Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 908 Location: Tampa Bay, FL
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2003 4:40 pm Post subject: Santa Cruz blues
It wasn't THAT bad Aeolian... for me a lot of it was the emotional flow... Tinsley and Coco rocked.... they played longer than planned and they were thrilling. When they got on stage together for the encore, it tore the house down. It was a tough act for anyone to follow. The sound problems aggravated the issue... but i was really glad to have had a chance to see the Ford Brothers' Bloomfield Tribute in Santa Cruz.
Festivals are very different than club shows/concerts for me as a fan. I love festivals -- but i don't have the same expectations at a festival as i would at a good concert club/theatre. I just enjoy and appreciate whatever i can. Santa Cruz was a great festival.
Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 534 Location: SF Bay area
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2003 5:18 pm Post subject:
We had a good time at Santa Cruz, didn't we, Roadwarrior? Coco and Tinsley were fabulous, but then so was Robben et al, AND HE WAS WEARING THOSE FANTASTIC SHOES! Lucky Peterson was amazing too...the whole thing was grrrrrrreat! (Can you tell that I liked it?)
_________________ www.elizabethgage.com
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2003 6:29 pm Post subject: AND HE WAS WEARING THOSE FANTASTIC SHOES!
What is it with the shoes? I had an ex who used to rag me about the shoes I wore on stage. Maybe you could enlighten us on suitable stage attire Of course, if any of us could play like Robben it woudn't matter, but as it is we need all the help we can get.
My complaint in Santa Cruz what that my favorite guitarist, and the primary reason I went, got the worst of it. I enjoyed Coco's set (he's coming to the bay area this month) and was really looking forward to Robben and Chris taking it up a notch. A couple of years ago, Chris came into one of Robben's shows at Yoshi's and lit the place up playing through the second guitarists rig which was all pedalboards and really foreign to him. I guess I had too many expectations in hearing them play off each other. Instead we were treated to Pat's wall of sound.
As for Tinsley Ellis, for me he kind of has one gear, like Corby Yates. Robben once described songs and solos as having an arc, like a letter. "You say hello, get to what you're trying to say, and then find a way to sign off" I think this is part of why his playing has such an emotional impact on folks. People like Tinsley seem to be trying to stay at the top of the arc all the time. The result is a flat line that tends to drone on after awhile no matter how great it may be at any particular moment. I think this is what happened with the shredders. So many amazing riffs, coming so fast, that it all sounds the same after awhile. Robben is the master of putting things in context. You could take one of his live blues solos (like on Live at the Mint) and use it as an example of essay development and conclusion. Robben can take the harmonic sophistication of the fusion jazzers (Henderson, Scofield, Herring, ect...) and put it in the context of the harmonicaly limited but passionate blues players (all the Stevie Ray Vaughnabee's). _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 534 Location: SF Bay area
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2003 8:42 pm Post subject: Eloquence...a wonderful thing.
Okay, first let me say I have no idea what my thing with footwear is, but people always ask, "What was he/she wearing?" and I never notice those things; I remember colors. (Must be a result of the sixties.) I have always had this thing with fabric and texture...and I seem to have unusual taste, particularly in shoes; I cannot stand anything uncomfortable on my feet. (Now you know waaaaaaaay too much about me...fine, while I am at it, I like to breathe people...Robben is fantastic! Maybe I was a dog in another life and the sniffing instinct remains as a vestige!)
More importantly, your analogy to the essay is phenomenal and an approach I use in teaching writing; rather than chains of adjectives, which tend to sound humorous, a vivid verb leaves the reader with profound imagery. Less is more. (I won't drone on by describing my favorite creative writing lesson.)
In my opinion, Robben is master of the guitar. He allows single notes to permeate and diffuse, and at the risk of being tacky, "dazzles with brilliance, instead of baffling with bullshit." I have never heard anyone come close to his sound, and I have been a fan for over 30 years. (I think...came back from living in France in 1972, and stumbled upon him at the Golden Bear or some other little club in L.A. and have been a fan-addict ever since...I have never driven or flown to see anyone else...okay, I flew to see Rudolf Nureyev, but that was once.)
As long as I am rambling, I cannot understand why Chris Cain and Garth Webber are not household names, and I have never comprehended why most commercially successful musicians are rarely those I admire. Perhaps it speaks to my eclectic taste, or the purist in me...maybe a little of both. The political candidates I support rarely win either. (Do I have the makings of another thesis?)
I am not a guitar player, and I have frequently made fun of the obsession of decoding Robben's settings and/or gear. I have said this before: put a Steinway in the hands of a crappy pianist and you get someone tickling the ivories. Put a shitty (sorry, it is Friday night and the end of a long week) out of tune, elementary school spinet in the hands of Paderewski, and you net magic. It is not in the furniture or the knobs; there is an ethereal and sensual relationship between an artist and her/his medium.
