Thursday, 18 March 2021
Friday, 10 April 2015
An evening with Robin Trower and Joanne Shaw Taylor
Robin Trower
and Joanne Shaw Taylor
Sheffield City Hall 9 April 2015
It is not usual for me to find anything amazing to go out for on a Thursday night in April, but I did pop along to see Robin Trower and his support act, Joanne Shaw Taylor.
Trotting down several flights of stairs to the lower depths of City Hall was a bit disconcerting (pardon the pun) as I hadn't been in there before, but the hall was nice and spacious with a good atmosphere and decent acoustics.
Joanne Shaw Taylor came on with a strongly rock-blues oriented setlist. She has a massive voice, which has a raw edged vibe, kind of like Suzi Quatro meets Janis Joplin, but more controlled, to my mind, than the latter.
That would be doing her a bit of a disservice though, as she can tone it down when she wants to and "Jealousy", a soulful ballad which builds to a powerful climax, is a great showpiece for her voice.
It is a voice made for the blues, and coupled with her obvious guitar mastery makes for a formidable show. Again, the interested should have a listen to "Jealousy".
I managed to catch a few words with her after the show and she tells me that her solos are 80% improvisation to 20% set-piece. I can well believe it. There was a wildness to them that cannot quite be achieved by playing safe and playing by rote, although there was a fluidity that spoke volumes about the amount of time she spends with a guitar in hand.
For the gear geeks, she uses a Marshall 1987x at 18w with a tube screamer to kick it into overdrive, and intersperses that with a fender super reverb with a Mojo Hand Rook on the top setting to give that some beef for solos. She played the first song with a telecaster, but most of the set was using a Les Paul, and which had a mellow neck pickup with a hot, but smooth bridge. A perfect foil for her voice, and the two blended perfectly.
A brilliant start to the evening.
Robin Trower
After the interval, Robin Trower came on with a tasty white stratocaster. I wasn't sure of the model, but with 21 frets (which looked like stainless steel), a bullet truss rod and abalone dots, I suspect a custom shop model. He played that through a couple of Marshall heads, each with a 4x12 cab.
This should have been too loud for words, but, and to put it simply, the man is a master of his craft. The amps were obviously close to total saturation, but they were never let loose other than to sing, but without howling.
Mr Trower kept control of them and the instrument with a sure hand that speaks of years spent with them. The way he played was with a mastery of the instrument that I have very seldom seen. It was a combination of Jeff Beck's fluidity and musical knowledge, with Jimi Hendrix' ability to use the amp feedback as an instrument in its own right, with Dave Gilmour's artful tremolo usage, but with Robin Trower's own style and influences.
There were some rocky blues numbers, which were what one would expect, but with some inspired wah- and tremolo- laced solos, but then there were surprises, such as what seemed to be an entire instrumental ballad played using double stops, where he managed somehow to get the two notes to be just off-key enough to get the amp's distortion to cause slow phasing. The effect was akin to walking by the seashore with waves lapping and receding, but in a sonic sense. I can't really describe it, but it was the highlight of the evening for me.
Other songs were blisteringly fast, with repeated motifs and incredibly intense, convoluted runs, which carried the listener, but set them down gently at the end of each song.
A nod must go to his bassist as well, who had a brilliant voice, with a natural tremolo that added a great deal to the songs he was charged with singing. Where I was sitting (front and centre, naturally) I was a bit disappointed because the PA was at either end of the stage, so his voice was somewhat swamped by the guitar sound in the centre. I felt that a vocal speaker in the centre, or perhaps a bit of shielding for the speakers might have helped the acoustics somewhat, but as Robin Trower was the guitarist, I wasn't massively upset.
Overall, Robin Trower is one of the best guitarists I have ever seen, whether on video or live. His mastery of his craft is evident in the effortless way he plays (a strat is not the easiest of instruments to play, and to play at that speed and intensity is very difficult indeed. To play at that speed and intensity for 90 minutes would be a marathon). Whilst the instrument looked to be one of the very best of its kind, it was still a high achievement to play like that, for that length of time. Truly astonishing. Colour me a fan.
and Joanne Shaw Taylor
Sheffield City Hall 9 April 2015
It is not usual for me to find anything amazing to go out for on a Thursday night in April, but I did pop along to see Robin Trower and his support act, Joanne Shaw Taylor.
Trotting down several flights of stairs to the lower depths of City Hall was a bit disconcerting (pardon the pun) as I hadn't been in there before, but the hall was nice and spacious with a good atmosphere and decent acoustics.
