LIVE MUSIC
I suspect music will be a recurring theme here. I wrote about the blues in one of my first LJ posts a couple of months ago (A Black Soul) but there's no one essay or line-of-thought that could possibly capture how I feel about music. I run the risk of being repetitive but it's my blog....so fuck it. Here it goes. The funny thing about people that love music is we'll have so much in common and nothing in common as our taste in music may vary widely. I've had people say, "Oh yes, I love music too.", I expect we may embark on a nice conversation only to realize I like apples and they like oranges, or even worse, they like country. I don't do country western, rap is definitely not my thing and some jazz is supermarket music to me. When I hear Kenny G on the radio I half expect the music to be interrupted by "clean up in aisle 3". I like jazz but I'm very picky about it what kind of jazz. I like smooth but not sleepy-time smooth.
Last Tuesday night Cheryl and I went to see my new favorite musicians at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. I became a Keb Mo fan in the past 18 months and he's now #1 on my personal blues chart. I bet he's more thrilled about that than the three Grammies he's won. I'll get back to his show later. My former #1, Robert Cray, has slipped to #2. He's been a favorite of mine for 20 years. We saw the Robert Cray Band at the Celebrity last month. Both are soulful blues artists but Keb Mo has more 'umph' to his sound, even when he's acoustic. I also think he's more lyrically gifted than Cray.
A few years back I was sitting at a local Irish Pub talking to this women Penny who's a friend of a friend. We started talking music and she lit up when I told her I was a big blues fan. "Then you must be a Keb Mo fan.", she insisted. I had a moment of silence, maybe a look on my face that expressed my ignorance of Keb Mo. "Actually, I don't know his music.". She was so shocked, indignant even, it killed the conversation. A few months later I was in my favorite record exchange near ASU looking at their less-than-impressive blues section and there was Mr. Mo. I recalled my slightly embarrassing moment and decided I must hear what her fuss was all about. Within a month of that purchase I owned six Keb Mo CDs. Impulsive you say? Maybe a little but this guy has a soulful and down-to-earth style I couldn't get enough of. That's my MO (pun intended) on many new music purchases. I find a new artist, buy one CD and if I really, really like it I'll be buying many more or I might launch an I-tunes shopping spree.
Keb Mo went from obscure to me to my #1 in a matter of months. That's an overnight success story when you consider Steely Dan has been my favorite rock band since 1977 when Aja was released. Most of my favorite bands and albums have been my favorites for many years. I often bring new music to my modest collection but I never abandon the old stuff.
Back in the day, the late 70's and well into the 80's, I went to a concert a month and nightclubs in between. I love live music but I go to concerts for more than the music. First of all I love the energy of the crowd. We have something in common, an appreciation for live music and that particular artist. Secondly, I want to see and hear the band on a human level. Stage presence is a big deal in a live show. A little personality and charm goes a long way in entertaining your fans. We already like your music. You can just stand there and play a set of your recorded material, jump on the bus, ride off to the next gig and most people would be okay with that. Not me, I want a little more than what I've already heard on your CDs a thousand times.
When you see hundreds of live performances you get a good sense of who 'rocks', makes you want to dance and have a good time..... versus the average performer. There's a big gap between the best live acts and the other guys. Way back then, Freddie Mercury, David Lee Roth, Fee Waybill and David Byrne stood out in concerts I attended as front-men with tons of onstage charisma. That was that my hard rock / punk / new wave era. My musical taste may have evolved a little but I still listen to those old bands and I've always appreciated the charisma and the extra effort some artists put into their live performance. I'm not talking about pyrotechnics and elaborate stage sets. Those are cool but I'm referring to the human connection.
If an artist lacks charisma it's not their fault. Some people just don't have it, you can't fake it and you can spot someone trying to force it from the 54th row. If it's not natural it's worse than the band just standing there. Some bands put on very impressive shows, others just play their songs. I can only afford to attend so many concerts per year. Ticket prices are a little crazy and when you include dinner and a few drinks a few hundred bucks is easy to blow on one show. I have to pick from the many shows that come to Phoenix and pass on some I might like to see. I tend to select the artists I know, or suspect, will put on a great live show.
Back to Tuesday's concert. Keb Mo has quiet charisma and a very likable persona. He chats up the crowd and gives you a little more than a set of his songs. You actually get to meet him. An old blues legend Taj Mahal provided the opening set. We've seen him before. We arrived a little late because we were at the sportsbar watching the Celtics destroy Kobe. We caught the tail end of Taj's set but he was kind enough to join Mo for a song. Keb played most of my favorite songs. Of course none of these songs are hits because it's the blues and blues musicians don't enjoy much commercial success. In the two shows I've seen Keb Mo, I laughed, loved the music and walked away feeling I got my money's worth.
Last year Cheryl turned me on to Chris Isaak. I didn't know much about him but he was amazing in concert. He worked the crowd made us laugh and was an entertainer as much as he was a musician. That's probably why he had a cable talk show. Robert Cray is a musician. I love his music but he just stands there and plays the music with no interaction with the crowd, nothing. Cheryl agrees. We may pass on him next year even though he's one of my favorites. He happens to be good friends with Keb Mo and they sometimes perform together. I would not pass on that show. After this weeks show I realized we have no future concerts on our schedule but there's always the nightclubs for an in-between live music fix.
