Robben Ford Discussion

[Michael]

The Ford Brothers were just awsome Friday night ... and don't forget DeWayne and Volker. Volker was actually featured a lot and he's rock solid with his Two Rock Topaz and vocals. I was very impressed ... as he often made the brothers smile.

Robben is always loose with the brothers. And for me, this is a good thing as I find it to be the best Robben ... cutting it up and having fun.

Mark has got to be the best at his craft ... no doubt in my mind.

[Bluelobster]

Hi Michael. At least a great review in this ocean of boredom.
Though you don't give much details you said it all . What a band !!!!!
Was that in UKiaH ???

I like the " Loose " fact too.
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[roadwarriorfortheblues]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for posting about the Grass Valley Show. I hope there will be more posts about the Ford Brothers shows happening all week in Northern Cal.

You are so lucky to have seen a live show by The Ford Brothers Blues Band ! I'm still praying for the Center Stage concert to air on my local PBS. I've got their latest cd, but it's not the same as watching it on the big screen.

I've seen quite a few West Coast blues bands -- I saw a great set by Little Charlie and Rick Estrin a few weeks ago, at the Lehigh Valley (PA) Blues Fest -- but I've NEVER seen the Ford Blues Band WITH Mark Ford. It would've been a perfect opportunity for a road trip

I bought a used compilation cd this summer, "Sacramento Blues" -- has some great tracks by Omar Sharriff, Johnny Heartsman, Gary Black, Tommy Twang & the Electric Stimulators, and lots of other Sacramento-area based bands. I've got a bad case of "West Coast" Fever ...
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Travelling by train of thought

[bassjack]

Hi All,

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the "Robben Ford and the Ford Brothers Band Tribute to Butterfield and Bloomfield" show at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico. This is the same venue where the Center Stage video was recorded, so if you've seen it you know what a great place it is to showcase music.

A friend's wife had seen the show Saturday night at North Show in Tahoe and reported it was killer. My perception of the Chico show was good, not great - I thought the mix was a bit muddy and I was probably not in the space I needed to be. Oh well, I wouldn't have missed it in any case.

The band was Robben, Mark, Pat, Volker, Duane, unidenitifed keyboard player that appeared to be new to the ensemble, Tom Poole trumpet and a tenor sax player I've seen before but didn't catch his name.

Right from the outset you can tell that the brothers feel real good about hanging with each other and getting to play some tunes. I've seen Robben a number of times on his own and he just doesn't seem as loose and as comfortable as when he's with family.

They did only tunes associated with B & B. This is the second time I've seen this tribute and I was surprised that the didn't repeat too many tunes from the first time. Some of the selections as I recall:

Drifting and drifting
Feeling Groovy
Work Song
Lovin' Cup
One More Heartache
Encore (which looked to me like they all looked around and said "yikes, what'll we do now?") was an absolute killer 12 bar instrumental that had 'em trading fours between keys, harp and guitars while the horn section just puncuated the tune effortlessly.

Robben played a LP sunburst (as did Volker) through a Fender Super Reverb. At the end of the show I checked out the peddle setup - just one with two knobs and one footswitch mounted on a white face plate.

Good show, indeed. Robben will be back in Chico next month as part of the John Mayal blues show, so twice within 40 days or so - life is good.

BTW, he wore black cowboy books, black jeans, a black tank top with a black jacket over it with some fancy swirly stuff that reflected the lights. (I know some of you need to know this!). Mark, as always, was in a nondescript t and cargo pants. The boys can play!

Happy Trails.

Bassjack

[diatonicdude]

Thanks to you guys for the review.

I would love to see the Ford Bros live, especially performing worksong.

Cheer's,

DD
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Music is the universal language; speak it with emotion, listen with a passion.

[Michael]

The single pedal was a Zen Drive. Grass Valley is just above Auburn on the way to Tahoe. The Ford Bros. played in the Community Theatre. It was a great place - dance floor in front and approximately 15 rows of theatre type seating.

The Ford Bros. also made a trip to Old Town Folsom playing at the Powerhouse Pub. I've seen Robben many times dating back to the beginning of the Yellow Jackets. Come to think of it ... we are lucky that he plays here a lot and even hosted a clinic at Steve's Guitar.

The Stoney, Empire Club, Harlows, Powerhouse Pub, Community Theatre in Grass Valley, Yoshi's, The Mystic --

When it's all said and done ... I do like the Ford Brothers the best. I saw Robben in a three piece with Hillary and DeWayne. That was great. The Jing Chi live performance is an awsome second. And for some reason, I loved it at the Stoney when Robben had Tom on drums. They set such a groove.

Oh, what the hell ... it's all good.

[roadwarriorfortheblues]

[Bunnylover]

Was anyone at the Fire on the Mountain concert in Sonora? It was awesome! I'd like other peoples' feedback about it.