Went to see John Fogerty in Toronto September 14. My reactions - though he is one awesome lead guitar player - were not too good.
Where do I start? I was quite excited to hear Fogerty would be playing full Creedence albums on this tour. I was hoping I would land on a night when Cosmos Factory would be up. It was! Great so far. But, my most anticipated moment: "Heard It Through The Grapevine" turned out to be around 8 minutes less long than I expected and wanted. I just love that CCR groove on that song. They bring it down and come back up - it's a groove right? Anyway, no such luck here.
In fact, I think that was my biggest disappointment. The touring band just don't groove man. I don't want to say they were phoning it in, but, it wasn't great. The audience, I have to say, seemed to love all of it but I'm wondering if they sat back a moment when they got home - put some CCR on the platter (figuratively speaking for most people these days) - and felt a bit ripped off!
Super Drumming vs. Simple Drumming
It's a delicate thing maybe. Not everyone wants to hear an album note for note. I tend to want that but I can enjoy the moment that changes things up. In this case, there simply wasn't any real interaction between the players at all. "Run Through The Jungle" was the best of the CCR tracks they played. They were all pretty young - save for Kenny Aronoff on drums. And a word here about Kenny. He's great but I felt - on the CCR material anyway - he was playing way over the pay grade necessary. Kind of like putting John Bonham in for Ringo on Beatles songs.
This raises my main point, in a way, since, on the Fogerty solo songs, things were much better. I'm thinking what was missing on the CCR versions of songs was the difference between having songs constructed with CCR in mind over John Fogerty solo. Back in the day all those songs were meant for the CCR four piece and what they were able to do together.
CCRevisited
I mentioned CCRevisited in a previous post - referencing Supertramp without Roger Hodgson. I had to listen to the CCRevisited CD when I got back to validate what I was feeling. On this CD you do get the groove! Definitely and the CCR rhythm section chose wisely on the other musicians. Elliot Easton from The Cars has since left but he is a truly accomplished lead guitarist in his own right and handled the Fogerty solos with amazing accuracy. As well, John Tristao, on lead vox is also amazing. Folks, I'm not missing Fogerty here except for the fact he was the writer of the material.
I would dearly love to hear the original band play together. I'm given to understand that John Fogerty is less resistive to something like that but I don't know how the other members feel about it.
Sum of the Parts
Anyway, much like Supertramp and even Pink Floyd, the sum of the parts is greater than the individuals.
When you have "it" together, it's pretty hard to bring "it" apart. I wonder about this sometimes in my own expereince playing with a few different folks over time. The original Whiners had a great vocal sound and I would concede the Jamie/Keith Whiners aren't as strong. None-the-less, I could never go back for all kinds of reasons. And, so, I fully understand how you end up with split members of bands touring and doing their versions of the full band music. I guess what is important is to play to your strength and, if you do songs that had a lot of the other guys on it, well, maybe you just shouldn't!
Bangles
Changing it up from Fogerty I also finally got to see a band I've long wanted to catch - they broke up but got back together yet never came to Toronto. The Bangles really are my favourite chick band. I think anyone who just thinks of them as Big Hair, 80's is missing their dexterity. Harmony alone is so strong it's incredible but their playing is awesome. They have very strong arrangements well played live. I am so happy they came and are together. They are minus one original Bangle, Michael Steele, and I would have loved to have seen them when they were in their prime. Still, I went away from the Festival of Friends in Hamilton - free show - very satisfied.
Interesting contrast to the Fogerty show where The Bangles worked together so well (still) as a unit.
Back to John via Lukas
Getting back to the Fogerty show for a moment, Lukas Nelson and The Promise of The Real were the opening act. Wow! Best example of how to open a show - if you are not well known - that I have EVER seen! The group was promoted on some of the ticket sites for other Fogerty shows but not the Toronto show. I was lead to believe it would be all Fogerty. Anyway, out comes this whirling dervish of a guy with his mates and they just never stopped moving and grooving. In fact, Lukas himself is carrying a hair cut very similar to a younger John Fogerty. His hair was in constant motion but what was most cool and overwhelming was Lukas playing a solo with his teeth!
That's not an original thing to do but you don't see much of it these days. It also sounds kind of lame maybe in print. But, live? The audience looked up immediately and cracked into shape for the band. He included a great cover of Sympathy of the Devil and some great tone with it. Near the end, Lukas threw in another great move - flipping over guitar in hand, while playing, and then landing on his feet right beside his bassist. After a few great moments relating to each other, Lukas then flipped back from where he came, landing on his feet right at his mic. Just amazing moves. Energy plus, plus. And, yes, Lukas is Willie's kid. He won't need to leverate his Dad much longer I'd say. Not that he does anyway.
