Robben Ford Discussion

[Bluelobster]

Leaving for a 4 hours drive at 13.30pm ,very cloudy and rainy, after 1 hour we are in italy and all of a sudden the sky is quite Bluuuuue and the sun shine , from the freeway we enjoyed the sea, the seashore and these villages and little towns, then another freeway toward Milano, back into the clouds. In Milano at 17h.30 : Just the moment to get lost (where is the plan???Arggggh) Thanks to all the people who helped (we barely speak 2 words of italian -Shame - ) Then the theater is there : Just in time to get the tickets before the theater close. perfect timing. Just in time to meet Marin & friends - Hi Marin - and have my real pizza (sorry dudes no pineapple).
This a real theater, 1000 seats, with balcony, all red velvet, we are 19 row,
not that bad for getting the overall sound which was good , sounds were bouncing , though the bass was mushy, or muddy, sometimes notes were undistinguished in low frequencies.
the set list as far as i remember (the 2 first and the last are sure)
Lovin'cup
Chevrolet,
Indianola,
Start me up
The way u treated me
Moonchild
Cannonball Shuffle
Help the poor
Don't make sense
Badge
Over my head
Keep on runnin'. and that was it.
Starting with the tele and switching to the Baker back and forth.
Bob Malach enlightened us , on the way you treated me and some others they stretched in Miles Mood , Climax. Toss Panos is great.
I agree with some of you : sometimes it felt like a job had to be done, some tunes were short, with short impro. Yes the Blue Line has a really particular thing. But i was there to enjoy & i did. By the way ii agree 100%
Badge is great Live. The crowd were really nice, we were all listening.
And it was fun to see Daved crawling under the drumset for fixing i don't know what during a tune.(As much as watching him throwing two handful
of picks like a farmer feeding his chicken ). And guess what there was a lot of young fans like fresh blood, very cool. Robben came and spent 15 mn
signing & talking. People were very enthusiastic. So people from Paris and England be prepared to have a great time with a great band.(but they look tired, i think these guys deserve a private Jet plus 5stars accomodations)
See you BLOB

[marinblues]

Hi!

first of all, I'd like to say that it was really nice that Bluelobster drove all that way to Milano to see Robben.

In the past days I've read less-than-enthusiastic reviews regarding this current tour and my first impression was to say "hey, you purists, you cannot expect Robben to stay at the Blue Line phase all his life!"

I sat in row number 1 (good view and my ear in the PA) and my impressions where the following:

- Robben appeared to be a bit aloof. He appeared to be either tired or with his thoughts elsewhere. His solo's where short and slightly routine and there was less of that extrodianary magic which makes him - Robben.
- The band was OK. Toss Panos is one hell of a drummer! Somewhere between Dennis Chambers and Hilary Jones. The bassist (Dwayne) is good too, I liked his Marcus Miller chops in his solo. Bob Malach is his usual self. He shines better on the jazzy tunes...it's a bit advanced for the average listener to play 6th voicings in a 12 bar blues. However, Bob was grooving and looed like he had fun.
-The tunes I liked best where 1) "Help the Poor" - not because of a solo but more because of the way Robben and the band created this nice "ambient" buildup. 2) Badge - yes, I like this song and I don't care if Clapton "was God" in 1970. Bob played a nice backing vocal voicing with the sax which went well with Robben's singing. 3) Keep on Runnin' - they played it as a final track and perhaps Robben got over his
momentary lack of inspiration and played this burning solo.
- Some people commented that Robben would need a keyboard player. I understand that it is also a "cost" issue. With small venues, it is much of a profit thing to have or not have an additional band member. However, last year I saw Robben in Forl? (Italy) in a similar setup (Malach&Beck&Brechtlein) and there was no "lack" of a keyboard player and both the "fullness" of the sound and the "steaminess" of the solo's where there.
- Overall, Robben's sound is less overdriven and thinner. Some will like it and some will not.

I have to comment upon Robben's recent career path. I guess that the man feels that, as a guitar player and after 30 years, he might have achieved everything which is achievable as a guitar player.

On the other hand there are guys like Eric Clapton ("is God"....) who sings worse, plays worse, looks worse but is a regular Gramm&MTV winner and respected English millionaire gentleman. Don't get me wrong, Eric is one of my first influences and has all my RESPECT as one of the revolutionary guitar players. However, back in the 21st century, my prefence lies so much on Robben side.

Also, in the past days, someone commented that, at a Robben concert the place was "full of guitar players". I guess this is a rule pretty much everywhere.

Therefore, last night a thougth came to my mind: it appears to me that Robben is trying to be an Eric Clapton singing-type artist whilst the vast majority of his audience ARE still guitar players who expect him to do more "guitar music" and less "singing music".

Last night it appeared that he so stretched between these 2 things that his target audience and message appeared unclear and undefined. I question how wise this is.

To give you an example: many "guitar players" (me included) want to see Robben doing more "guitar music". On the other hand: my wife would like to see more "singing stuff".

The difference is that I (the guitar player) bought the CD and payed for the ticket last night....

Having said this: Robben is still number 1 and I have faith that he will overcome this phase. Also, with hundreds of concerts per year, we cannot expect him to always be 100%. Just think of how many times we ourselves do not perform 100% at work due fatigue or other things.

On the positive note: I noticed that there was a considerable number of pretty young Italian women queueing to get an autograph!

I've never seen that happen to Scofield or Larry Carlton.

Maybe I've got it all wrong after all......


bye

marin



Added: I just wanted to say that Robben had a very professional approach and patiently stood on the stage signing SO MANY authographs. Not many famous musicians do that kind of thing. A true pro and a nice man.
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