Robben Ford Discussion

[BlueRunner]

Wednesday night March 4, 2009
Mondavi Center, University of California, Davis

Billed as “Guitar Blues,” featuring Ruthie Foster, Jorma Kaukonen and Robben. The Monvdavi Center is a symphony hall, and about as fancy as you can get. (Premium Mondavi wines served at the snack bars.) With a big crowd of season-ticket holders for a calendar that includes everything from ballet to chamber music to West African dance, I figured there’d be a few folks in the audience who’d never before heard Robben, and I just hoped that they’d securely fastened their socks with duct tape.

Foster opened solo with a handful of Gospel- flavored tunes of her own, and some nice slide work on work on her resonator and chunky bluesy strumming on her Taylor. She then left the stage after introducing Kaukonen, who took a chair center stage and announced the passing away of John Cephus earlier in the day, before dedicating a string of tunes to Cephus, all with Kaukonen’s creative Piedmont-styled fingerpicking.

After intermission it was Robben’s turn. Armed with the Les Paul and accompanied by Dewayne and Gabe he launched into a rocking rendition of “Spoonful,” followed by “Nothing to Nobody” and Gabe’s own “Too Much.” Then “Moonchild Blues” with Dewayne taking an amazing chorded solo. Then it was “Supernatural.”

Robben then called Foster back out, and switched to the ‘Tele. Foster took a seat behind a Fender-Rhodes piano stage left, and started with another Gospel-tinged number, that I think is entitled “Brink of a Storm,” or at least that was the chorus, and then “I Really Love Ya’.” If one was ever looking for a back-up guitarist who could give you the biggest lift for a soulful set, one couldn’t do any better than Robben.

Foster then handed the stage off to Kaukonen, who stepped up stage center with an Epiphone thin-body turned up to 11, and launched into “Rock Me,” with Robben playing great rhythm guitar before trading solos. Then it was “Come Back Baby,” Kaukonen’s take on “Train Kept a Rollin’,” a number that was perfect for Dewayne’s great sense of boogie. I wondered whether or not Robben (and Pat and Mark) had ever been in the same audiences I’d been in at the Fillmore in the mid-60s listening to Kaukonen and that famous band he had back then.

Ruthie came back out and picked up the Taylor, while Kaukonen switched to his Martin D-type and Robben grabbed his Gibson thin-body, and all three launched into Bob Dylan’s “You’re Gonna’ Have to Serve Somebody,” trading verses, with all three joining in on the last lines of each stanza. Definitely a tremendous way to close down the show.

Of course, an encore was in order, and as the lights went back up only Robben, Kaukonen and Foster came back out, and started into Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice (It’s All Right).” It was as if I’d come full circle. I was back in the town I’d lived in between 1958 and 1967, and recalled a yellowed newspaper clipping my mother had send me a few years ago. A photo from the local Davis newspaper of yours truly in granny-glasses, bell-bottoms and some short of Mexican shirt, holding the Gibson Hummingbird I regret having parted with decades ago, and singing the same song at a high school talent show.

Best to all,
_________________
- BlueRunner

[telefunk1]

Very nice post, Blue, well done. Made my day!

[PaulG]

Well done, BR!
Thank you.