[Harp-L] Re: Greatest shows ever



I've been out of the loop for quite a while and have started to catch up on
reading posts.  I had to rack my brain from the hundreds or more live shows
I've seen but some stand out in no particular order.

Pat Metheny Group at Mountain Winery in Saratoga about 3-4 years ago.
Everything from solo acoustic guitar to 4 piece jazz pieces to full band
screaming Hendrix like wailing.  Nonstop for 3 hours outside with the stars
twinkling.  Truly a magical one of a kind night.

McCoy Tyner group at Village Vanguard, NY and Great American Music Hall, SF
in late 70s.  He had a 7 or 8 piece band featuring George Adams on tenor
sax, John Blake on violin, and a Brazilian percussionist whose name I
forget.  I've never heard such a combination of beautiful melodic playing
and full on ferocious, powerful straight ahead jazz.

Steely Dan at Shoreline Auditorium, Mt. View maybe 10 years ago.  i think
this was their first tour after reuniting.  I was literally in the last row
(not counting lawn seating above) but dead center.  I think it was a 12
piece band with 4 horns, 3 vocalists, and the regular lineup.  If you know
their music it is pretty sophisticated stuff with great arrangements.  The
sound even from that far away was as pristine as if I were in a recording
studio.  Plus they had top of the line pros in the band.  I don't think
anyone missed one note and I really couldn't believe what I was hearing.

Too many Bruce Hornsby shows to count.

Harp content--I used to be Norton Buffalo's biggest fan and saw most of his
Bay area shows wherever he was playing.  This must have been 25 or so years
ago at the old Keystone Palo Alto.  Close to the end of a wild show he
announced he had something new to try.  The rest of the band gave him dirty
looks which I took to mean "I don't believe he's going to do this."  He must
have had an echoplex or something since it was so long ago and launched into
the Duke Ellington tune Rockin' in Rhythm.  He started with the walking
boogie type bass line, then looped that.  Then he vamped the chord part, and
looped both those together.  Then he went into the melody a couple times and
took off on a solo that must have gone on for 10-15 minutes.  i don't think
the band was into it, but I stood there with my mouth hanging open.  I must
have seen him three dozen times or so live and never saw him do anything
like that before or since.

marc spilka
www.myspace/jamnesia2












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