Robben Ford Discussion

[BlueRunner]

Been out of town all week, so sorry if someone else posted a report that I haven't seen: Robben was the headliner at the Write4Hope Blues Festival in Simi Valley, CA, Saturday April 26th. A fun day in a local county park, crowd of about 1,000, great acts like Laurie Morvan and her crew, Michael John & The Bottom Line, the Z-Tribe, and others.

And then ... Robben, with Travis Carlton on bass and Toss Panos on drums. Could tell there were a lot of folks in the crowd who'd never heard Robben ... and were totally blown away. I kept a set list, but suffice to say, lots from "Truth," plus Supernatural and Lovin' Cup. Lots of room for Travis and Toss to move, and while there were some great blues drummers with the other acts, Toss's jazz sensibility was something else. Wow. Travis had some great solos, his best when the chord Robben was using with the Tele shorted out, and Travis stepped in while Daved jumped up with a replacement, and the audience loved it as both Robben and Daved kept grinning and waving at Travis while they worked on the replacement.

Got to chat for a bit with Daved afterward and catch up on tour news.

The Write4Blues is in its third year, as a local fundraiser for a literacy program. One of the movers and shakers is Mickey Jones, the actor and rock drummer, and another is Michael John. Both were a lot of fun performing and acting as MC's. What with the relatively small size, the Steve's BBQ booth, good beer at good prices from the Kiwanis Club, all in all it was like having a lot of fun blues players show up at a family backyard picnic, topped off with Robben's as-usual amazing music.
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- BlueRunner

[Danny]

Simi Valley...haven't heard of it. I'm in Socal as well, Orange County to be exact
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"Music is the only thing that you can share with a million million people and you don't lose, you gain. It helps you to get energy and to live long, because when your soul is very happy then you don't want to die." - Ali Akbar Khan