Joanne Shaw Taylor came on with a strongly rock-blues oriented setlist. She has a massive voice, which has a raw edged vibe, kind of like Suzi Quatro meets Janis Joplin, but more controlled, to my mind, than the latter.
That would be doing her a bit of a disservice though, as she can tone it down when she wants to and "Jealousy", a soulful ballad which builds to a powerful climax, is a great showpiece for her voice.
It is a voice made for the blues, and coupled with her obvious guitar mastery makes for a formidable show. Again, the interested should have a listen to "Jealousy".
I managed to catch a few words with her after the show and she tells me that her solos are 80% improvisation to 20% set-piece. I can well believe it. There was a wildness to them that cannot quite be achieved by playing safe and playing by rote, although there was a fluidity that spoke volumes about the amount of time she spends with a guitar in hand.
For the gear geeks, she uses a Marshall 1987x at 18w with a tube screamer to kick it into overdrive, and intersperses that with a fender super reverb with a Mojo Hand Rook on the top setting to give that some beef for solos. She played the first song with a telecaster, but most of the set was using a Les Paul, and which had a mellow neck pickup with a hot, but smooth bridge. A perfect foil for her voice, and the two blended perfectly.
A brilliant start to the evening.
Robin Trower
After the interval, Robin Trower came on with a tasty white stratocaster. I wasn't sure of the model, but with 21 frets (which looked like stainless steel), a bullet truss rod and abalone dots, I suspect a custom shop model. He played that through a couple of Marshall heads, each with a 4x12 cab.
This should have been too loud for words, but, and to put it simply, the man is a master of his craft. The amps were obviously close to total saturation, but they were never let loose other than to sing, but without howling.
Mr Trower kept control of them and the instrument with a sure hand that speaks of years spent with them. The way he played was with a mastery of the instrument that I have very seldom seen. It was a combination of Jeff Beck's fluidity and musical knowledge, with Jimi Hendrix' ability to use the amp feedback as an instrument in its own right, with Dave Gilmour's artful tremolo usage, but with Robin Trower's own style and influences.
There were some rocky blues numbers, which were what one would expect, but with some inspired wah- and tremolo- laced solos, but then there were surprises, such as what seemed to be an entire instrumental ballad played using double stops, where he managed somehow to get the two notes to be just off-key enough to get the amp's distortion to cause slow phasing. The effect was akin to walking by the seashore with waves lapping and receding, but in a sonic sense. I can't really describe it, but it was the highlight of the evening for me.
Other songs were blisteringly fast, with repeated motifs and incredibly intense, convoluted runs, which carried the listener, but set them down gently at the end of each song.
A nod must go to his bassist as well, who had a brilliant voice, with a natural tremolo that added a great deal to the songs he was charged with singing. Where I was sitting (front and centre, naturally) I was a bit disappointed because the PA was at either end of the stage, so his voice was somewhat swamped by the guitar sound in the centre. I felt that a vocal speaker in the centre, or perhaps a bit of shielding for the speakers might have helped the acoustics somewhat, but as Robin Trower was the guitarist, I wasn't massively upset.
Overall, Robin Trower is one of the best guitarists I have ever seen, whether on video or live. His mastery of his craft is evident in the effortless way he plays (a strat is not the easiest of instruments to play, and to play at that speed and intensity is very difficult indeed. To play at that speed and intensity for 90 minutes would be a marathon). Whilst the instrument looked to be one of the very best of its kind, it was still a high achievement to play like that, for that length of time. Truly astonishing. Colour me a fan.
Sunday, 26 October 2014
Kenny Wayne Shepherd at the Plug, Sheffield, 25 October 2014
Backstage Pass
Mary and I met Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Noah Hunt, his singer and sometime rhythm guitarist, and his tour manager, Kristin Forbes last night at the Plug, in Sheffield. Thank you to Graham Walker at the Sheffield Star for the opportunity.
I'll get the usual platitudes out of the way first, so, yes, Kenny was pleasant and polite, yes he was well-presented for the occasion and yes, he played well. However, this would be to do him (and the other two) a disservice.
My wife's contact lens started playing up, while we were waiting to meet Kenny, and his tour manager was kind enough to allow her backstage and went to get a torch to help her sort it out. She also arranged for us to meet Kenny and Noah, and allowed us to pose for a photo, and took the photo herself.
The first thing I noticed was that both Kenny and Noah were friendly and polite. The fact that they have sold multi millions of records, and are rightly seen as mega stars, does not seem to have given them the arrogance that one would expect. They were more interested to know whether we were looking forward to the show than whether they could go back in out of the (quite chilly) night, and although Kenny was due to meet other fans immediately after us, he was happy to answer any questions I might have.
