Joined: 08 Aug 2003 Posts: 943 Location: Terra Firma, Ether Sea
Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:30 pm Post subject: ( }:-D Life In NYC
Well, all has been going quite well here in the big apple.
Allman Brother rehearsals went very smooth and now the shows are doing the same.
Gregg has lost about 20 lbs, looks and sounds great. He's in excellent spirits and tells me he wants to do 2 legs of Gregg Allman & Friends this year. One starting in lower California and then working its way up the west coast possibly into Canada. And then one on the east coast doing the same thing.
Last nights show at the Beacon was the 35th anniversary of the recording of the "Live at The Filmore East" shows (resulting in the classic album of the same name). They performed a very similar set and recorded it for possible release down the road.
Among the guests this week have been Susan Tedeschi, Peter Frampton, Chuck Leavell, Gary Rosington, Roy Haynes, Hubert Sumerlin, with Pine Top Perkins, Elvin Bishop, and the Juke horns sitting in tonight.
Robben arrives tomorrow night and then will sit in on Thursday night before going out to Long Island for the show with Larry Carlton.
Tomorrow (a day off for everyone else in the band & crew) Gregg, Warren Haynes, Warren's tech, Brian, and I will go record a radio show in the afternoon for Sirius with interviews and acoustic guitars. _________________ B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)
Joined: 08 Aug 2003 Posts: 943 Location: Terra Firma, Ether Sea
Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:43 am Post subject:
I don't know what tune/ tunes he'll play on yet. "Liz Reed" or "Jessica" WOULD be fun to hear Robben rip up, but I'm told that Gregg wants the ABB to play "Lovin' Cup" with Robben. We'll see.....
Robben will use his Zen thru one of Derek's Super-6's. (I just repaired one of them which had a dying output transformer due to a power tube shorting out and turning into a light bulb during last year's touring.) _________________ B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)
Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 150 Location: Ibaraki, Japan
Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:13 pm Post subject:
"Lovin' Cup" sounds cool. Sounds like he'll be singing, too. Hopefully he'll sit in for a few tunes. I really hope there's an Instant Live of this show!
Joined: 05 Dec 2003 Posts: 107 Location: Long Island, NY
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:26 am Post subject:
I think it's great that Robben will be sitting in with the reformulated ABB. It will give him some exposure to a crowd who for the most part has not clue who he is. When I saw RF with Gregg last year, there were folks complaining that the guy (RF) on guitar sounded like George Benson and that he ruined Melissa.
I'm going stick my neck out ...
I loathe the current ABB lineup. The band died IMO after Brother and Sisters. I am a HUGE fan of everything up to and including Brothers and Sisters. There real ABB band for me is the origianl line-up with Duane and Berry. Beyond that it's a cover band!
There I said it, I feel better _________________ Rod
Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 150 Location: Ibaraki, Japan
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:02 am Post subject:
I LOVE the latest incarnation of the ABB. Warren Haynes & Derek Trucks are two of my favourite players, so how can I not feel that way. I'm also not very keen on Dickey's playing or tone, although I do like his writing. My introduction to the Allmans was Seven Turns, which I loved and then I proceeded to get all the classic stuff. Because of that I don't think I have the strong connection to classic Allmans that a lot of other people have.
Joined: 08 Aug 2003 Posts: 943 Location: Terra Firma, Ether Sea
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:42 am Post subject:
LongIslandRod wrote:
...When I saw RF with Gregg last year, there were folks complaining that the guy (RF) on guitar sounded like George Benson and that he ruined Melissa...
"Different strokes... ", as they say.
When Robben came onboard the GA&F, he was very concerned that he might not fit the format, but it was Gregg himself who insisted to Robben that he didn't want the typical ABB, or even GA&F, sound.
He wanted something different, he loves what Robben does, and he wanted Robben to play the songs the way Robben felt like playing them.
As a result, Gregg has repeatedly said of Robben and last year's lineup that it was the best GA&F band he has ever had. _________________ B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 916 Location: Fairhope, AL
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:00 am Post subject: GA&F
I'm with Gregg there, Daved. I loved Robben's take on "Melissa". I liked that he didn't try to copy note for note but gave his own interpretation. I thought he did well at capturing the spirit of the song. Everyone hears things differently, but I thought it was a great performance and I'm glad we'll get the chance to hear another one this year.
Frank
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 916 Location: Fairhope, AL
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:01 am Post subject: GA&F
I'm with Gregg there, Daved. I loved Robben's take on "Melissa". I liked that he didn't try to copy note for note but gave his own interpretation. I thought he did well at capturing the spirit of the song. Everyone hears things differently, but I thought it was a great performance and I'm glad we'll get the chance to hear another one this year.
