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Saw a Great Concert Last Night


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The Motels in Lousiville, KY, as part of an 80s series. What made the band great was that they weren't doing a nostalgia thing, and also, the crowd gets major kudos for wanting to hear new material, not just "the hits." I didn't feel like I was in a "museum of popular music."

 

I had a similar experience when seeing Steve Winwood open for Tom Petty. Everything he played was fresh, even if the songs were old. He made no attempt to copy the past, but instead, turned version 1.0 into 2.0, with updates and bug fixes :) Frankly, I liked him a lot more than Tom Petty. As to Martha Davis of the Motels (full disclosure: we've been good friends for a long time), I was surprised that at age 69, her voice had more confidence, power, and range than when I saw the band back in its prime. (Then again, she stopped smoking 5 years ago - I'm sure that helped.)

 

What was cool about both Winwood and the Motels was that they leveraged their age and experience, instead of apologizing for it. And they both were clearly loving what they were doing, not just phoning in parts to collect a check. I'd see either act again in a heartbeat. I think it also helped that the current Motels incarnation has been together for 17 years, and includes original pivotal member Marty Jourard as well as Martha, so it was a well-oiled machine - not just the cheapest sidemen Martha could pick up in LA. She clearly loves the band ("my boys"). It was great to see live music that was exciting, honest, and real. After a bunch of less-than-stellar musical experiences in the past year, I needed that shot of adrenalin.

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That's cool, and it sounds like a good model for bands going forward. So many are just playing the hits they way they always did. Or, tuned down. We can go listen to cover or tribute bands do it in the original key, sometimes better. OTOH, if the original artist is keeping it fresh, that's something a cover or tribute can't do the way the original can.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Awesome! A great concert is so inspiring and it only makes sense to me that dedicated artists will improve over time.

 

I got to see Ray Charles when he was 71. He brought it, Georgia had the audience in tears.

90 minutes, no filler, no encore.

25 musicians onstage, counting Ray.

 

It was HIS show, every second of it. Even when he gave somebody else the spotlight, he owned it.

 

Life changing experience.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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How cool! My band opened for Ray Charles back in the day, so I know exactly what you mean. And I've NEVER seen so many women clustered around someone backstage :)

 

I think perhaps what Martha, Steve Winwood, Ray Charles, etc. have in common is lack of fear. They know who they are, they're comfortable in their skin, and they're more interested in what the next concert is going to bring than reliving the last concert. I guess the bottom line is you can have a youthful attitude at any age, where discovery, not nostalgia, is paramount.

 

 

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How cool! My band opened for Ray Charles back in the day, so I know exactly what you mean. And I've NEVER seen so many women clustered around someone backstage :)

 

I think perhaps what Martha, Steve Winwood, Ray Charles, etc. have in common is lack of fear. They know who they are, they're comfortable in their skin, and they're more interested in what the next concert is going to bring than reliving the last concert. I guess the bottom line is you can have a youthful attitude at any age, where discovery, not nostalgia, is paramount.

 

 

A lack of fear certainly but also a profound fear of settling for "good enough." That drives me too, and the people I want to work with.

 

It is Kaizen (constant improvement) at it's finest. I respect it and attempt to live it. I feel I am playing the best i have ever played, my singing has improved and my songwriting.

I will continue to try and improve, I cannot do otherwise. I have friends who've played guitar for a long time and they sound the same as they did 20 years ago. Not sure how that happens, it isn't in my genetic makeup.

 

Jeff Beck has always been a stand-out as a guitarist. His later works clearly show a mastery of dynamics, melody, tone and "impossible" technique that he performs smoothly and gracefully. Certainly another inspiration.

 

Great topic!!!

 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Very different music but that's why Alice Cooper is still loved - brings it every night. Springsteen is the other obvious one and he's never afraid to play with his songs.
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<...snip...>

 

Jeff Beck has always been a stand-out as a guitarist. His later works clearly show a mastery of dynamics, melody, tone and "impossible" technique that he performs smoothly and gracefully. Certainly another inspiration.

