Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Newport Music Hall,
Columbus, Ohio
11/15/03
A little over two years
ago the entire music world was buzzing about a young pedal steel
guitar player named Robert Randolph. In 2001 Live at the Wetlands
and The Word were released to joyous praises and a wave of positive
energy was set loose upon the music community. The soulful playing
on The Word album can make a tear come to your eye and the explosive
licks on Live at the Wetlands can make you jump for joy. When
I first heard both albums I became inspired and transfixed by
Randolph’s glorious pedal steel sound. I had never heard
the pedal steel played like Randolph played on those two albums
and I couldn’t wait to see Randolph live. Unfortunately,
I had to wait until the first Bonnaroo music festival in 2002
to see the budding star perform, but the wait was well worth it.
At Bonnaroo I was able to see and hear Robert Randolph with the
Family Band not once, but twice and I was absolutely blown away.
Since then every time I have seen Randolph and the Family Band
they keep getting better and Saturday night November 15th in Columbus,
Ohio was no different. The
crowd at the Newport was very excited for the return of Robert
Randolph and after the Los Lonely Boys played the best opening
set I have ever seen the anticipation for some high spirited boogie
music began to build. Amidst a large roar of approval from the
audience, Randolph and the Family Band took to the stage and played
the Latino inspired instrumental “Calypso.” As always,
Robert Randolph was joined by his two cousins: Marcus Randolph
on drums and Danyel Morgan on Bass. These three relatives made
up the heart and soul of the Family Band and they fed off one
another throughout the performance. Joining Randolph and the Family
Band on their fall tour was Jason Crosby on organ and fiddle.
Crosby really brought a lot to the table and provided an excellent
organ sound and some very impressive fiddle playing.
“I Got Joy”
followed the instrumental opener and gave Randolph his first chance
to express himself vocally. Randolph’s vocals got stronger
throughout the song and by end he was jumping around the stage
proclaiming his joy. One of the best elements of the concert was
the constant and unbridled happiness the band brought to the stage.
Whenever they got a song going, their positive energy seemed to
infect the crowd and everybody was instantly having a better time
than they were having five minutes before. “Pressing My
Way” followed the high paced “I Got Joy” and
provided a nice transition between sonic blues riffs and soulful
melodies. “Pressing My Way” began very tender and
smooth, then Danyel Morgan took over on vocals and the song turned
in another direction completely. Danyel’s high octave vocal
performance was astounding and this falsetto singing made the
crowd irrupt with joy and made the song burst into hyper drive.
There wasn’t a person in attendance that wasn’t groovin’,
dancin’, and sweatin’ by the end of the song.
The next three songs
played came from RR and the Family Band’s new album Unclassified.
“I Need More Love”, “Going in the Right Direction”,
and “Nobody” were all played brilliantly. This version
of “Going in the Right Direction” was extended to
about fifteen minutes and contained some great improvisational
grooves by everyone in the band. During the song the band created
momentum by using the chorus as the main theme for the jam section.
The band would build up the music and play off on another and
then go back into the chorus, which provided excellent structure
for the jam so that it never got lost. Throughout the night the
band never seemed to lose their way during any improvisational
parts, and that produced a very tight overall sound. This precise
playing can be contributed to the musical connection that was
present between the three cousins and Jason Crosby’s impressive
ability to fit into the mix. After
playing all original compositions to start the show the band played
two impressive cover songs, “Good Times, Bad Times”
by Led Zeppelin and “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix.
“Good Times, Bad Times” was played instrumentally
and was the best version I have ever heard. I am a huge Zeppelin
fan and I am also a huge Phish fan, but ultimately this instrumental
version was better than Zeppelin’s album version and any
live Phish version I have ever seen or heard. During the song
Robert Randolph played the notes that Robert Plant sings in the
original on his pedal steel. The sound he created was breathtaking.