Frank
Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 150 Location: Ibaraki, Japan
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 4:30 am Post subject:
From what I hear, my wishes came true! Robben played Lovin' Cup, followed by Elizabeth Reed and even came back for One Way Out in the encore. Apparently, Derek & Haynes were particularly inspired by the heavy duty company. I just hope there'll be an Instant Live or something.
Joined: 08 Aug 2003 Posts: 943 Location: Terra Firma, Ether Sea
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 9:56 am Post subject:
As ABB finished out their first set, The Super-6 Derek was using started sounding like frying bacon. So, during the 15 minute intermission, I scrambled to get a Super-Reverb that was sitting backstage together as a replacement for Robben. Robben liked it's sound and wanted to use it so I set it up on stage.
Then I quickly checked over the ailing Super-6, found a couple bad preamp tubes, replaced them and it was good to go.
Meanwhile ("back in the jungle..." ), Derek told Robben and I that he absolutely guaranteed that Robben would not be able to hear the meager little Super-Rev during the show over the band volume.
He was right. As I set up Robben onstage right before "Loving Cup", we all laughed and agreed that there was no way, good as it sounded, that the Super-Rev would be able to keep up, so I quickly swapped Robben into Derek's other Super-6 and away they went!
The set's last 2 songs were "Loving Cup" (which they had worked out in the dressing rooms right before the show) which went well though the ending was a little rough as the drummers missed the closing que from Robben and Warren.
Then they blazed thru "Elizabeth Reed" and returned for "One Way out" as the encore song. Lots of riff trading between the 3 guitarists throughout.
Robben used the '57 gold Les Paul that Larry Carlton recently gave to him for the first time publicly last night along with his ZD pedal.
Robben had a lot of fun and said he would definitely do it again if the opportunity arises. _________________ B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)
Joined: 26 Oct 2004 Posts: 109 Location: Chicago....southside
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:01 am Post subject:
I agree with Frank, Robbens version of Melissa was fresh and new, not a cover. When I saw the GA&F at the Chicago House of Blues, the crowd at first was asking who this guy was that thought he could fill big shoes, by the end of the night Robben was getting standing O's and I'm sure Robben got many many new fans that night!!
________
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana specifications
Last edited by bluenote on Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
I agree with Frank, Robbens version of Melissa was fresh and new, not a cover. When I saw the GA&F at the Chicago House of Blues, the crowd at first was asking who this guy was that thought he could fill big shoes, by the end of the night Robben was getting standing O's and I'm sure Robben got many many new fans that night!!
I had *exactly* the same feeling at that show--many in attendance didn't know who Robben was going in, but they sure knew going out, and they showed their appreciation big time. You can hear it in the crowd reactions on the recording from that show (thanks JohnnyZ!).
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 646 Location: City of Trees, USA
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 10:29 pm Post subject:
OK, two quick things:
1. Just who are "these people" who claim not to know who Robben Ford is?
2. Thanks to Daved, we now know who's really responsible for the great sounds. (Daved: We recently rented the DVD of the Tour de France documentary "Hell on Wheels." The riders go hard for 5-6 hours a day. The team managers and mechanics work their tails off 25 hours each day. We thought of you while watching. Musical tours seem a lot like the Tour de France that way.)
p.s. Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. Even you guys in France. (One of the best Irish taverns I've ever visited is in Paris.) _________________ - BlueRunner
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 Posts: 1504 Location: Methuen, MA
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 4:23 pm Post subject:
BlueRunner wrote:
OK, two quick things:
1. Just who are "these people" who claim not to know who Robben Ford is?
I know exactly what they're talking about. I went to the GA&F show at Mohegan Sun, CT, their 2nd show of the tour, and hearing the comments from everyone around me, all I heard was "he's a new guitarist, supposedly really good, but I hope he's as good as Gregg's previous Friends guitarist (Mark McGee)!". Then, in Chicago at the House of Blues, I heard a lot of the same comments around me. I tried as I might, to convince those around me that they'll be blown away by this "unknown" guitarist, and believe me, by the end of the show, no, before the end of the show, these people were convinced, that Robben Ford was the real deal...
P.S. I've also seen GA&F with Mark McGee, and he was exceptional. But, he presented the classic Allman Bros. Band guitar style whereas Robben, played within his own style which, as Daved has said many times, was what Gregg wanted. And, that's what has made that latest rendition of the GA&F band very different and very special!
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OK, two quick things:
