric’s fingers on the fretboard, but I did try and pay a little more attention to their playing this year. The only downers were the people who were there more to party than to listen to a great band. I had a drunk middle aged woman behind me who tried to shove her way to the front and then was upset because no one wanted to let her up (everyone up there had been standing there for almost two hours to reserve their spot. She would periodically let out a scream which just showed that she wasn’t listening at all to what was being played. Unfortunately about half the crowd was that way. There was one guy who held up a napkin which said “Play Cliffs of Dover”, which he unfortunately held up right after Eric had played Cliffs. Don’t know if he was so drunk he didn’t realize what he had just heard or if he was that clueless about EJ. I don’t know if EJ and the guys cared about that or if it made a difference. It was still a great show and they all played fantastic. I think Eric said they would come back next year. (the two pics are from the Birmingham show the next night, courtesy of ByTor1975 from the EJ forum. I didn't bring my camera, so this as close a pic as I have now. The biggest difference is the stage there is a bit more roomy than Juanita's).