So they were great and I got one of their albums right away - that's what can happen right, if you dig it that much?. And, I'm loving it: Promise of the Real (not their most recent one) and the song "Four Letter Word" - highly recommended!
Concerts and Sound
I tend not to go to concerts like I used to. Prices are high and good seats not always easy to come by. I paid 120 dollars plus for Fogerty and the staging was great but I have to mention sound. Not great. Should have been. I've heard great sound at the Sony Centre before ... why not this night? I hate to whine about this as well. In fact, Lukas and band weren't given the full PA to use and the mix was better coming off the stage amps than when we got the full Fogerty band in action.
I just hate that! I hate it for the opening band - they should get the full system. And I hate it, when you get the full system, the system sucks! I'm not sure but I'm willing to bet, the audio desk guys are gong deaf! It's basic ear fatigue that happens when you aren't getting a great mix of instruments and vocals. It's just muddy and increasing the volume does not help. That's my take on sound mixing anyway. Let the room do it's job and adjust accordingly.
Pacing
I could talk about the pacing of the show itself. I would actually have left out the opening act and made it an all Fogerty night. What happened, I think, to also bother me was how things unfolded from Lukas to John. There was a written announcement on screen saying Fogerty would start in a half hour from Lukas finishing. That's OK. But we got a 20 minute film at that Fogerty announced start point. This highlighted Fogerty's career and kind of jumped around a lot from CCR and solo and back. It wasn't bad exactly but felt real long. Plus, I think a lot of us knew a lot of the story. Restless to get it going is how I felt. When John finally came on, he was in a great silhouette with guitar in hand.
Paul McCartney
Now this reminds be of how McCartney begins his show. Same exact pose. He also does a history recap before starting. The difference? McCartney doesn't have an opening act. If Fogerty did the same thing maybe that would work better. They both play long sets. I could have used a break as a matter of fact. Some of the vibe comes down to the pace and the staging (non-technical) I think.
What Do I Know?
But what do I know? I have to mention again how much the audience enjoyed the show. I may very well be the only person who felt the way I did. I waited a week or so to ponder before posting about the show. I'd really like to know what others thought and what you think.
Have you felt the same about a band member touring solo? Let me know your thoughts if you'd be so kind ...
This post's free track is me (Keith) with my alternate band from the day job, The WC Wranglers. We're doing Bad Moon Rising. BTW, not a great mix of us either - having the recorder near my amp. It's me on left side.
Where do I start? I was quite excited to hear Fogerty would be playing full Creedence albums on this tour. I was hoping I would land on a night when Cosmos Factory would be up. It was! Great so far. But, my most anticipated moment: "Heard It Through The Grapevine" turned out to be around 8 minutes less long than I expected and wanted. I just love that CCR groove on that song. They bring it down and come back up - it's a groove right? Anyway, no such luck here.
In fact, I think that was my biggest disappointment. The touring band just don't groove man. I don't want to say they were phoning it in, but, it wasn't great. The audience, I have to say, seemed to love all of it but I'm wondering if they sat back a moment when they got home - put some CCR on the platter (figuratively speaking for most people these days) - and felt a bit ripped off!
Super Drumming vs. Simple Drumming
It's a delicate thing maybe. Not everyone wants to hear an album note for note. I tend to want that but I can enjoy the moment that changes things up. In this case, there simply wasn't any real interaction between the players at all. "Run Through The Jungle" was the best of the CCR tracks they played. They were all pretty young - save for Kenny Aronoff on drums. And a word here about Kenny. He's great but I felt - on the CCR material anyway - he was playing way over the pay grade necessary. Kind of like putting John Bonham in for Ringo on Beatles songs.
This raises my main point, in a way, since, on the Fogerty solo songs, things were much better. I'm thinking what was missing on the CCR versions of songs was the difference between having songs constructed with CCR in mind over John Fogerty solo. Back in the day all those songs were meant for the CCR four piece and what they were able to do together.
CCRevisited
I mentioned CCRevisited in a previous post - referencing Supertramp without Roger Hodgson. I had to listen to the CCRevisited CD when I got back to validate what I was feeling. On this CD you do get the groove! Definitely and the CCR rhythm section chose wisely on the other musicians. Elliot Easton from The Cars has since left but he is a truly accomplished lead guitarist in his own right and handled the Fogerty solos with amazing accuracy. As well, John Tristao, on lead vox is also amazing. Folks, I'm not missing Fogerty here except for the fact he was the writer of the material.
I would dearly love to hear the original band play together. I'm given to understand that John Fogerty is less resistive to something like that but I don't know how the other members feel about it.
Sum of the Parts
Anyway, much like Supertramp and even Pink Floyd, the sum of the parts is greater than the individuals.
