Joined: 29 Jan 2004 Posts: 1504 Location: Methuen, MA
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 12:09 pm Post subject:
Daved wrote:
And, as for Robben joining "on the board", he himself did, about 2 weeks ago, bring up that he would still like to do the chat thing in the near future. I told him to give me a little warning so I could alert you all when the time comes. So, hang in there... now that our tour schedule is winding down some perhaps we'll get the opportunity soon.
Awesome! What's Robben's username? I just checked the member list going back a couple of months, and I didn't see a name that even closely resembles RF. Perhaps he doesn't want us to know it's him?
Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 1043 Location: Boulder, CO
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 1:07 pm Post subject:
Daved wrote:
kirk95 wrote:
Extra points if you each get a shot of you with Daved...
Tell Robben it's time for him to join us up here on the board!!!
Sorry, although I have in the past, I rarely go with Robben and his brothers on these 'family' gigs. (I did speak with Patrick over the phone the other day helping him set up transportation.)
And, as for Robben joining "on the board", he himself did, about 2 weeks ago, bring up that he would still like to do the chat thing in the near future. I told him to give me a little warning so I could alert you all when the time comes. So, hang in there... now that our tour schedule is winding down some perhaps we'll get the opportunity soon.
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 3:14 pm Post subject:
JohnnyZ wrote:
Daved wrote:
And, as for Robben joining "on the board", he himself did, about 2 weeks ago, bring up that he would still like to do the chat thing in the near future. I told him to give me a little warning so I could alert you all when the time comes. So, hang in there... now that our tour schedule is winding down some perhaps we'll get the opportunity soon.
Awesome! What's Robben's username? I just checked the member list going back a couple of months, and I didn't see a name that even closely resembles RF. Perhaps he doesn't want us to know it's him?
~JohnnyZ~
I think it's Max _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Actually, I was having iced tea. Were your ears ringing? We were talking about when we hooked up with you at the Kuumbwa Jing Chi show. I did't know Elizabeth was at that show too!
Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 534 Location: SF Bay area
Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2004 11:45 am Post subject: Shots????
No shots Captain, but I think I managed to get a new administrative assistant from the evening. And you should only know what attire he wears when he is posting on this board! Hooooeeeeeeeeee! Actually, we can't decide on his job title: Admin. Asst., Valet, Butler (no, they vetoed on that one.)
And by the way, last night was probably the most amazing show I have seen Robben play in YEARS. No less than 3 hours (small break in the middle,) looooooonnnnnnnnng solos on "Little Red Rooster" "Help the Poor" "Prison of Love" "Taste and Try" and so many more! Lots of killer trades between Robben and Volker, and Robben and Mark...Mark was on fire...so was Dewayne...they just kept taking it higher and higher. It was mighty damn fine..oh yeah!
Sometimes I forget what a truly excellent guitar player Volker is; he is such a low key kind of guy, but then he connects with that guitar, and woooosh...magic. Grrrrrrrreat vocals too. Wunderbar Volker, das ist sehr gut! (And he's awfully nice to look at, too!)
Mark is, well, he is such a blast to see. Quintessential harp player (extraordinare) but so much more. Fabulous vocals, and his reparte with the crowd is amazing. It might be me, but that is the first time I ever noticed his towel monogrammed with his name. Nice touch!
There is an indescribable energy that emanates from the combination of the three brothers playing together. They obviously have a great time playing together, but they trade and build off each other so seamlessly. I just love watching them watch each other, but you all know I am such a sucker for those bonding moments.
Sorry, no photos from me, albeit the massive temptation to score those bonus points, especially since I am a chronic over-achiever (although I never did figure out what the hell "marine pants" are. I swear, I would have worn them if I knew what they were.) I left my camera in the car, and I was mighty glad I did, particularly after noticing the guy who CONTINUALLY fired his flash at the wrong moment.
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2004 12:02 pm Post subject:
Moe's was packed to the rafters. Except for Miss Elizabeth planting herself smack in front of Robben, the rest of us only saw heads.