If you don't know Keb Mo give him a listen. Some of my favorite songs of his are The Itch, Walk Back In, France, Gimme What You Got and More Than One Way Home.
Last Tuesday night Cheryl and I went to see my new favorite musicians at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. I became a Keb Mo fan in the past 18 months and he's now #1 on my personal blues chart. I bet he's more thrilled about that than the three Grammies he's won. I'll get back to his show later. My former #1, Robert Cray, has slipped to #2. He's been a favorite of mine for 20 years. We saw the Robert Cray Band at the Celebrity last month. Both are soulful blues artists but Keb Mo has more 'umph' to his sound, even when he's acoustic. I also think he's more lyrically gifted than Cray.
A few years back I was sitting at a local Irish Pub talking to this women Penny who's a friend of a friend. We started talking music and she lit up when I told her I was a big blues fan. "Then you must be a Keb Mo fan.", she insisted. I had a moment of silence, maybe a look on my face that expressed my ignorance of Keb Mo. "Actually, I don't know his music.". She was so shocked, indignant even, it killed the conversation. A few months later I was in my favorite record exchange near ASU looking at their less-than-impressive blues section and there was Mr. Mo. I recalled my slightly embarrassing moment and decided I must hear what her fuss was all about. Within a month of that purchase I owned six Keb Mo CDs. Impulsive you say? Maybe a little but this guy has a soulful and down-to-earth style I couldn't get enough of. That's my MO (pun intended) on many new music purchases. I find a new artist, buy one CD and if I really, really like it I'll be buying many more or I might launch an I-tunes shopping spree.
Keb Mo went from obscure to me to my #1 in a matter of months. That's an overnight success story when you consider Steely Dan has been my favorite rock band since 1977 when Aja was released. Most of my favorite bands and albums have been my favorites for many years. I often bring new music to my modest collection but I never abandon the old stuff.
Back in the day, the late 70's and well into the 80's, I went to a concert a month and nightclubs in between. I love live music but I go to concerts for more than the music. First of all I love the energy of the crowd. We have something in common, an appreciation for live music and that particular artist. Secondly, I want to see and hear the band on a human level. Stage presence is a big deal in a live show. A little personality and charm goes a long way in entertaining your fans. We already like your music. You can just stand there and play a set of your recorded material, jump on the bus, ride off to the next gig and most people would be okay with that. Not me, I want a little more than what I've already heard on your CDs a thousand times.
When you see hundreds of live performances you get a good sense of who 'rocks', makes you want to dance and have a good time..... versus the average performer. There's a big gap between the best live acts and the other guys. Way back then, Freddie Mercury, David Lee Roth, Fee Waybill and David Byrne stood out in concerts I attended as front-men with tons of onstage charisma. That was that my hard rock / punk / new wave era. My musical taste may have evolved a little but I still listen to those old bands and I've always appreciated the charisma and the extra effort some artists put into their live performance. I'm not talking about pyrotechnics and elaborate stage sets. Those are cool but I'm referring to the human connection.
If an artist lacks charisma it's not their fault. Some people just don't have it, you can't fake it and you can spot someone trying to force it from the 54th row. If it's not natural it's worse than the band just standing there. Some bands put on very impressive shows, others just play their songs. I can only afford to attend so many concerts per year. Ticket prices are a little crazy and when you include dinner and a few drinks a few hundred bucks is easy to blow on one show. I have to pick from the many shows that come to Phoenix and pass on some I might like to see. I tend to select the artists I know, or suspect, will put on a great live show.
Back to Tuesday's concert. Keb Mo has quiet charisma and a very likable persona. He chats up the crowd and gives you a little more than a set of his songs. You actually get to meet him. An old blues legend Taj Mahal provided the opening set. We've seen him before. We arrived a little late because we were at the sportsbar watching the Celtics destroy Kobe. We caught the tail end of Taj's set but he was kind enough to join Mo for a song. Keb played most of my favorite songs. Of course none of these songs are hits because it's the blues and blues musicians don't enjoy much commercial success. In the two shows I've seen Keb Mo, I laughed, loved the music and walked away feeling I got my money's worth.
Last year Cheryl turned me on to Chris Isaak. I didn't know much about him but he was amazing in concert. He worked the crowd made us laugh and was an entertainer as much as he was a musician. That's probably why he had a cable talk show. Robert Cray is a musician. I love his music but he just stands there and plays the music with no interaction with the crowd, nothing. Cheryl agrees. We may pass on him next year even though he's one of my favorites. He happens to be good friends with Keb Mo and they sometimes perform together. I would not pass on that show. After this weeks show I realized we have no future concerts on our schedule but there's always the nightclubs for an in-between live music fix.
If you don't know Keb Mo give him a listen. Some of my favorite songs of his are The Itch, Walk Back In, France, Gimme What You Got and More Than One Way Home.