 

Great topic!!!

I think Jeff Beck is simply the most virtuosic rock guitarist alive. I rented "Live At Ronnie Scott's" video and saw him do superhuman things on the guitar like using the vibrato bar to play discreet, in tune notes on the slide way past the 22nd fret doing the same thing. Also picking with his little finger on the volume knob and using it for dynamics and much, much more. If you play guitar, I highly recommend that video.

 

Being a sax player who 'almost made it big' I had the luxury of playing with some of rocks great guitarists, so my jaw doesn't drop easily, but Jeff made it drop to the floor more than a few times. Sadly, I never got to play with Jeff.

 

The music is great too. He has left a lot of the past behind, and embraced what could be considered jazz/rock fusion (although it's difficult to categorize music).

 

After the Yardbirds Jeff put art in front of commercial success. With his early success he can afford to do that. My hat is off to those who can move forward and explore new ground and still have enough of an audience because of their prior successes to bring them along.

 

But people also go and want to hear memories. I remember an interviewer asking Tony Bennett if he ever got tired of playing "San Francisco". Tony said he never tires of the song, the song put him on the map, his fans want it, and he owes it to his fans not only to play it, but to play it as passionately as if he just recorded it last week. I've got a lot of respect for that as well.

 

As a musician, I want to hear something new, many fans just want memories, a wise artist can satisfy both. A wealthy artist can do whatever he/she wants.

 

I don't go to many rock concerts anymore, it's mostly symphonies and I'm very choosy about the pieces they play. I avoid many of the old 'warhorses' because I've heard them done too many times, and I avoid composers that aren't worth two tickets costing $100 for Leilani and me to go hear. Anything before Beethoven's 3rd is too boring, and anything past that isn't passionate enough is also not worth it to me. I don't listen to music to relax, but to stir my soul.

 

Besides, most big rock concerts happen on the weekend when I'm gigging. The symphony orchestras often do Sundays and Wednesdays.

 

When I went to Prague, I booked the trip so I cold hear the Czech Philharmonic play a Suk piece that is never played in the US. It was grand. The weather was a little cooler than when I initially wanted to take the trip, but to hear that symphony it was worth it. I'm in the audience here - see if you can find me :D

 

I guess I'm just rattling on here, forgive me for being so long winded.

 

Notes

 

 

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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I need to see Jeff Beck live before one of us passes on.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing Steve Hackett in March, and Big Big Train (with opener IZZ) in May.

 

 

I saw Jeff Beck open for BB King at Grizzly Stadium in Fresno CA. Scuttlebutt was that Jeff was also sitting in with BB on that tour.

We had a rare summer day that was inexplicably humid and 112 degrees.

Mr Beck killed it, absolutely amazing. Then he probably hid in the air conditioned green room in sheer terror.

 

BB was awesome too but no jamming with Jeff at our show. Wah!!!!

 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Jeff Beck is one of the most expressive guitarists ever. I always cite him as an example of if someone had his exact gear and setup, they would not sound at all the same...and conversely, Jeff Beck would always sound like Jeff Beck, regardless of his gear and setup.
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this [The Warner Theater] is where I have spent the last 2 Saturday nights.

 

Hmmm . . . Your profile says your location is "the swamp." Are you living in the DC area? Washington was built on a swamp.

 

I saw the Rolling Stones at the Warner, must have been in the early 1970s. It was one of those shows with no publicity - you had to know someone who knows someone in order to get tickets. A band mate of mine at the time was working at a record store and that's how we got in. It's the only time I ever saw them live, and getting to hear them in a 1600 or so seat hall must have been very different from hearing them in a stadium. The sound was excellent, as was the show.

 

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Your profile says your location is "the swamp." Are you living in the DC area? Washington was built on a swamp.

 

yes I am. I work in the district 5 days a week

 

I saw the Rolling Stones at the Warner, must have been in the early 1970s. It was one of those shows with no publicity - you had to know someone who knows someone in order to get tickets.

 

I hate you. :laugh:

 

:nopity:
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