The band is basically Pat's "Ford Blues Band" with the addition of Robben. Mark returned to the fold about a year ago replacing Andy Just who had backed off from long range touring. So you have Mark, Pat, Dewayne, and Volker, with Robben tossed in the middle. They did some of Robben's stuff but Mark and Volker sang and led just as many songs each. Volker is a great blues singer. They also played things off of the Bloomfield tribute album starting out with a rousing "Screaming" and my favorite of the night, "It's About Time".
Let me start by saying that Robben's singing was great. The work he's doing has really paid off. No hint of strain at all. He's gotten full control of his considerable range and all the registers sound even. He could do whatever he wanted with his voice and when he felt a phrase a certain way, you did too.
It was loud. For a small club, Moe's usually has superlative sound. The owner really knows his stuff and cares about the presentation. Dewaynes bass was kind of boomy and that seemed to be the basis of the volume. I did see a mike in front of his rig but didn't notice if they had a DI. Pat's drums sounded great. They always get a great drum sound in Moe's and Pat's D'Amico's are great to begin with. Volker was using the backline DeVille I always see folks using there and his tone was cutting through really well. A couple of folks remarked that it didn't sound like a Les Paul but it reminded me more of Chris Cains sound with a strong attack and clarity that you could really hear what he was playing. Mark had his whole rig with the rack full of stuff, a Super and another Lab amp the same size as a Super. Unfortunately, with the overall volume level, he got kind of burried in the loud stuff. But in the quiet songs, he gave a lesson in how to play harmonica. Not just blues harp, but how to use the thing as a complete instrument. Robben was using two amps. His Deluxe and a Silverface Super. A souple of us were speculating that he borrowed Garth's as it sounded similar. He had a Morley ABX switcher box and played both amps straight in. No pedals. He would choose combinations of amps depending on what he wanted to do. Play gentle through the Super for comps, the DR for more overdriven leads, or both when it got louder. Both amps were really working and the sound was more compressed than his usualy dynamic Dumble tone. The presence or sharpness was gone and it was a more traditional Robben sound, harkening back to the old days. Maybe this was what he was after. He played the Tele all night. While Volker played a lot of altered and jazz oriented runs, Robben kept it pretty basic blues. He not only forms a solo as a journey, he does it over a whole evening. A friend who had never seen Robben before kept going "he's getting warmed up now!". If you didn't know what Robben was capable of, you'd think the last song was his peak, but then he'd come along in the next song and raise the roof again. And again, and again. About halfway through the night he broke out the fusion licks, sprinkling them into the blues solos like a master chef with the spices. Then raising the intensity level as he went along, he had everybody cheering wildly after each solo. There were constant smiles around the stage. They really looked like they were having fun. Mark had a song list and in classic blues band tradition, they discussed what to do next between songs, even apearing to pull out things they didn't plan on and explaining to each other how it went. The common thread between touring bands, I noticed Dewayne signaling Pat on Robben's songs and Robben on some of the FBB stuff. Hey, this is how the blues goes down. Juke joint jam time!
After the show I talked with JR Burr a bit and saw Pat's new 7 mo. old grandchild, whom Dewayne got from JR and was rolling around the stage with. A true family affair. What a night!
It was cool having dinner with Elizabeth and Bluerunner, with JingChiFan poppiing in unexpectedly. BTW, that was only the start of my first beer, I always look like that when I'm having fun _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 5:16 am Post subject:
A tremendous show, indeed. The way that Mark, Volker and Robben traded vocal duties, and then the way everyone passed solos around, it was obvious that the Fords and friends were having a great time. There were a lot of classic tunes that each of the musicians has done over the years, but each had a twist this time around. (The arrangement of "Help the Poor" was fantasic.)
Moe's wasn't just packed, it was packed with long-time fans, and all seemed to have the attitude that if you were there too, then you must be a friend. I wouldn't have missed it for the world, and judging from the number of people who came a long distance for the night, I wasn't alone in that attitude.