Okay, I'll shut up now. Thanks for letting me share.
_________________ www.elizabethgage.com
Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 1043 Location: Boulder, CO
Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2003 12:37 pm Post subject: Re: AND HE WAS WEARING THOSE FANTASTIC SHOES!
Aeolian wrote:
Robben is the master of putting things in context. You could take one of his live blues solos (like on Live at the Mint) and use it as an example of essay development and conclusion. Robben can take the harmonic sophistication of the fusion jazzers (Henderson, Scofield, Herring, ect...) and put it in the context of the harmonicaly limited but passionate blues players (all the Stevie Ray Vaughnabee's).
That is the magic! Robben is working multiple dimensions...
+ essay development
+ motif development
+ phrasing like a horn player
+ harmonic - both sophisticated and simple - weaving back and forth
+ touch
--- note attacks - slurs, hammers, pulls, sweeps, grace notes
--- dynamics - up and down, soft and loud
+ tone - tone with both the hands (which is a huge part) and the Dumble (which responds perfectly to Robben's touch).
+ soul - which is that intensity and emotion that great musicians emote..Miles, Cotrane, Jimi, BB, the original Delta Blues guys
Most really good players have some of these. Robben has them all working and is the master of making it all work! That's the magic...IMHO.
But it's also the curse and why most people don't get Robben. If you don't appreciate all those things ...or hear only some of those things (like most people do) then you don't understand how incredible it really is!
I have stood next to people at Robben shows and heard them say, "I don't get it what's the big deal?" Meanwhile I am watching the same exact thing and freaking because it is so deeply moving........
Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 1043 Location: Boulder, CO
Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2003 12:48 pm Post subject: Re: Eloquence...a wonderful thing.
elizabeth wrote:
As long as I am rambling, I cannot understand why Chris Cain and Garth Webber are not household names, and I have never comprehended why most commercially successful musicians are rarely those I admire. Perhaps it speaks to my eclectic taste, or the purist in me...maybe a little of both. The political candidates I support rarely win either. (Do I have the makings of another thesis?)
BTW Robben is not a household name either.
That would be because commercially successful musicians play a completely different game in the current music industry system. They have to appeal to the masses...the lowest common denominator. Its like "Reality TV" draws the largest audiences on TV.
elizabeth wrote:
I am not a guitar player, and I have frequently made fun of the obsession of decoding Robben's settings and/or gear. I have said this before: put a Steinway in the hands of a crappy pianist and you get someone tickling the ivories. Put a shitty (sorry, it is Friday night and the end of a long week) out of tune, elementary school spinet in the hands of Paderewski, and you net magic. It is not in the furniture or the knobs; there is an ethereal and sensual relationship between an artist and her/his medium.
Okay, I'll shut up now. Thanks for letting me share.
Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 762 Location: Southern California
Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2003 12:54 pm Post subject: Re: AND HE WAS WEARING THOSE FANTASTIC SHOES!
kirk95 wrote:
I have stood next to people at Robben shows and heard them say, "I don't get it what's the big deal?" Meanwhile I am watching the same exact thing and freaking because it is so deeply moving........
I get kind of frustrated by people who don't 'get' Robben. I think its because its takes a certain level of sophistication, musically speaking, to really appreciate what he does. He's a musician's musician. It's not Robben playing fast or loud that make him one of the absolute best. Its all the little things that Dave mentioned that make him simply incredible. There are far too many people in this world that can play fast and loud. That bores me in about 5 seconds. Its Robben's touch, phrasing, soul, dynamics, melodic sense, tension, etc. that put him far above most players in the world. Unfortunately, most people don't even understand what these things are - let alone appreciate them.
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2003 12:13 am Post subject: Re: AND HE WAS WEARING THOSE FANTASTIC SHOES!
kirk95 wrote:
That is the magic! Robben is working multiple dimensions...
+ essay development
+ motif development
+ phrasing like a horn player
+ harmonic - both sophisticated and simple - weaving back and forth
+ touch
--- note attacks - slurs, hammers, pulls, sweeps, grace notes
--- dynamics - up and down, soft and loud
+ tone - tone with both the hands (which is a huge part) and the Dumble (which responds perfectly to Robben's touch).
+ soul - which is that intensity and emotion that great musicians emote..Miles, Cotrane, Jimi, BB, the original Delta Blues guys
Most really good players have some of these. Robben has them all working and is the master of making it all work! That's the magic...IMHO.
That's exactly what it's all about. We could now close this forum after all is said
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Of course, if any of us could play like Robben it woudn't matter, but as it is we need all the help we can get.
