Post by markus on Jan 31, 2016 17:11:48 GMT
An enjoyable time at Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino in Maricopa last night; Foghat opening for BOC just like they did when I saw them in Arizona - but in Phoenix on the big stage - in 1981. This was advertised as a free show, and if you want to get the 'Zonies out of their homes when it's cold out (cold in Arizona = night time temps in the high 40's-low 50's) a free show at a casino is the way to do it. The few advertisements out made it a point to emphasize that 'Gates open at 6', but it was an open air show on a stage on the side of the casino...ergo, no gates; when we arrived at 6 sharp there already was a multitude gathered. At its peak, I estimated the crowd to be around 2.5-3K.
Foghat opened at 630'ish, and were initially marred by horrid sound problems - distorted/trebly vocals, inaudible drums, practically no bass, nothing but lead guitar which had no body, all treble. At about the third song in - unknown title - the vocals got turned down, the lead guitar was still too loud, but at least you could hear the snare and bass drum; at about the fifth song in the bass guitar had some more presence and the rest of the drum kit came to life. IMHO, their overall sound was a bit too loud and ill-defined.
The whole boogie-blues-rock genre doesn't appeal to me, but Foghat delivered as was evidenced by the surprisingly engaged crowd (one gentleman on his Hoveraound was so enthralled by Stone Blue he was doing - not consuming - donuts as if he had just won the Daytona 500, or maybe just the New Hampshire 300) that cheered lustily for every 3 chord wonder they blasted through. Charlie Huhn is a suitably charming front man, and kudos to Roger Earl to bash the skins at his age with the stamina he displayed having recently undergone hand surgery (according to an announcement Charlie made as to why Roger wouldn't do a drum solo tonight...close call, obviously we wish him all the best).
As expected, when Charlie announced, 'Are you ready for a...', we knew Slow Ride was coming and the final song of their set was off, and they coughed up what the crowd was waiting for - the booming drum intro and 7 minutes later the careening, up-tempo, helter-skelter ending; quite the crowd reaction I must say.
Technical personnel then proceeded to remove Foghat's equipment to a waiting 'Studio Instrument Rentals' parked stage left and get BOC's equipment ready. Within a more than reasonable 30-40 minutes or so, the lights dimmed, the GoT music (guessing) started, and we were off -
The Red and the Black - First thing noticed, much better sound balance than FH, tempo was a bit slow, Danny on bass/low bass presence in the mix, no bass drum; however, for the first time in all the shows I've attended, BD's guitar was way up in the mix at the start of a show, for both rhythm and lead.
Golden Age of Leather - The momentum slipped a bit with the choral introduction, sound continued to get better, bass drum started to show up a bit; nice harmonies on the outro/ending.
Burnin' For You - Following a brief intro by Eric, when the opening chord hit there was a roar of approval followed by a rising sea of cell phone screens. I remember that FoUO/BfY was huge in Arizona when it hit, attracting even a substantial Hispanic element (Blue Oyster Cultural Diversity?) which was rather rare back then. I asked a Hispanic friend about that and he says, 'Oh yeah, we love everything about death, it's a Catholic thing, Dias de los Muertos, etc., so of course we like BOC.' Another big roar of approval when the song ended followed by chants of 'BOC'; sound continued to improve, still not a lot of bass.
Shooting Shark - While delivered professionally by all - bass still low - the momentum of the show seemed to slip away again; had they hit with Cities on Flame, the substantial Foghat-guitar-loving devotees would've been eating out of the palm of their hand. A bit of restlessness set it, even with the extended guitar solos; I even heard some comments, i.e. is this disco, what's a Shoestring Shark? Some cool rhythmic accents toward the end of the instrumental section(s).
ME262 - Better choice, got the energy level back on track; good performance - with some sparkling piano playing by Richie - of the condensed version we've come to expect complete with air raid siren effect (not recommended for the upcoming Tel Aviv show).
Buck's Boogie - Solid, momentum continues to swing back in their favor; more chants of 'BOC'.
Godzilla - Bloom's introduction reveals he knows a bit of Arizona geography, good performance and with Richie back on guitar the sound is heavier and more full. Background vocals way too loud and Buck's guitar dropped out just for a moment; no drums/bass solos.
Noodle and Reaper - Big roar of approval when the opening chords hit, but not quite as big as on BfY. The best harmonies of the night (Danny might be a better bass player than Kasim, but Kasim's a much better singer), very good sound with the exception of Richie's keyboard stabs which were uncomfortably loud.
Following a quick 'Thank you, good night' and some more 'BOC' chants, they appear back on stage and launch into -
Dominance and Submission - Everyone was muttering 'Cities' when they announced the well-known 'We've got time for one more' line and Richie was at the keys, but when the opening chords hit, every skullet nodded in approval. Arms featuring tattoos which were skulls, dolphins or kittens back in the '70's that now resemble Shar Peis launched into the air (well, somewhat), and creaking knees propelled the remaining seen-ya citizens out of their lawn chairs. Eric on vocal only, Richie on Hammond (sound), this version absolutely cooked. Buck's guitar was good and loud and the performance can best described as more relaxed and it had some looseness/swing to it (what we always heard with the Bouchard Bros). Ironically, they absolutely nailed mix with this.
As mentioned early on, very enjoyable show with the mellow, middle-aged crowd we've come to expect. Casino personnel were handing out comps like crazy, they know that there's some disposable income walking around.