When you have "it" together, it's pretty hard to bring "it" apart. I wonder about this sometimes in my own expereince playing with a few different folks over time. The original Whiners had a great vocal sound and I would concede the Jamie/Keith Whiners aren't as strong. None-the-less, I could never go back for all kinds of reasons. And, so, I fully understand how you end up with split members of bands touring and doing their versions of the full band music. I guess what is important is to play to your strength and, if you do songs that had a lot of the other guys on it, well, maybe you just shouldn't!
Bangles
Changing it up from Fogerty I also finally got to see a band I've long wanted to catch - they broke up but got back together yet never came to Toronto. The Bangles really are my favourite chick band. I think anyone who just thinks of them as Big Hair, 80's is missing their dexterity. Harmony alone is so strong it's incredible but their playing is awesome. They have very strong arrangements well played live. I am so happy they came and are together. They are minus one original Bangle, Michael Steele, and I would have loved to have seen them when they were in their prime. Still, I went away from the Festival of Friends in Hamilton - free show - very satisfied.
Interesting contrast to the Fogerty show where The Bangles worked together so well (still) as a unit.
Back to John via Lukas
Getting back to the Fogerty show for a moment, Lukas Nelson and The Promise of The Real were the opening act. Wow! Best example of how to open a show - if you are not well known - that I have EVER seen! The group was promoted on some of the ticket sites for other Fogerty shows but not the Toronto show. I was lead to believe it would be all Fogerty. Anyway, out comes this whirling dervish of a guy with his mates and they just never stopped moving and grooving. In fact, Lukas himself is carrying a hair cut very similar to a younger John Fogerty. His hair was in constant motion but what was most cool and overwhelming was Lukas playing a solo with his teeth!
That's not an original thing to do but you don't see much of it these days. It also sounds kind of lame maybe in print. But, live? The audience looked up immediately and cracked into shape for the band. He included a great cover of Sympathy of the Devil and some great tone with it. Near the end, Lukas threw in another great move - flipping over guitar in hand, while playing, and then landing on his feet right beside his bassist. After a few great moments relating to each other, Lukas then flipped back from where he came, landing on his feet right at his mic. Just amazing moves. Energy plus, plus. And, yes, Lukas is Willie's kid. He won't need to leverate his Dad much longer I'd say. Not that he does anyway.
So they were great and I got one of their albums right away - that's what can happen right, if you dig it that much?. And, I'm loving it: Promise of the Real (not their most recent one) and the song "Four Letter Word" - highly recommended!
Concerts and Sound
I tend not to go to concerts like I used to. Prices are high and good seats not always easy to come by. I paid 120 dollars plus for Fogerty and the staging was great but I have to mention sound. Not great. Should have been. I've heard great sound at the Sony Centre before ... why not this night? I hate to whine about this as well. In fact, Lukas and band weren't given the full PA to use and the mix was better coming off the stage amps than when we got the full Fogerty band in action.
I just hate that! I hate it for the opening band - they should get the full system. And I hate it, when you get the full system, the system sucks! I'm not sure but I'm willing to bet, the audio desk guys are gong deaf! It's basic ear fatigue that happens when you aren't getting a great mix of instruments and vocals. It's just muddy and increasing the volume does not help. That's my take on sound mixing anyway. Let the room do it's job and adjust accordingly.
Pacing
I could talk about the pacing of the show itself. I would actually have left out the opening act and made it an all Fogerty night. What happened, I think, to also bother me was how things unfolded from Lukas to John. There was a written announcement on screen saying Fogerty would start in a half hour from Lukas finishing. That's OK. But we got a 20 minute film at that Fogerty announced start point. This highlighted Fogerty's career and kind of jumped around a lot from CCR and solo and back. It wasn't bad exactly but felt real long. Plus, I think a lot of us knew a lot of the story. Restless to get it going is how I felt. When John finally came on, he was in a great silhouette with guitar in hand.
Paul McCartney
Now this reminds be of how McCartney begins his show. Same exact pose. He also does a history recap before starting. The difference? McCartney doesn't have an opening act. If Fogerty did the same thing maybe that would work better. They both play long sets. I could have used a break as a matter of fact. Some of the vibe comes down to the pace and the staging (non-technical) I think.
What Do I Know?
But what do I know? I have to mention again how much the audience enjoyed the show. I may very well be the only person who felt the way I did. I waited a week or so to ponder before posting about the show. I'd really like to know what others thought and what you think.
Have you felt the same about a band member touring solo? Let me know your thoughts if you'd be so kind ...
This post's free track is me (Keith) with my alternate band from the day job, The WC Wranglers. We're doing Bad Moon Rising. BTW, not a great mix of us either - having the recorder near my amp. It's me on left side.