Robben Ford Discussion

[txbls99]

Was at the Dallas show last night & was wondering what happened? Robben played for just shy of an hour and said goodnight. We all looked at each other a little stunned. He came back to play one brief encore and that was it.

I thought thru much of the show he looked annoyed or irritated. Did see he asked the lone photographer to stop. And he did at one point tell Toss and Andy to start playing and he walked offstage for awhile. Then came back w/a beer in his hand. No explanation and it was obvious this wasn't the "solo" time for them.

So wondering if anyone has any intel or insight on why the show was cut short. It was a good one btw. Maybe not one of his best nites but it seems for a reason.

Thanks.

[davidS]

This is the best way to answer your question.

http://thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=894260

I was there last night as well. Definitely not one of Robben's better shows. I've seen him many times.

[frank0936]

That's too bad. I hate to see anything ruin a show for both the audience and the performer. I hope that it can be resolved for future shows.

[ducharme-jones]

My wife went to his Austin show ( i had a gig and couldn't go) She said the same thing, he played a real brief set - didn't seem to be into it, barely said a word and no encore. but she loved his Tele and not crazy about his SG.
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[johan]

This happens too often. We know Robben dislikes flash photos during the concerts but to leave the stage early is not going to get him any new fans.
There's an old thread about this where Anne comments on Robben being burnt out after a similar incident. That was last new year.

[PaulG]

Yes, this certainly is becoming an 'old' topic. And I don't like where this is heading. Either RF will alienate enough fans to the point that he;ll not be in demand for live shows, or RF will become so annoyed with people taking photos that he will stop playing live shows.
Most people on this forum anxiously wait for a RF show to come to their part of the world. I would be pretty disappointed to have a show interrupted or aborted due to this activity.
That said, I've been to about 15 or 20 RF shows and have never seen this scenario play out. Most venues I've seen RF at will announce "No pictures or recordings" prior to the show. That should be a given and all venues he plays should do this. I've always felt that RF gives 100% as a professional musican. Some of the comments from the TGP thread were pretty brutal. Perhaps they know of other artists that can fill the shoes of RF and are happy to walk away. I don't blame them. But, I have not and am getting too old NOT to attend every RF show I can because I simply cannot find this kind of performance anywhere else.
Hopefully, I won't get burnt like some of the unfortunate others.

[frank0936]

The only time I've seen anything close to this was at a seminar Robben was doing in NY state. During a question and answer period Robben asked someone not to take any pictures and, while he was not rude about, he was very definite. Apparently the person he said that to showed some sign of displeasure. Whereupon, Robben smiled and teasingly said, "Ah, don't get mad now. We'll do it later." And of course he did allow pictures later. I really hate to see this issue keep coming up. It does hurt Robben's reputation, and it detracts from his enjoyment of the music he makes. That detracts from our enjoyment.

In this case (the Dallas show), the photographer was apparently the staff photographer for the venue. According to some who were there, there no flash photos taken, but Robben was not happy that photos were being shot at all. I blame the venue in this case - and possibly Robben's management for not making Robben's wishes clear.

[AlChuck]

Interesting coincidence that the two guitarists I most often hear discussed about hating photography during shows have the initials RF - Robben and Robert Fripp...

[txbls99]

Thanks to all for the replies. Very helpful. Agree that it's a real shame this issue has grown into such a problem. Seems an annoucemnt prior to the show about it would be very good for all. Still I'm surprised his mgmt hasn't addressed this by now.

Thanks again.

[route66blues]

Hi everybody. I haven't been to Robben's forum since his show here in OKC on May 9th following the Granada theater show in Dallas.

I was the promoter for the show here. Knowing Robben's distaste for flash photography as well as photography in general and hearing there was a problem in Dallas I decided to make sure it didn't happen here.

The venue was a small theater attached to our Civic Center Auditorium with a capacity of 300 complete with art deco design. Their staff is very adept at discouraging photography as most if not all shows there have a no photo policy. The ushers warned the patrons upon entry and I made an announcement prior to the show. Any cameras produced by the audience be it cell phone or pocket camera met with the ushers insistence to be put away.

Consequently Robben played a full 90 minute very relaxed set with numerous improvisational and dynamic solos. The vibe from the audience was they were there to listen and Robben responded.

Robben hung around after the show and met with fans by the stage door and posed for a few photo's then.

The following night he gave a clinic for our Academy of Contemporary Music where he spoke for 2 hours and hung around till all had a chance to chat after the clinic.

I had met Robben briefly in 2007 at a show I also promoted and he did have one episode of flash shyness. I thought it was a bit of an overreaction at the time but knowing that was a pet peeve of his I decided to make sure it didn't happen again and we were rewarded with a great show. Imagine that. Respect his wishes and respect is returned.

It was a pleasure dealing with Robben his band and crew which I can't always say about other artists I have entertained.