Robben Ford Discussion

[Pablo]

I’m just home from both shows tonight at Yoshi’s. I’m always amazed at what a performer Robben is – a true professional. As a communicator, he is magical. To control the mood of a room like that is nothing less than magical.

I’ve seen Robben close to ten times since the early 90’s (Blue Line era) and each time, like his albums, is different. He’s always pushing for something new. Tonight there was something different in Robben’s playing that was deeper and more powerful than I’ve seen before. The last time I saw Robben was at Yoshi’s in 2003 and he let his bother Mark steal the show. But tonight, it was Robben out front with his singing and guitar, so maybe that explains my perspective. But anyway I put it, Robben just kicked ass tonight. Robben’s singing is better each time I see him and tonight he was fantastic.

The new band is great and a highlight is keyboardist Greg Mathieson. Greg and Robben seemed to really play off each other and Greg is one of the most entertaining B3 players I’ve seen. The drums and bass were also outstanding and the band as a whole was my favorite since the Blue Line.

Robben was just smokin’ tonight. (As a side, I did read in another post that Robben was literally smoking at the Colorado show. Three buddies and I were just at the May 28th Clinic in Ojai and he asked us for a match or lighter. There were about fifteen of us in the room at the time and none of us had a light. Robben couldn’t believe that there wasn’t a light in a room full of musicians. He actually said in his good humored way, “I don’t know how I feel about that.” He also said he can just smoke one…well maybe?)

Robben played his Tele, the Black/Green Baker, and a beautiful flame top Les Paul. During the first set, he played Indianola and Cannonball Shuffle on his Baker. And then for the second set he used his Les Paul for the same two songs. The Les Paul sounded way better. I love the Baker, but Gibson is still doing something right because the Les Paul just sounded so much better. A non-guitar playing friend of my even commented on how good the LP sounded.

An interesting thing happened during the second set, Robben blew a fuse on his Dumble towards the end of a song. The tech scrambled around, but the amp was dead. Robben said he didn’t know what to do and someone suggested comedy. Robben said, “That’s not my bag!” Robben suggested the band play something and he would just sing. So they played “Lifetime Thing” and it was great to see Robben singing as a front man without his guitar. About a third of the way through the song the tech got the amp working and brought the Tele out to Robben and he just killed it – an amazing performer. Kudos to the tech, he earned his money.

I think I’ve said enough. Below are the set lists. The songs are not in the correct order – somewhat close. My mind just doesn’t work that way. Anyone that was there please correct my list.

8:00 PM Show
1. Over My Head
2. Indianola
3. Homework
4. The Way That You Treated Me
5. Cannonball Shuffle
6. Don’t Deny Your Love
7. Lovin’ Cup
8. Good Thing
9. Help the Poor

10:00 PM Show
1. Chevrolet
2. Indianola
3. Don’t Deny Your Love
4. Cannonball Shuffle
5. Lovin’ Cup
6. Oasis
7. Nothin’ to Nobody
8. Hey Brother
9. Lifetime Thing (no guitar!)
10. Keep on Running

- Paul DeHorn
San Ramon, CA

[Michael]

Actually ... I was a little disappointed in the first show. The audience was flat. While the musicianship is always stellar, it seemed as though Robben was playing the songs and was pressed for time ... as many of the solo opportunities were cut short compared to other countless shows I've seen. My son ... an new young guitar player of 17 was hoping that Robben would carry the emotion of the blues to an even higher level ... as Robben has done in the past. We took a party of 5 ... all having seen Robben, The Ford Brothers, Jing Chi, the YellowJackets, etc. and we all had similar comment.

With that said, I would still go again ... but I felt Robben left us hanging and wanting more.

[Aeolian]

Michael, I'm glad someone else saw this. This wasn't the best Robben at Yoshi's show I've seen. While I love Gary Novack's playing with the Electrik Band, this is the second time I've seen him with Robben and I don't think he fits very well. The whole rhythm section didn't seem to jell to me. The sound where I was sitting off to the side was the worst I've heard at Yoshi's. The bass was bloated and slow sounding. It really didn't sound like much of a groove although it might have been better on stage. Robben didn't look as uncomfortable as I've seen him on other occasions when the groove wasn't happening. But he wasn't grinning all set either. The stage volume was far too loud. And I think a lot of it was coming from Novack. He was just bashing away like he was in a stadium with his eyes closed. At one point Robben was looking at him for about 8 bars of some vamp trying to get his attention. Not good at this level. In stark contrast to Hil who watches Robben's every move, or Vinnie who even while he is going crazy is still listening and watching. There was very little of those graduated dynamics, or of keeping it down while Robben worked with it. If Robben got the band down, the instant he played a louder lick, they were off again. Pat Ford is a master at this, letting the soloist have plenty of dynamic room to play with the song and the audience. And Robben is a master at using that. Playing a louder riff to get our attention and then leaving a space to let it breathe. The monitor volume had to be insane. At one point Andrew Ford called Jeff over and gestured at the full stack Eden rig he was playing and I could lip read him asking "is this thing on?". Jeff listened to the cab, turned it off, let it cool for a few seconds and restarted it. The FOH volume never changed and the rest of the band seemed not to notice. For a club designed for acoustic jazz acts, that is far too loud.