While Randolph was playing Plant’s vocal part the rest of
the Family Band was grooving right along. Marcus Randolph’s
drumming was heavy and provided rhythmic accents that would have
made John Bohman proud. “Good Times, Bad Times” segued
very nicely into Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.” RR
and the Family Band really put their own signature on this classic
rock song. Randolph’s pedal steel dominated the song and
he played like a man possessed. Unlike other bluesmen, Randolph
appeared to be possessed by the beautiful side of life rather
than the evil. The main guitar theme of “Purple Haze”
blared out of Randolph’s pedal steel as Danyel Morgan played
some crazy bass notes. Playing in front of his hometown family
inside the Newport, Morgan’s bass work was spectacular.
Morgan’s style was very unique in that he combined a funky
slap bass technique with his right hand with some incredibly flowing
notes coming from his left hand. At times, Morgan was able to
create an almost double-time sounding bass, much like Hendrix,
Les Claypool, and Stanley Jordan. Throughout the night Danyel
Morgan’s all around performance was dynamic. Not only did
he play bass and sing, but Morgan also played some fantastic rhythm
guitar during a few songs. The
highlight of the show came in the form of a lengthy version of
“Squeeze.” This intense instrumental contained a long
jam that developed into a terrific tease of J.J. Cale’s
“Ride Me High.” The entire band created a rush of
emotion that drove the crowd into a dancing frenzy. The balcony
was shaking and everybody was praising the power of music. This
version of “Squeeze” was very inspired and contained
some dramatic climax jams that ultimately resulted in a start/stop
ending that reprised the main theme. After an enormous round of
applause RR and the Family Band came back on stage and played
Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile”. This epic blues masterpiece
acted as a very fitting end for a show that contained an incredible
amount of musicianship. During “Voodoo Chile” Robert
Randolph picked up his pedal steel and played, ala Hendrix, the
defining riff of “Voodoo Chile” behind his head! This
was an amazing sight considering the weight of a pedal steel guitar
and the obvious difficulty of playing it behind your head. As
I left the Newport I was struggling to catch my breath, and my
mind was racing with the fact that I had just seen something very
special.
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The
White Stripes
PromoWest Pavilion,
Columbus, OH
11/12/03
Sometimes when I go to concerts everything works out perfectly.
I usually arrive before the band goes on stage, drink a couple
of beers, and get an idea for how the crowd is feeling. I’ve
been to shows when the crowd was crazy with anticipation, drunk
on alcohol, and stoned on everything else. Most of the time the
crowd is excited regardless of what day of the week it is or what
band is playing and very rarely do I go to a show where the audience
just plain sucks, but surprisingly when I saw one of America’s
hottest rock and roll bands, The White Stripes, the crowd was
horrible. The audience inside PromoWest Pavilion was made up of
indie rock hipsters, wanna be hipsters, a few old hipsters, high
schoolers, and a couple true fans of rock and roll.
The entire group of hipsters and pseudo-hipsters didn’t
do much of anything during The White Stripes explosive performance.
They tended to stand around and talk while Jack and Meg White
thoroughly rocked the house. These kids thought they were so cool
that they couldn’t move around for fear that they might
sweat a little bit in their $50 vintage Motley Crue t-shirts and
$100 distressed jeans. When did looking cool take precedence over
having a good time? I would rather jump around, have beer spilled
on me, yell with appreciation, and have a kick ass time than be
in the latest style and walk around with an “I’m better
than everything because I’m wearing these clothes”
attitude.
The next group of annoying people in attendance was the overwhelming
number of high school kids. Now I have nothing against high school.
It is a mandatory part of life where teenagers learn to think
that they know it all and then a few years later they learn that
they know nothing. As far as creating positive energy, these high
schoolers didn’t do much more for the vibe than the pseudo-hipsters.
They tended to look wide-eyed at everything around them without
really knowing how to act. These youngsters looked like they were
attending their first rock show and that was the only thing that
made them less annoying than their snobbish counterparts. I can
accept ignorance from people that are out of their element more
than I can accept a bad attitude from people that are trying to
have a bad attitude.
