Robben Ford at the Bottom Line
Friday, July 18, 2003
So, I made the two-hour trek, along with my buddy and band-mate Big Jim Quinlan, from Trenton to NYC last night to catch Robben Ford at the Bottom Line. A most pleasant surprise was seeing PRS Forumite SteveK and his lovely wife Joy there, and better still was getting to actually sit with them for the first show!
Opening for Robben was Oregon-based guitarist (and banjoist) Tony Furtado, (www.tonyfurtado.com), who accompanied himself using a pair of Martin 00-17s, one an older slothead and the other probably a 50s with a regular peghead. He ran them through Sunrise soundhole pickups augmented with a Baggs undersaddle pickup, and ran straight into the house system. He had a couple of technical glitches -- shorts that looked as if they were caused by having a too-thick strap on the guitars' endpin-jacks -- but Tony took it all in stride and kept his show moving along.
Tony opened with an up-tempo, double-time version of the old Skip James classic, "Cypress Grove." Using a guitar that sounded as if it was tuned to an open A provided a low, rumbling sound with repeating octaves that was very moving and totally appropriate to the eerie, minor modalities of the song. Tony used a couple of very heavy glass bottlenecks, and had a plastic thumb pick and two metal fingerpicks, and he had successfully crossed the independent-thumb divide a long time ago, so his fingerpicking was VERY precise and VERY good. Lots of alternating bass, and some great banjo rolls on the upper strings. His dexterity with the slide was amazing, and his playing had a great deal of percussiveness and spontaneity. His vocals were a bit understated but very appropriate to the material. FWIW, he reminded me a little of Kelly Joe Phelps...
He did a lot of old-timey songs in a couple of different open tunings, including a great take on "Stack-o-Lee," as well as some of his own compositions, which quoted liberally from Blind Willie Johnson -- not at all a bad source, you know...? He closed with a truly unplugged, completely unamplified version of an old, traditional number that had been adapted by Woodie Guthrie as "I Ain't Got No Home." With a capo midway up the neck for a delicate, bright tone, he played a really melodic intro, and delivered an outstanding rendition of this melancholy chestnut.
All in all, Tony was a great complement to Robben's contemporary electric sound, and I was very happy to have been exposed to this talented guitarist!
OK, now on to Robben...! After having played with a Dumble 1x12 combo for the last couple of times I'd seen him, he had reverted to the 100-watt head and 2x12 open back cab that he has used for many years. As usual, there was a Variac plainly visible, and the usual Dumbelator and the TC2290 effects rack, used for reverb and delay. The only pedals he used were a Dunlop Crybaby and an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal, along with the two-button switch for the Dumble. Guitars were the black Baker Robben Ford model and my personal favorite, his '60 Tele, which he played infrequently, favoring the Baker, and even changing from the Tele to the Baker mid-song at a couple of points. He had a talented rhythm section, consisting of John Burr on B-3 and keys, drummer Toss Panos (a very dynamic player with a surprisingly light touch!), and Dewayne Pate, a 6-string bassist with some VERY fast fingers. They were all very solid players, and the group's dynamics and interplay were very tight, indeed.
For the first set, I was seated "at" the stage, directly in front of Robben's 2x12 cab, and, even with earplugs in BOTH ears, it was just plain LOUD...! But to be able to see a player of Robben's caliber this close was well worth it, to me. They did about 10 or eleven numbers, some of which were quite extended, with frequent solos by both Robben and, to a lesser degree, John Burr...
As always, Robben's phrasing and comping were just extraordinary. Not a player to fill measure after measure with blistering runs, Robben opted for a nice balance of standard, pentatonic blues-y riffs, and augmented them with some exquisitely tasty, out-of-the-box runs, and threw in a few triads and double-stops every couple of measures to create some really fine, unexpected tensions. The man is just scary to watch...! LOL!
One of my favorites from this set was "Moonshine Blues," from the ill-fated Blue Thumb "release that never was..." Robben is a master at taking a traditional form and, through the use of inversions and lead voicings, creates great movement and interest within the song's basic structure, and I thought his comping in this song really highlighted that facility. Other highlights from the first set included "Prison of Love" and the surprise guest appearance of the legendary B-3 player Al Kooper (Bob Dylan, Mike Bloomfield, the Blues Project, Blood Sweat and Tears, Kooper Session, etc.), doing an awesome version of Booker T's "Green Onions" with the band. What a gas...! Man, I'm still smiling about that one...! They closed the first set with an encore performance of Paul Butterfield's "Loving Cup," an all-time favorite of mine. They really burned on this one...! All in all, a great set by Robben and the band...!
The second, set, however, was where things REALLY caught fire...! Sorry, SteveK and Joy, but you really missed it...!
Following another great opener by Tony Furtado, Robben and the band really played their asses off during the second set -- they sounded MUCH more relaxed, and MUCH more inspired. Now, I recognize that Robben on a bad night is WAY more interesting to listen to and watch than many players out there, but when the man is "cooking", there's really NOBODY like him...! And so it was with the second set. The level of improvisation was far above that of the first set, and you could see that Robben was having much more fun tearing up the fretboard...
