Robben Ford Discussion

[Les]

I had the pleasure of seeing Larry and Robben last night at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga CA. My two favorite guitar players together at last!

Wow, what a show! Larry's playing and tone was absolutely unbelievable! I have seen Larry several times in the past, but IMHO he has at the top of his game last night. Every note, every phrase was dead on! The sounds from his normal setup (Dumble, effects thru Mackie mixer) were articulate and warm with just the right amount of bite. They did several songs for the new Firewire album as well as some of Robben’s standard blues tunes (Help the poor, Lovin Cup, Cannonball Shuffle, etc...). At one point in the show, Larry’s guitar cable malfunctioned and he went over to tell Robben to take his solo - which of course Robben did without a glitch.

I am a very big fan of Robben and he played very well last night too. Larry and Robben opened and closed the show with just the two of them playing. What a treat to hear them playing together, complimenting each other and playing off of each other. My only criticism (and I am being very picky) is that I thought Robben's guitar sounded thin and tinny from where I sat. Robben was using 2 blackface Fender Twin Reverbs and a Zendrive playing the Les Paul Goldtop that Larry gave him. IMHO, he just wasn’t nailing those classic Robben tones that we have come to expect. Although you cannot compare them, and they are each incredible guitar players in their own right, I thought Larry played much better that Robben last night. I just couldn’t believe how “on” Carlton was – I have never seen him play better – unbelievable phrasing, technique, and the best tone! Larry’s son, Travis on bass was also very good!

The other great news is that Larry confirmed that Robben and he will be doing a live DVD from the upcoming Japan tour and they are currently working on “new” material. That should be a real treat.

After the show, I talked to Larry's guitar tech for quite a while. He was so open to answer questions. I even got to take a picture of Larry’s 68 335. I will try and post them later.

Robben came out after the show and signed autographs. I was lucky enough to get an autograph and a picture with him. He was very gracious and humble, although you could tell he was a little uncomfortable with the “star” treatment everyone was giving him.

If you have a chance to go see them, please do – you will not be disappointed.

[Les]

One thing I forgot to mention - Larry's guitar tech did confirm that Larry has a Zendrive and does use it from time to time (not last night though).

[Bunnylover]

I was there last night, too. See my posting. Dang! I didn't know they were giving autographs! I was concerned about missing the shuttle back to West Valley College. Oh, well.

[patocaster]

What was billed as the ?Larry Carlton Blues Project? played Sunday night June 18, 2006 at the beautiful Saratoga venue, Villa Montalvo. It was a gorgeous night and the music was outstanding!!!

San Jose native Tommy Castro and his band opened the show. He?s very good. What I like about him is that he?s obviously not a world-class talent like either Larry Carlton or Robben Ford but he uses what he has, stays within his abilities and gives a heartfelt delivery. He plays a black Stratocaster with rosewood neck through a Super Reverb. His cover of ?My Time After Awhile? was noteworthy. Between songs he had some great comments like, ?You know with all the great blues songs that have been written, there?s really no point in me writing another one, but I do it anyway.? Then he launched into ?No One Left To Lie To?, a nice minor key blues. He also said that it was a pleasure to play on a bill with two of the world?s greatest guitarists, ?It doesn?t get any better that Robben Ford and Larry Carlton. And this kind of show brings all the guitarists out of the woodwork?I see Chris Cobb, incognito and whole bunch of local guitarists out there.?

Larry and Robben took the stage for a duet on a blues in E (the People?s Key!) and eventually modulated up a half step. This gave Larry an opportunity to do a signature hammer-on on the low F with his right hand at the ending chord. Then the rest of the band joined them; Larry's son Travis on bass, Tos Panos on drums and the talented Jeff Babko on keys.

Robben was not playing through his regular Dumble rig, rather the two Twin Reverb setup with the Zen Drive pedal on his gold top Les Paul. Larry?s setup was his road-tested rig. http://www.larrycarlton.net/brandnew/equipment.shtml
Larry played his beautiful sunburst '68 Gibson ES-335 and one tune, "Goodbye" he played on his '56 Les Paul Special.

I may be nitpicking here because both players are so great and their performances were inspirational, but for me Larry?s tone was processed; too much reverb and chorus. He also had more headroom than Robben and could be easily heard over Robben's sound. Robben?s guitar tone was very clean and struck me as being more organic. I wished he was little louder. They traded phrases on the Carlton fusionesque instrumentals which was very cool. What a treat to see these two great masters play together!

Here?s a partial setlist:
Blues in E (with just Robben & Larry)
Lovin? Cup
Help The Poor (good bass solo by Travis Carlton)
Cannonball Shuffle (Robben & band)
It Don?t Make Sense (Robben & band)
Way You Treated Me
Night Sweats
Goodbye (Larry & band)
Smiles and Smiles To Go (Larry & band)
The Prince
Summertime (with Robben & Larry) encore

Larry said this was their third gig together and he has been wanting to do this tour with Robben for thirty years. In September when in Japan, they will be recording which gives them some time to write some tunes specifically for Robben and him.

-Pat
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[Red Suede]

Don't know what was up with the soundman last night. Larry was much louder than Robben where I was sitting (stage left 15 rows up) but then when I went over to where the monitor man was, the sound of Robben's guitar was the usual Robben; full and fat. You could hear the whole band the way it should have been for the whole audience.

