Robben Ford Discussion

[Daved]

I was beginning to get worried when, after a quite lengthy silence around here from everyone's favorite shoe-watcher, Elizabeth was no where to be seen the first night at Yoshi's.
If I expect to see her anywhere... Yoshi's is the spot... usually for multiple nights.

However, she was there tonight.

So, for those who have been wondering about her absence, you may rest assured that she is alive and well.
I spoke with her and she explained that she's just been very, very busy as of late.

Hope you enjoyed the show tonight, Liz.
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B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)

[frank0936]

Thanks Daved. We were beginning to worry, too. Liz, we miss you!
Frank

[JohnnyZ]

[Leftbender]

[Filmore]

Where are you, Lizzz...... ?
We are waiting for you here !!!

Fill, Bxl
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Filmore

[elizabeth]

I am here and alive. The weekend was crazy, leaving the Santa Cruz Blues Festival on Saturday when it ended (B.B. King was amazing, as always) and driving at breakneck speed to arrive at Yoshi's right at 10. Fortunately, Robben started about 3 min. late, so I didn't miss a thing, except for dinner!

With three more weeks of this school year left, I have successfully inaugurated year one of our laptop program. I have never worked so hard in my life, and it has all been worth it. Next year should be a bit less stressful, since I will not have to create all the curriculum from scratch. I have become pretty good at writing Webquests for my students, and the surprise is that they work more diligently on those than on standard assignments. We have all learned a great deal, even this old dog, and I am anxious to put this experience to work with the next group.

As you have read, Robben was amazing, and he did songs I haven't heard too much in the past few years. The energy that bounced between the four was phenomenal. As someone said to me, "Robben seems to play even better when he has people to play off and raising the bar."

Gary Novak has so much energy it is scary. Several times, at the end of a song, he would look up to see that there was half a stick, or none at all in his hand. Hmmmm, how did that happen? Oh well, he had plenty of extras.

Greg Mathieson is masterful on the keyboards, particularly the B3, but then I have always been crazy about the B3. He really plays his heart out, and it is a joy to watch him. There was a fantastic communication that pervaded all the solos, and the intensity just kept building.

Andrew Ford, whom Robben referred to as sharing musical fathers with him, added so much this time. Last year, they played well; this year, they really worked with, and off each other, which is so much fun to watch. They were tight enough to be able to stretch out and move into some uncharted waters, which always makes for a great show. Hey, I loved it, so what can I say?

One side note: Friday night, although he played wonderfully, Robben seemed really tense, and even when he was really nailing things, it felt like there was an air of discomfort, or something that was bothering him. But Saturday and Sunday night, he was having a blast; it was almost like whatever cloud had been around had been lifted. Maybe Friday's tension was residual from whatever happened Thursday night; who knows? Sunday night, I got the feeling that if Daved hadn't made Robben stop, he might have gone on for a while (Daved, we should have kept you preoccupied, but you are just too good at what you do!)

The hardest part about Monday was not getting to go see Robben again after three nights in a row. The fact that "Good Thing" has always been a favorite of mine, and having him do "Homework" as the encore on Sunday were the icing on the cake, but I may be a bit biased! Homework, you know, it does a body good!

So you won't worry too much about me, Robben's boots on Friday night were these gorgeous black lizard-type things. Sunday night he wore some really nice cordovan colored Cowboy boots. Saturday, I never got to see his feet, since I had to sit in the back (ewwwwwww!)

Now I have to wait until June to see Robben and Larry. Oh, I almost forgot..when I got to Yoshi's on Friday night, I saw this guitar case that said Larry Carlton on it. After I recovered from the initial rush, I asked Daved if that meant what I thought it meant. He explained that the guitar is Robben's now, although ithey hoped that LC might show up and sit in, as he was apparently doing some recording in the area. Oh well, it did not come to fruition, but hey, it was a helluva weekend!

I love you guys, and thanks for worrying about me when I am "Over My Head." I think I forgot that I need a life (and this board) too!

love, elizabeth

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www.elizabethgage.com

[JohnnyZ]

Over My Head- great song, and definitely a song about our lives, at least for me right now. But, the blues is what it is, and it's the best to get you through. Once again, thanks for coming back, elizabeth!

Robben rocks!

[frank0936]

It's great to hear from you again, Liz. Good review, too! I really envy you getting to be there not once, but three nights! Try not to work so hard, we need to hear from you. Congrats on the laptop program. I'm glad it's going well.
Frank

[Leftbender]

Pfffffffewwwwwwwwwww! At last she's back.
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"Don't play what's there, play what's not there" Miles Davis

[BlueRunner]

Elizabeth: So great to hear from Daved that he'd sighted you, and then even better to get your wonderful catch-up post. Wow.
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- BlueRunner