High points; Greg Mathison's outstanding comps (great solos too) and his sensitivity to what Robben was playing. There were points where Robben was doing little triadic things, and Greg was extending the chords underneath, just adding this wonderful sparkle to what Robben was playing. I really want to hear these two work together more.

And Robben was letting it rip. In spite of his voice bothering him, what had to be excessive stage volume, and the rhythmic foundation, he still laid into it and tore off some of the most complex and fastest runs I've heard from him. And he kept it up the whole set. There have been times where some issue or other obviously bummed Robben out, and he kind of re-composes himself and get a second wind. But last night, he dug in and went for it, start to finish. And he carried some of those complex phrases all over the fingerboard. Something had him inspired and he was letting us share it. Thanks again to the master for inspiring us and showing us how it's done.
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There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
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[JohnnyZ]

[Aeolian]

I saw Elizabeth sitting in better seats. Didn't find anyone else, but maybe reports from other parts of the room will be better.
edit [ heard from a friend who went to the second show and sat in the middle. Said that the sound was excellent and well balanced. From his perspective the band was locked into a solid groove. So it could have been first set kinks, or just a bad seating location for my perspective. If the weekend allows, I'll go back Sunday and enjoy some more.
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There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com

[Michael]

Aeolian, I think your comment regarding the bass and drumming are right on the mark. My son said, "this guy seems like he wants to be more of a rock and roll drummer" ... interesting perspective from a 17 year old. We like Tom, Hil, Patrick, and Vinnie. For bass, it's Haslip, Earl, and Pate. I was lucky enough to recently hear Jimmy Sanchez and Endre Tarcy set groove for Garth (amazing) ... add MzDee and you've got it going on.


Lucky me, I have tickets to see the Ford Brothers in Grass Valley ... first show, second show ... who cares ... as they will never disappoint.

The best to you!

[Ian Hurtt]

Let me throw in my two cents here. I was at both shows, the first I was seated on the right (facing the stage) side even with the bass and at the last table. The second show I was directly back in the center at the first table in the back section.

First, I really enjoyed the energenic drumming of Gary Novak. I think he brought a fresh perspective to some of the tunes that I really dug. While he must have been loud, I didn't get the impression that Robben was unhappy with his playing in the least. The band as a whole seemed pretty tight for a group that only had a handful of gigs together. I also noticed a lack of punch from the bass the first show, and I was sitting directly in front of the bass cabs. The overall sound was much better on the second set, IMO. Robben was also having some issues with the vocal mic on the first set. He noticed a top end issue that he finally had to ask the sound person to fix. Greg Mathieson (sp?) was huge fun, and he and Robben played off each other very well.

As far as Robben himself, vocally I thought he sounded terrific. Really soulful, especially during the first set. I thought his energy seemed to drop a bit as the second set went on, but it was a long night. Robben's guitar playing was absolutely steller, and he did seem to be reeling off some pretty quickly paced licks and runs, much more than the last time I had seen him. Maybe he was inspired by the push from the drums?

Gearwise, Robben alternated between the black Baker and his Tele during the first set. The Baker sounded good, but the Tele just sounded fantastic. Rich and fat, just perfect for Robben's playing. The second set featured the Les Paul and the Tele, and I thought that the LP sounded virtually identical to the Baker. I wish he would have switched betweent the two back to back during one of the sets, I would have liked to really been able to compare. As mentioned earlier, Robben experienced a problem with his rig during the second set. I asked the tech afterwards, and he said that a fuse had blown out in the variac Robben apparantly was using. I don't know whether the fuse was replaced or the variac bypassed, but the guitar was less dynamic sounding after the "repair".

All in all, a tremendously exciting evening. Thanks Robben!!

[We No Speak]

It's been a while since seeing both sets that night and specific recall is not sharp, however, the impressions are still strong.

I've seen Robben several times before, including The Berkeley Jazz Festival back in the early 70's and while Robben was awesome, the band lacked cohesiveness.

Gary Novak is an incredible drummer, but he just didn't seem to fit well that night (maybe he just tried too hard and ended up over playing).

Regarding Robben, I think his playing with Miles was incredible and his contribution to Miles' work is clearly overlooked and not given it's proper due. Everyone knows about Stern's work with the comeback bands, and Sco's work with the later bands, but no one ever talks about how great Robben was with Miles. Wish there was more stuff than the Montreax Box Set and the few boots I have.

I saw Robben at Yoshi's a few years ago and remember his drummer stuggled with the blues songs, but really killed when Robben did his Jazz Fusion thing.

Robben's one of our generations very best and no matter the band, he's worth the price of admission!!!

Rick Calic
www.jazzrockworld.com
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Rick Calic
Keyboards/Drums
www.wenospeak.com