[Les]

[quote="Red Suede"]Don't know what was up with the soundman last night. Larry was much louder than Robben where I was sitting (stage left 15 rows up) but then when I went over to where the monitor man was, the sound of Robben's guitar was the usual Robben; full and fat. You could hear the whole band the way it should have been for the whole audience.[/quote]

Nice to know... It seemed to me that Robben had dialed in his sound by the end of the night. In the beginning, he seemed too thin. I mentioned this to Larry's guitar tech and he pretty much confirmed what you said. Although he did mention that they were both about at the same volume (90db).

Like I said, I am being very picky - Robben's playing was outstanding. They are very different and yet they blend so well together.

[patocaster]

We were sitting just left of stage center in row H. Robben should have been louder. By the time of the last full band tune which was outstanding, it was pretty well dialed. Did you notice Robben disconnecting and bypassing his Zen Drive?

-Pat
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[Les]

[quote="patocaster"]We were sitting just left of stage center in row H. Robben should have been louder. By the time of the last full band tune which was outstanding, it was pretty well dialed. Did you notice Robben disconnecting and bypassing his Zen Drive?

-Pat[/quote]

Yeah, I did notice that! I was up in BBB section. I agree that Robben's tone was more organic. There were a couple of songs (Goodbye and Summertime) where Larry was very heavy and thick with chorus. You could tell he was really enjoying himself!

I loved that show! Wow, those guys are so good together... Very inspirational!

[patocaster]

I failed to mention something for those who weren't there last night. When Larry played his tune "Smiles & Smiles To Go", he said, "We're on the road and we take all kinds of precautions to handle the equipment with kid gloves. But my acoustic guitar has a problem...So I will play the next song, which you've heard hundreds of times on the electric guitar for the first time."

You can't help but smile to that melody. I love it!

-Pat
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[ahermida]

[munichmaedchen]

I also was enjoying Robben, Larry and Tommy at Villa Montalvo. It was great. One thing that bothered me a little bit was that Robben's guitar play was not loud enough in his solos. Larry's accoustic and even the drummer were louder than Robben's electric guitar - kinda weird sound coordination sometimes. But hey, it was still great and it was good to see Larry's son playing an excellent base. The drummer was awsome!!. It was worth spending half of the night at Villa Montalvo and being tired at work today :-) Uaaaaah.
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[patocaster]

[Les]

Do you know the reason?

Alf[/quote]

My 0.02 cents worth:

I don't believe there was anything technically wrong with the ZenDrive. It did sound very nice, but Robben's overall sound was not as dialed in as Larry's. Almost everyone who posted about the concert has said that Robben wasn't loud enough or this sound seemed thin, etc... My sense was that Robben himself was trying to get the sound nailed (several times during the show, he bent over and adjusted the tone controls on his amps and adjusted the tone controls on the ZenDrive). Maybe he just wanted to bypass all effects and go direct to eliminate any variables that could have been problematic. Just a guess...

Now, back to work and build those ZenDrives (I'm on the waiting list).

[JingChiFan]

Fun show last night. With 2 twins, I expected more beef in Robbens tone. It wasn't there. Except for the overprocessed mix on Larry, he had some big assed tone happening. Red and I saw Robben probably a month ago with the T and that goldie, playing through his D rig with the 2x12 cab. Honkin' tone that night. He was thin last night. And not loud enough as others have said. I was in the 2nd row, center, and off to the side as well. He was much lower on stage, but I didn't hear him through the mains.

I agree that Larry played great. He seems pretty excited to be doing this thing with Robben. As for Robben, he was either holding back and/or distracted. You never know, with equipment scrambles, schedules, etc....

Nobody can be red hot every night. It was a nice touch to both open and close the show as a duet. I'd love to see these guys when they get in synch and work up some new material. Fantasy gig for sure.

Mike

[elizabeth]

We were sitting just left of stage center in row H.

Jeez, patocaster, I was in row H, dead center...were you sitting next to me? I thought the sound was fantastic - Robben played straight through those twin babies, and the sound was full, fat, and gloriously rich. I guess they figured that one Dumble on stage was enough. Robben looked like he was having a blast...they both did! I thought the entire gig was phenomenal.

Isn't Tommy Castro fun to watch? He seems to absolutely enjoy working the crowd. I loved the introduction of Robben and Larry, saying they were probably the two best guitar players on earth. (Of course, I may be a little biased, but...they ARE)

Perfect night all around. Bunnylover, you were there? I guess we all were...you too, Jing Chi fan? We might have all been on the shuttles back up to West Valley together. Small world, huh?

Perhaps we need some kind of identifying clothing in the future. Remember the Robben pajamas I wanted a few years back, with the little Teles and Dumbles on them? We could bring that idea back.

And speaking about clothing and shoes (weren't we?!) didn't Mr. Ford look positively gorgeous in that black slinky, velvety, sparkly jacket, velvet pants, and those beautiful black boots? I'll say he did!

I had such a good time! That encore trading licks number they did was fabulous. And I agree about Larry's son, Travis. And on father's day, no less. I love to watch the look on Larry's face when he did that killer solo on the bass...pride personified.

love, elizabeth... (sing with me now, everyone: School's out for summer, da dunh dunh!!!)

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