Guitar
Next out was former teenage blues phenom Jonny Lang, now 27. His was one of only two Teles seen that night - almost all of the guitars played were Strats. No one sported a Flying V, and in fact Gibsons were completely absent from the show; no wonder, since the tour is sponsored in part by Fender. Lang has a high-intensity style both on the guitar and vocally - he evinced a grittiness in the latter that was reminiscent of a young Steve Winwood. His very musical solos were largely executed with his right-hand thumb, a la Wes Montgomery.
Joining Lang, and looking three times as old, was the Aerosmith rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford. Whitford has played second banana to Joe Perry for at least two dogs' ages and judging by his performance this night, he has been hiding a solid blues-rock virtuosity. I've always loved the playing of "old guys" the best, especially when it comes to root-based music like blues and country. Brad Whitford had the assured style and tone that only comes from a few thousand one-nighters.
Lang and Whitford traded off on "Fire" and "The Wind Cries Mary," then were joined by Mato Nanji of Indigenous for "Spanish Castle Magic". Indigenous is a Native blues-rock band of some renown I gather, although I have not heard of them. I mentioned Nanji's brutal stage volume in the last post, and his relative inexperience was showing alongside Whitford, especially.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd and singer Noah Hunt were next out, and KWS evinced all of the charisma that Eric Johnson lacked. His blues-rock guitar style lies at the edge of hard rock, and his frequent cock-rock posing harkened back to a better time for guitarists of that stripe. Noah Hunt was hilariously pretentious, with a stentorian vocal style and dramatic gestures that would be masterfully parodied by a Will Ferrell or even a Jimmy Fallon. Kenny and Noah performed "Come On," "Voodoo Child" and "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)". I'm not sure that I can even hear "Slight Return" anymore - it's been run into the ground by too many bar bands. But the slow, mysterious "Voodoo Child" was a highlight. Rob Quail noted with hilarity that I yawned during KWS's set, and I don't doubt it, though I must say that I respect his commitment to a somewhat discredited performing approach.
Part 3 soon to come.
- 10 Best Guitar Solos - A Slight Tangent From My Usual Blog Posts
This post is a little side treat for my readers - I found this list of 10 BEST GUITAR SOLOS at a site called http://www.lab404.com/ while doing some research on the Robert Fripp solo on "Baby's on Fire." I have no interest in generating...
- Comfortably Numb
Into the great wide-open, a rebel without a clue... I had an interesting revelation last night: I played better (more dynamically and sensitively) when I had had no idea what was going on than when I did. As regular readers know, I host a...
- My First Gig
One of the best album titles ever, period. In 1989 I played my first gig. I performed with two bands that night (subbing in one, full member of the other), opening for Montreal psychobilly legends Deja Voodoo. I had just finished...
- Experience Hendrix Tour - Sony Centre, Toronto, Oct. 28, 2010
I don't go to a lot of concerts these days - I work most evenings and it's hard to justify taking one of my rare nights off to spend $100+ on a show. But when I saw this concert advertised I was so impressed by the lineup that I decided to round...
- My String Gauge See-saw: In Search Of 1,000 Lb. Tone.
Back in 1994 I wrote my first grad school paper on the pioneering 1920s jazz guitarist Eddie Lang, and I really went to town on the research. I interviewed several record collectors and Lang enthusiasts in person, scoured the libraries for any material...
Guitar
Experience Hendrix tour - Sony Centre, Toronto, Oct. 28, 2010 Part 2
Next out was former teenage blues phenom Jonny Lang, now 27. His was one of only two Teles seen that night - almost all of the guitars played were Strats. No one sported a Flying V, and in fact Gibsons were completely absent from the show; no wonder, since the tour is sponsored in part by Fender. Lang has a high-intensity style both on the guitar and vocally - he evinced a grittiness in the latter that was reminiscent of a young Steve Winwood. His very musical solos were largely executed with his right-hand thumb, a la Wes Montgomery.
Joining Lang, and looking three times as old, was the Aerosmith rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford. Whitford has played second banana to Joe Perry for at least two dogs' ages and judging by his performance this night, he has been hiding a solid blues-rock virtuosity. I've always loved the playing of "old guys" the best, especially when it comes to root-based music like blues and country. Brad Whitford had the assured style and tone that only comes from a few thousand one-nighters.
Lang and Whitford traded off on "Fire" and "The Wind Cries Mary," then were joined by Mato Nanji of Indigenous for "Spanish Castle Magic". Indigenous is a Native blues-rock band of some renown I gather, although I have not heard of them. I mentioned Nanji's brutal stage volume in the last post, and his relative inexperience was showing alongside Whitford, especially.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd and singer Noah Hunt were next out, and KWS evinced all of the charisma that Eric Johnson lacked. His blues-rock guitar style lies at the edge of hard rock, and his frequent cock-rock posing harkened back to a better time for guitarists of that stripe. Noah Hunt was hilariously pretentious, with a stentorian vocal style and dramatic gestures that would be masterfully parodied by a Will Ferrell or even a Jimmy Fallon. Kenny and Noah performed "Come On," "Voodoo Child" and "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)". I'm not sure that I can even hear "Slight Return" anymore - it's been run into the ground by too many bar bands. But the slow, mysterious "Voodoo Child" was a highlight. Rob Quail noted with hilarity that I yawned during KWS's set, and I don't doubt it, though I must say that I respect his commitment to a somewhat discredited performing approach.
Part 3 soon to come.
- 10 Best Guitar Solos - A Slight Tangent From My Usual Blog Posts
This post is a little side treat for my readers - I found this list of 10 BEST GUITAR SOLOS at a site called http://www.lab404.com/ while doing some research on the Robert Fripp solo on "Baby's on Fire." I have no interest in generating...
- Comfortably Numb
Into the great wide-open, a rebel without a clue... I had an interesting revelation last night: I played better (more dynamically and sensitively) when I had had no idea what was going on than when I did. As regular readers know, I host a...
- My First Gig
One of the best album titles ever, period. In 1989 I played my first gig. I performed with two bands that night (subbing in one, full member of the other), opening for Montreal psychobilly legends Deja Voodoo. I had just finished...
- Experience Hendrix Tour - Sony Centre, Toronto, Oct. 28, 2010
I don't go to a lot of concerts these days - I work most evenings and it's hard to justify taking one of my rare nights off to spend $100+ on a show. But when I saw this concert advertised I was so impressed by the lineup that I decided to round...
- My String Gauge See-saw: In Search Of 1,000 Lb. Tone.
Back in 1994 I wrote my first grad school paper on the pioneering 1920s jazz guitarist Eddie Lang, and I really went to town on the research. I interviewed several record collectors and Lang enthusiasts in person, scoured the libraries for any material...