It was great to meet so may other BBS'ers in person. Hope Paul from Santa Barbara had an easy drive home, and that Elizabeth had fun yesterday at the SF Blues Festival. Thanks to JingChiFan for the photos (maybe I'll change my BBS name to the "BeerRunner"). Listening to Aeolian and him and their stories of so many decades in the Bay Area music scene at dinner at the Seabright Brewery was a treat.
After sleeping late yesterday I had a fun Adventure Sunday before flying home late out of San Jose. Nice run along Cliff in Santa Cruz to start, jogging along as hundreds of competitors in the Santa Cruz Triathalon passed me. Then took some back roads over the mountains to 101 (including a single-land dirt road that gave my little Hertz rental quite a test), and on to the Taste of Morgan Hill Festival in time to hear Shane Dwight's second set of his lunchtime performance there. Then I headed up more back roads and took the short hike up to the top of Mt. Hamilton for the first time in my life, from where I could probably see Aeolian's and Elizabeth's houses, along with hundreds of miles of California in all directions. And to top it off, on the way back to the airport I got to hear Eric Gagne shut down the Giants in the 8th and 9th, putting the Dodgers 2-1/2 games ahead in the NL West as both they and I headed home into the sunset.
Hope we can all do it again some time. _________________ - BlueRunner
What an outstanding show. It truely felt like we were attending a family jam, and it was evident that they were enjoying it too. They were smiling non-stop, especialy Robben. The sound was perfect, the crowd was very into the show, and I was surprised that they played three full hours. (not too shaby for a mere $15 ) The band was tight, and Volker and Mark really raised the ante, to which Robben responded every time. Pat and Dewayne kept it rock solid all night, but the solo swapping by Volker, Mark and Robben was some of the best I have seen. Mark made that harp sing like a horn! I was only slightly disappointed Robben didn't play through the Dumble, but that might have been a little too much with a club the size of Moes. All in all, it was a perfect evening.
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2004 9:44 am Post subject:
Robben played Moe's in January with his touring band. He was having real problems with some interference coming though his rig. I thought that maybe he wasn't up to trying that again, especially without Daved there to help. But I saw a review on another forum of a show in Reno where he apparently played the same set up. So maybe he was deliberately trying to go "old school". Surprised he didn't dig out a Super 400. That would have been fun. As it was, his tone was halfway between modern Robben and vintage Robben. But the playing was pure Robben. _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 62 Location: Fremont, California
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 3:05 pm Post subject: That WAS you I saw, Elizabeth
Elizabeth, Now I know what you look like and that WAS you I saw at the Sausalito Art Festival. Glad you had a good time at Moe's. Wish I went now. Oh, well. Next time, hopefully.
Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 534 Location: SF Bay area
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 9:01 pm Post subject: Re: That WAS you I saw, Elizabeth
Bunnylover wrote:
Elizabeth, Now I know what you look like and that WAS you I saw at the Sausalito Art Festival. Glad you had a good time at Moe's. Wish I went now. Oh, well. Next time, hopefully.
Awwwww Bunnylover, next time introduce yourself! Sorry you missed Saturday night; it was truly fantastic! Best gig I have seen in YEARS! Three hours of non-stop bliss! Hoooaaaaaaahhhhhhh! I'm still smiling!
And hanging with Aeo, bluerunner, JingChiFan, Vince, Paul, and everyone else was really, really great!
HEY...anyone want to go to Glen Ellen on Saturday night for a repeat???? Come on...it would be so much fun!
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) The band was tight, and Volker and Mark really raised the ante, to which Robben responded every time. Pat and Dewayne kept it rock solid all night, but the solo swapping by Volker, Mark and Robben was some of the best I have seen. Mark made that harp sing like a horn! I was only slightly disappointed Robben didn't play through the Dumble, but that might have been a little too much with a club the size of Moes. All in all, it was a perfect evening.