Jim and I had moved to another table, out of the line of fire, and didn't need the earplugs any longer, so it was a much more enjoyable experience. They opened with "Indianola," a great instrumental dedicated to BB King, and followed that with a superb version of "Nothing to Nobody." Another great spot was a new track from his upcoming October release, the "Cannonball Shuffle," dedicated to the Texas Cannonball himself, the late, great Freddie King. An instrumental in the style of Freddie's instrumentals from the mid-sixties, this was a fitting tribute that incorporated a lot of the King's overall style, but added to it the chordal complexity that has become one of Robben's signatures. A blistering "Supernatural" and Robben's cover of Willie Dixon's "It Don't Make Sense," from Blue Moon, offered more stellar performances. The encore was yet another incredible take on "Loving Cup," this one even more energetic and dynamic than the first set's. The energy levels were high, and the band was really cooking!
The second show was almost exhausting to watch! They packed so much into their performances, and we definitely got our money's worth...!
As has been said many times before, for whatever reason, I can't seem to find ANY of the notes that Robben plays on MY guitars...! LOL! Still, it is a real treat to listen to (and watch) such talented players in action, and I will most assuredly be in the audience the next time Robben heads back this way...!
I will post some pictures from this show over the next couple of days, so check back if you're interested. _________________ Regards, Dave Orban
Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 908 Location: Tampa Bay, FL
Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 12:26 pm Post subject: The Early Show at the Bottom Line
I saw the early show at the Bottom Line last night. Tony Furtado, a young, talented blues guitarist from Oregon, opened the show with some tasty, finger licking (i mean fingerpicking) originals on acoustic guitar. Tony had a very natural stage presence, a good voice, and I really enjoyed his set.
Robben and his band -- John Burr on organ & keyboard, Toss Panos on drums, and Dewayne Pate on bass -- were ready from the get go! They opened with Prison of Love and Indianola. The sound was great ! After the first two songs, Robben shared with the audience that he went out to see Ravi Coltrane perform on Thursday night, and then he introduced John, Toss and Dewayne. You could feel the energy onstage right away. These guys were ready to have some fun !
They went right into a gut-wrenching, all-out, extended jam of "The Way You Treated Me (Your're Gonna Be Sorry), featuring nice keyboard work by John Burr and some interesting pedal effects by Robben.
Next up was the first surprise of the night, a song from the new cd, which Robben said is due out in October. The new song, "Cannonball Shuffle" is dedicated to Freddy King, "the Texas Cannonball." It was a hearty, Texas-style, blues instrumental, featuring really wonderful organ and guitar lines. What a treat !!
That was followed by Don't Deny Your Love and a really sweet sounding "Moonchild Blues," which featured a long, jazzy solo by John Burr, as well as a seductive & very sexy guitar solo by Robben.
Robben must be really good at keeping secrets .... because i don't think anyone expected what came next ! Since i got back from seeing the Ford Brothers Tribute to Mike Bloomfield in Santa Cruz, I've been fussin' that I've wanted to see Al Kooper (yes, i do a lot of fussin'). I've read the Bloomfield biography, which is a great oral history of the life of Mike Bloomfield as told by his friends and family. In the book, Al Kooper shares a whole lot about his friendship with Bloomfield and the making of the Super Sessions LP. I missed Al Kooper when he came through Florida a few months ago. And I won't get to see him when he plays the "Tribute to Michael Bloomfield" with the Ford Brothers at the San Francisco Blues Festival this fall.
So when Robben said "we've got a special treat for you tonight, we're bringing out AL KOOPER," I was elated !!! Robben said he actually met Al for the first time "today" (Friday), but that he's been a fan of Al Kooper his whole life. Al took a seat at the organ and played a sizzling instrumental. He just played that one song, and ( I'm sorry ) I don't know the name of it... but it was great to hear him play even for a few minutes !
After that, John Burr came back onstage to play a very special "Help the Poor" for the last song of the set. Dewayne Pate took a long, moving bass solo, followed by a tight and engergizing solo by Toss Panos on drums. I've heard this song at the last 3 shows I've seen, but I've never heard it like this !! It was so cool. Robben also used his pedals extensively toward the end of the song, with some truly wonderful special effects.
The encore was a remarkable, nothing-held-back "Lovin' Cup" (yes... my favorite song !!) I don't think I could have stayed for another show, even if i had planned to -- I just didn't have anything left. And Robben looked like he was just getting warmed up at that point. It was the best i've ever seen him -- a truly awesome show !
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guitar solo by Robben.
Since i got back from seeing the Ford Brothers Tribute to Mike Bloomfield in Santa Cruz, I've been fussin' that I've wanted to see Al Kooper (yes, i do a lot of fussin'). I've read the Bloomfield biography, which is a great oral history of the life of Mike Bloomfield as told by his friends and family. In the book, Al Kooper shares a whole lot about his friendship with Bloomfield and the making of the Super Sessions LP. I missed Al Kooper when he came through Florida a few months ago. And I won't get to see him when he plays the "Tribute to Michael Bloomfield" with the Ford Brothers at the San Francisco Blues Festival this fall.
I'm sorry ) I don't know the name of it... but it was great to hear him play even for a few minutes !