kasperhauser
pfm Member
Saw the Robben Ford band, a blues trio, in a dive bar in Eugene last night. Today, I'm an ever so slightly different person.
I'll keep it brief. My jaw dropped very far, very early in the set. Second song, as I recall. But I expected that — after all, it was Robben Ford, being Robben Ford, right there in the room, and he's one of the best guitarists around. He went about playing phenomenally, while I went about shaking my head and saying things like "whoa" and "holy crap".
Somewhere toward the late middle of the set, on one particular song, he was soloing and I began hearing things that didn't make sense to me. There were little bursts of sound that didn't match up with what I saw him doing, nor with how I sort of semi-understand the guitar to work. It was some number of steps beyond a really talented guitarist playing really beautiful melodic lines very fast and with unmatched grace and fluidity. Sitting here now, I still don't quite know what was happening.
Another pretty straight (brilliant) blues swing thing followed that, then a song came that took the above experience to yet a new level. The main solo came from somewhere completely outside my frame of reference; among the mysteries I was hearing, interlaced with and dancing around the sounds, he was manipulating feedback in a very precise way I suspect Hendrix only imagined on really good trips. I didn't know where it was coming from — not a single note of it — and I'm not ashamed to say it had me in tears. I'm welling up here now, just remembering it and trying to describe it.
That's about it. A gracious and kind man, doing something I didn't really know was possible. Go see him. If you're not a guitar dweeb, you'll see a rockin' blues/jazz mix that'll have you dancing. If, like me, you've often dabbled, occasionally struggled to coax pleasing noises out of a strung bit of wood, you'll be treated to a clear illustration of the difference between accomplished playing and true genius.
I'll keep it brief. My jaw dropped very far, very early in the set. Second song, as I recall. But I expected that — after all, it was Robben Ford, being Robben Ford, right there in the room, and he's one of the best guitarists around. He went about playing phenomenally, while I went about shaking my head and saying things like "whoa" and "holy crap".
Somewhere toward the late middle of the set, on one particular song, he was soloing and I began hearing things that didn't make sense to me. There were little bursts of sound that didn't match up with what I saw him doing, nor with how I sort of semi-understand the guitar to work. It was some number of steps beyond a really talented guitarist playing really beautiful melodic lines very fast and with unmatched grace and fluidity. Sitting here now, I still don't quite know what was happening.
Another pretty straight (brilliant) blues swing thing followed that, then a song came that took the above experience to yet a new level. The main solo came from somewhere completely outside my frame of reference; among the mysteries I was hearing, interlaced with and dancing around the sounds, he was manipulating feedback in a very precise way I suspect Hendrix only imagined on really good trips. I didn't know where it was coming from — not a single note of it — and I'm not ashamed to say it had me in tears. I'm welling up here now, just remembering it and trying to describe it.
That's about it. A gracious and kind man, doing something I didn't really know was possible. Go see him. If you're not a guitar dweeb, you'll see a rockin' blues/jazz mix that'll have you dancing. If, like me, you've often dabbled, occasionally struggled to coax pleasing noises out of a strung bit of wood, you'll be treated to a clear illustration of the difference between accomplished playing and true genius.
(equally smugly!)