Saw Robin Trower last night

hippietim

hippietim

Axe-Master
No gimmicks. No click tracks. No auto-tune. No bullshit. Just a 66 year old dude with a Strat, Vibe, and a Marshall. His tone was glorious. His vibrato, note choice, and sense of time is amazing. His bass player and drummer were so locked in with him - simply brilliant. And Davey Pattison's voice was as great as ever.


There were a lot of lessons last night:
  • How to play a slow shuffle without pushing/pulling the beat - it's been a long time since I've seen a band do this as well as they did
  • How to play a fast shuffle without pushing/pulling the beat - even the session guys on Grammy winning records could learn a thing or two here
  • How to play with dynamics - Nickelback, this one is targeted at you - compressors are not actually the best tool to improve dynamics
  • How to sing in tune without the aid of electronics - Taylor Swift, this one's for you
  • Proper use of the wah pedal - Kirk Hammet in particular should attend this lesson
  • Vibrato - most guitarists could learn a lot from Trower here (Angus Young is exempt from this lesson)
  • Proper use of the Strat bridge pickup - that is to say he didn't use it
  • How to establish a pocket and never lose it - this one is for every hip-hop/rap "artist" that plays with a cheesy sampled drum machine
 
One of my all-time favorite players, hippietim ... I've forgotten the licks now, but his Long Misty Days album was a note-for-note staple early in my playing journey. Certainly great to hear his chops are still sharp, as is his band. ("Proper use of the Strat bridge pickup" - that's hilarious).
 
"Pocket" yes.. This is a hard thing to convey to fellow musicians, but when it's there- thats my nirvana. I love listening to Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith together. Absolute pocket.



Highly recommend picking up this album if you can.
 
Great post hippytim. Spot on. I'm lucky enough to have seen him early on when had to get past all the 'hendrix guy' stuff. Saw him not too long ago after a really long spell and it was a superb show - he hasn't lost a thing. He may be considered too old-school for many here which is a real shame. Those guys would be most likely be the ones that don't click on this thread. ;) Funny how so much of todays autotuned/DAW'd to death/cheap-ass poser talent keeps getting in the way of the good stuff.

Re-reading this I sound like an old-fart. That's fine, but Trower is one of only a handful of must-see guitar players alive these days that the young guys should be required to see in action.
 
widrace said:
Re-reading this I sound like an old-fart. That's fine, but Trower is one of only a handful of must-see guitar players alive these days that the young guys should be required to see in action.
Click to expand...

Hey man, I couldn't agree more! I'm only 32 (soon to be 33) and there's a reason some of the "old" greats are held in the esteem they are. Trower is one of these! I saw The Who soon after Entwhistle passed (sadly), but Townshend killed it! I really don't find myself attracted to many of the mainstream guitar players of the past decade or so. There are some great talents amongst the newer crop, but the "old guard" shouldn't be cast off just because they have a few gray hairs or are "past their prime." It doesn't mean they didn't cut out their own chunk of what we all believe to be the upper echelon of stylistic greatness - what all of our foundations are really built upon. I know that I catch alot of ribbing from friends (typically 20-30 range) about listening to classic rock or guys like Di Meola, but they really moved things forward and possessed an amazing musicality that is lacked by alot of more modern bands (ie Nickelback).

I've seen Trower, and it rocked! But I surely couldn't find anyone younger than myself to go to that show with me. Their loss! He's an amazing player with an amazing "voice" through his instrument...
 
I've only seen Robin Trower once.

Twice Removed From Yesterday had just come out.

It was a triple bill, and he was the opening act.

The middle band was Jo Jo Gunne, and the headliner was Mott The Hoople.

Ah, the old days.
 
I have seen Robin a few times, but passed this year when he came through last month. Looks like I should have went... One of my favorites. I know what I'll be listening to today.
 
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