As someone who has done a bit of live playing myself (admittedly not a lot), and as a guitarist myself, (although needing to revise my definition of "guitarist" after seeing him play), I knew he would need to get himself into the right frame of mind for the show, so I purposely limited my questions to the three that I think a guitarist would be interested in. So, he uses 11-48 gauge strings (the way he hits the strings, 10s would be way too thin to survive more than five minutes). He uses specially made picks, heavy gauge (not sure exactly what gauge), and he practices for several hours a day.
As mentioned above, I had a million more questions, but he had to get away, and others were also demanding his attention, so we then went inside to wait for the show.
Supporting act
At this point it is perhaps worth mentioning his support act, who were playing as we went in. The Laurence Jones Band were playing some blistering blues rock, and were just winding up their set, with a couple of originals and a version of All Along the Watchtower. Although I have known about Laurence for some time, I haven't had the chance to see him before. His ability is exceptional, he is pleasant and unassuming, will come over to talk to his fans, and calls his hard-core fans by name. We got chatting to he and his bassist, and again there is no side to either of them, the bassist even apologised for getting between ourselves and the band when he leaned over to watch Kenny Wayne's bassist execute a tasty lick. They are coming to the Greystones next year. I shall be there. You should, too. One to watch, and almost certain to be a major star in his own right.
After the Laurence Jones band went off, we had a short time to grab a coke before Kenny Wayne came on.
I don't normally eulogise anything, but...they were transcendental. I have seen a few A list musicians by now, whether live or on various video sites, and I do like a bit of blues-rock, but to say that Kenny Wayne Shepherd is a good guitarist is like saying that the sun is a bit warm.
The opener was a searing fast blues number, and whilst it followed a traditional 12-bar rolling format, was beyond anything I have yet heard. Whilst you can listen to a studio album and admire the skill in a studio setting, played live it's a different story, as there's no second take. He didn't need one.
There were some familiar numbers from the old masters, such as "lost your good thing now", by BB King, sung incredibly well by Noah Hunt, as well as some of Kenny's own early numbers, such as "Deja Voodoo". All of them were executed faultlessly, and with a degree of skill that was quite simply jaw-dropping.
The other amazing thing was that the band was on for about two hours, and at no point did the pace let up. As I said earlier, I have done some live playing, and I practice for about an hour a day on guitar, and have done for some four years, and to play a two hour set without breaks, at that level of intensity, is just astonishing. The only let up was about half way through, when he played a slow blues introduction, at which point I thought he was going to go into a ballad to give himself a rest, but instead, he launched into a fiery solo which had the crowd cheering and cat-calling throughout.
It was also notable that even though the set was by any standards a long one, at no time was anybody looking fazed or bored, such was the energy that it carried over into the audience, who got more lively as time went on.
When they left the stage, there was (of course) the traditional shout for an encore, and whilst we were expecting an encore tune, they came back with several, one of which was Voodoo Chile.
Now, this is a controversial one. Is it acceptable to mess with one of Jimi's songs? I would ordinarily say not, but Kenny took Voodoo Chile and added to it with some improvisations of his own, which extended the song, both in terms of length, and in terms of structure. When the player is this good, it works. The song was at least as good as the original, and had Kenny's own stamp put on it, which was nice to see, if a little hard for the constitution initially.
It was at this point that I became aware (guitar geek alert!) that he plays, amongst other guitars, a custom shop Strat. The reason I knew it is because he was playing the guitar behind his head at this point and the custom shop logo was visible to the audience. I understand that the pickups are custom KWS pickups. I would guess they are wound quite hot, as they drove the Fender (I think it was a twin reverb) just perfectly.
When the set ended, Kenny apologised to the audience for an initial tuning problem with one of his guitars, as he wanted to give 150% in a performance and he felt that the hiatus while the guitar was exchanged detracted from that. Hardly. The gig was brilliant. When they took their bow, the place was uproarious with applause. I thought the roof was going to come off.
Afterwards
We ended up talking to his tour manager afterwards. She is highly professional and competent, and the fact that she clearly likes and respects the band, and that she has worked with Kenny and Noah for the last 12 years, says to me that he is a great person, and worthy of his accolades, which are many.
In summary, if you are into rock, blues, or guitar music generally, go and see him. If you are into sweep picked legato arpeggios in a Dorian mode, go and see him. If you are into Djent or screamo rock music, go and see him. Do you get the drift? Go and see him. It will be worth it.
Just a little taster of his music - Never Lookin' Back
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