Robben Ford Discussion

[Three Chord Monte]

The Skylands of Northwest Jersey welcome Robben tonight. He headlines the three day event in the shadow of the beautiful Delaware Water Gap, along the river on the Jersey side. I'm bringing the family for the short drive. Nice weather today, hot but clear skies, so it should be a nice evening under the tent. Looking forward to seeing Robben again. Hope some of you make it here.

[Three Chord Monte]

Great show. We set out a few hours early in order to catch a couple of acts prior to Robben. It was a hot and muggy late afternoon but the temps dropped below 80 F as we walked around "Skyfest" and checked out the grounds. There was some nice Nicaraguan pottery at one stand; otherwise it was typical fest fair. Attendance was moderate, which made for a very relaxed afternoon. The food and drink was good (the Costa Rican coffee was superb), and the prices were reasonable. Everyone was cool and there were plenty of friendly dogs and kids to add to the nice atmosphere.

Of the acts we took in, the McDades were the most enjoyable. Great musicians from Edmonton, and I think they own the French Canadian Celtic Jazz genre. They’re a charismatic family too, very talented.

I'm bad at guessing the size of an outdoor crowd, but there were hundreds in attendance, likely over 1000, enough to fill the big tent had everyone chosen to sit within. It was general admission, and we left our excellent seats to join the crowd that formed around the stage when Robben’s show began.

Robben came out at 8:45 with his two guitars, both amps and his band, Andy Hess and Toss Panos. They played one set, including an encore, playing straight through until after 10:00. There were no big surprises, I was unfamiliar with "Earthquake", but I see that it's on the new live disc that I intend to pick up in the morning.

The one aspect of the show that was distracting was the fact that one inconsiderate dude insisted on photographing Robben from up close, against the stage, and Robben obviously did not approve. It wouldn't have been very Zen of me to excuse myself from my family’s side to drop the dude with an elbow, but I was tempted. I'll never know how Robben can lead a band, sing, play and shoo away an idiot all at the same time. Other than that, it was a great evening. My wife, kids and I loved it.

Highlights for me included "Moonchild Blues", "Nothing from Nobody" (the George Bailey song) and "Supernatural". I didn't write down the set list, but I do believe he opened with "Lateral Climb" followed by "How Deep in the Blues". I also recall enjoying "Indianola", "Spoonful", "They'll Never Be Another You" and the encore was "Lovin' Cup". The sound was right on the money, as far as I was concerned. Minor foibles had the vocal mic down a couple of times, but no biggies.

My wife and I were considering driving into the city next week to catch Robben at BB Kings, but now we’ve got our fix and I doubt the upcoming NYC show would surpass the lovely evening that we enjoyed with our teenage daughters this evening. Thanks Robben!

[JohnnyZ]

I read RoadWarrior's review before this one (nice review btw, TCM!) and I sarcastically replied about Robben not playing Lovin' Cup (I swear he *always* plays that song), and I see that he did play it in this show!
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Soul on Eleven