F A N T A S T I C !
Staples of a good show:
- venue with seating for under 1000 (the Yates seats 500)
- NO concessions
(the last thing I want is to smell hot dogs and nachos, makes me think I'm at a hockey game...btw, I refuse to see a band in a hockey rink)
- must have a piano or organ
- must have at least one windwood or brass instrument; if not, then some other abnormal instrument
- each instrument must have at least one solo
- must cover a Bob Dylan song
(Elvis, Cash, Lennon, or McCartney are optional)
The Colin James Band fit all of the above conditions.
The keyboard guy had 3 or 4 different organs/synthesizers/moogs, plus a piano, and various types of hand percussion instruments which he used when not keying a song. He had a couple of stellar solos on what appeared to be a Hammond B3.
The drummer held his own and provided what was needed from his position.
The saxophonist was superb. A big man with big lungs. Had to be. I had no idea a tenor sax could pull those high notes, and for that length of time!!! We're talking 8 or 10 bars of music, just screaming that thing! Awesome.
Lest we forget the trumpeter. He too was on par with the saxist. However, he wasn't as big, so therefore his lungs were likely smaller, and yet he was able to blow out equally amazing notes for sustained periods of time.
Sax and trumpet had me whirling in memory back to sounds similar to the E Street Band of the 70's.
As for Colin himself, the guy is a fabulous guitarist.
However, one must keep in mind that I have been to a solo Phil Keaggy concert that lasted nearly three hours, so I really can never offer any unbiased evaluation of a guitarist anymore.
Rock. Blues. R&B. Odyssey.
And yes, it was there. Dylan's Watching the River Flow.
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