I was surprised at how many younger people were there for Foghat; it could be a multi-generational/family fan base thing. I would say the crowd was a clear 50/50 split as to whom they were there for, but BfY definitely got the biggest overall response of the night. Got to hand it to both bands that they continue to deliver - especially the veterans at their age - with the crazy travel/itineraries. I'm quite a bit younger and having only had to travel a few times for my job, I don't see how they keep doing it, but it's appreciated.
Foghat opened at 630'ish, and were initially marred by horrid sound problems - distorted/trebly vocals, inaudible drums, practically no bass, nothing but lead guitar which had no body, all treble. At about the third song in - unknown title - the vocals got turned down, the lead guitar was still too loud, but at least you could hear the snare and bass drum; at about the fifth song in the bass guitar had some more presence and the rest of the drum kit came to life. IMHO, their overall sound was a bit too loud and ill-defined.
The whole boogie-blues-rock genre doesn't appeal to me, but Foghat delivered as was evidenced by the surprisingly engaged crowd (one gentleman on his Hoveraound was so enthralled by Stone Blue he was doing - not consuming - donuts as if he had just won the Daytona 500, or maybe just the New Hampshire 300) that cheered lustily for every 3 chord wonder they blasted through. Charlie Huhn is a suitably charming front man, and kudos to Roger Earl to bash the skins at his age with the stamina he displayed having recently undergone hand surgery (according to an announcement Charlie made as to why Roger wouldn't do a drum solo tonight...close call, obviously we wish him all the best).
As expected, when Charlie announced, 'Are you ready for a...', we knew Slow Ride was coming and the final song of their set was off, and they coughed up what the crowd was waiting for - the booming drum intro and 7 minutes later the careening, up-tempo, helter-skelter ending; quite the crowd reaction I must say.
Technical personnel then proceeded to remove Foghat's equipment to a waiting 'Studio Instrument Rentals' parked stage left and get BOC's equipment ready. Within a more than reasonable 30-40 minutes or so, the lights dimmed, the GoT music (guessing) started, and we were off -
The Red and the Black - First thing noticed, much better sound balance than FH, tempo was a bit slow, Danny on bass/low bass presence in the mix, no bass drum; however, for the first time in all the shows I've attended, BD's guitar was way up in the mix at the start of a show, for both rhythm and lead.
Golden Age of Leather - The momentum slipped a bit with the choral introduction, sound continued to get better, bass drum started to show up a bit; nice harmonies on the outro/ending.
Burnin' For You - Following a brief intro by Eric, when the opening chord hit there was a roar of approval followed by a rising sea of cell phone screens. I remember that FoUO/BfY was huge in Arizona when it hit, attracting even a substantial Hispanic element (Blue Oyster Cultural Diversity?) which was rather rare back then. I asked a Hispanic friend about that and he says, 'Oh yeah, we love everything about death, it's a Catholic thing, Dias de los Muertos, etc., so of course we like BOC.' Another big roar of approval when the song ended followed by chants of 'BOC'; sound continued to improve, still not a lot of bass.
Shooting Shark - While delivered professionally by all - bass still low - the momentum of the show seemed to slip away again; had they hit with Cities on Flame, the substantial Foghat-guitar-loving devotees would've been eating out of the palm of their hand. A bit of restlessness set it, even with the extended guitar solos; I even heard some comments, i.e. is this disco, what's a Shoestring Shark? Some cool rhythmic accents toward the end of the instrumental section(s).
ME262 - Better choice, got the energy level back on track; good performance - with some sparkling piano playing by Richie - of the condensed version we've come to expect complete with air raid siren effect (not recommended for the upcoming Tel Aviv show).
Buck's Boogie - Solid, momentum continues to swing back in their favor; more chants of 'BOC'.
Godzilla - Bloom's introduction reveals he knows a bit of Arizona geography, good performance and with Richie back on guitar the sound is heavier and more full. Background vocals way too loud and Buck's guitar dropped out just for a moment; no drums/bass solos.
Noodle and Reaper - Big roar of approval when the opening chords hit, but not quite as big as on BfY. The best harmonies of the night (Danny might be a better bass player than Kasim, but Kasim's a much better singer), very good sound with the exception of Richie's keyboard stabs which were uncomfortably loud.
Following a quick 'Thank you, good night' and some more 'BOC' chants, they appear back on stage and launch into -
Dominance and Submission - Everyone was muttering 'Cities' when they announced the well-known 'We've got time for one more' line and Richie was at the keys, but when the opening chords hit, every skullet nodded in approval. Arms featuring tattoos which were skulls, dolphins or kittens back in the '70's that now resemble Shar Peis launched into the air (well, somewhat), and creaking knees propelled the remaining seen-ya citizens out of their lawn chairs. Eric on vocal only, Richie on Hammond (sound), this version absolutely cooked. Buck's guitar was good and loud and the performance can best described as more relaxed and it had some looseness/swing to it (what we always heard with the Bouchard Bros). Ironically, they absolutely nailed mix with this.
As mentioned early on, very enjoyable show with the mellow, middle-aged crowd we've come to expect. Casino personnel were handing out comps like crazy, they know that there's some disposable income walking around.
I was surprised at how many younger people were there for Foghat; it could be a multi-generational/family fan base thing. I would say the crowd was a clear 50/50 split as to whom they were there for, but BfY definitely got the biggest overall response of the night. Got to hand it to both bands that they continue to deliver - especially the veterans at their age - with the crazy travel/itineraries. I'm quite a bit younger and having only had to travel a few times for my job, I don't see how they keep doing it, but it's appreciated.