Although the crowd did sour the atmosphere inside PromoWest,
the White Stripes more than made up for it by putting on an outstanding
performance. Throughout the show the band played almost every
song off of their latest double album Elephant. All of the songs
that came from Elephant were played brilliantly and was highlighted
by Meg White singing a fantastic version of “In The Cold,
Cold Night.” During the song Meg left her drum kit and took
to the center of the stage. Jack White provided musical backing
for Meg while she entranced the audience with her rock girl persona
and unique voice. At the end of the song Meg added some very interesting
notes on Jack’s synthesizer, thus making this version of
“In The Cold, Cold Night” more powerful than the album
track.
Also included in the Stripes setlist were poignant covers of
Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, Son House’s “Death
Letter”, and Burt Bacharach’s “I Just Don’t
Know What To Do With Myself.” Jack’s vocals on “Jolene”
were very strong and would have definitely made the proprietor
of “Dolly World” proud. “Death Letter”
was an all out tribute to Mississippi Delta Blues. Jack looked
very much like a young Jimmy Page while he was tearing into this
influential blues classic. His long wavy hair masked his face
creating an aura of mystery and intensity that was impossible
not to be captivated by. Jack’s guitar riffs were stellar
and if Son House was still alive it would be great to hear the
blues legend’s thoughts about this white dude from Detroit
playing his song with such emotion and honesty. “I Just
Don’t Know What To Do With Myself” was a massive display
of power. Meg pounded her drum kit more vigorously than I have
ever seen her do before, while Jack provided spine tingling vocals
and searing guitar lines. This lounge lizard song was transformed
into a hard-edged tour de force by the Stripes.
The highlight of the concert came in the form of a rousing rendition
of “Lord, Send Me An Angel.” During the song Jack
added a few extra lines of lyrics making the song much longer
than usual. Mr. White was on fire during the song as he proclaimed
his desire for a new woman. Whether it was his recent break-up
with silver screen starlet Renee Zellweger or the fact that he
tours the country with his ex-wife Meg White, Jack’s performance
during “Lord, Send Me An Angel” was extremely impressive
and convincing. I was left thinking that this rock god really
needs a new woman regardless if she is “Yellow, Detroit
brown, or a Southwestern redhead.” During the song Jack
proclaimed that he must “leave married women alone”
and that “he cannot be satisfied.” These declarations
were delivered with an extreme amount of urgency, making it seem
that Mr. Jack White was about to go insane if he did not find
some “mojo” fast. The song also proclaimed a very
untrusting message about the honesty and sincerity of certain
women, “Well they’ll tell you that they love you,
love you their whole life. Grab a man on a corner and they’ll
tell that same lie twice.” This simple blues/folk song was
astounding and made me have faith in the modern day music scene,
even though the people that follow today’s rock scene do
it for the wrong reasons.
After a four-song encore that included “Seven Nation Army”
and “Apple Blossom” the White Stripes were gone. They
played for over two hours and it was like watching fireworks go
off, large explosions that quickly disappear. As I left the concert,
amongst the thousands of lethargic pseudo-fans, I couldn’t
help but feel a little bad for Jack and Meg White. They have become
a huge musical force, but they play in front of an audience that
doesn’t even have the energy or motivation to truly appreciate
what they are doing. These people only wanted to be seen, rather
than wanting to hear and enjoy music. Oh well, hopefully the Stripes
will become disgustingly rich off of the posh masses and still
be able to keep their integrity.
A Note About The Opening Band:
Whirlwind Heat – An appropriately named band that hit the
stage running and never looked back. Although their attitude was
greater and stronger than their musicianship, these lads from
Grand Rapids, Michigan were much more enjoyable than the annoying
Betty Boop cartoons that played before each band. Machismo is
rock and roll, and Whirlwind Heat vomited machismo all over the
place. At one point, a wild fan yelled, “You guys are awesome!”
Whirlwind Heat simply replied, “Yes
I am.”
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