Them Crooked Vultures!! (World Tour Has Begun)

[Davo]

Well, just as expected, last night's show was spectacular and mindblowing. Four of the best musicians I've ever seen on the same stage together. And the size of the venue was perfect - About like your hometown rep theater.

And, surprisingly enough, John Paul Jones was just as lively and energetic as the rest of them! He was having the time of his life, dancing around the stage, interacting with the other musicians and singing, too!! Nothing at all like the Led Zep days.

JPJ stayed right with Alain Johannes as far as gear and playing went. My favorite was the 12 string bass, which was played with blinding speed. The "strap" steel was another cool instrument, complete with a K-Pad and other gadgetry. And of course a Korg synth with a Kaossilator pad used for modulation(I think). He also played a nice jangly bit with what looked like an oversized mandolin.

And Josh, the man!! Killer playing, killer singing, killer tone, killer.... Everything!! Baby Duck had his game on and did not disappoint. The guy's a genius... Oh, and Dave(Bluesberry) - You will be happy to know that a couple of times he made full use of a Harmony G (Or it's equivalent!!).

Alain Johannes also proved to be top notch as well. It was tough having him on the other side of the stage as JPJ, because the action was really fired up between the both of them. One of them would be playing bass, guitar or keyboards at any given time with such technical expertise that I got whiplash from switching my attention between them. Sweeeeet!!! AJ was the best dressed of the four of them, showing up in a 3 piece suit & tie - Quite fitting for the House of Blues. For those who haven't seen him recently, he's now a clean shaven chrome dome - Looks quite sharp now.

And last but not least, David Grohl brought the house down with some serious ass kicking drummin'. Lots of hard hitting and emotional playing. Truly a badass behind the kit - He did a fantastic job - Reminded me a lot of what he did on the Probot collaboration. I can't say enough about this guy - He just ages like a fine wine.

One thing I enjoyed seeing was the admiration and respect JPJ got from the "kids" he was playing with. Bassist/Drummer staredowns with Dave Grohl with all the classic rhythm section interaction going on. I would see Josh Homme just watch JPJ play his instruments for what seemed like forever. At first I though it was a little strange, but then quickly realized that Josh was probably thinking this: "I can't believe I'm playing only five feet away from a legend".

There are only three more dates remaining in the US before TCV hits the UK. If anyone is skeptical about JPJ just doing this for anything more than playing great music, don't be. This is the real deal, and puts many other Supergroup efforts to shame. It's a low key promotion with low cost tickets and small venues. The perfect combination.

My biggest regret is that I did not bring a very good camera. Damn.

Mark

Sounds like a great show!!! Ive seen QOTSA, and Foo Fighters but that much awesome at one place and time blows my mind!  How bout some pics?

[launched]

...How bout some pics?

All I had was a cheap phone, that produced the crappiest photos I have ever seen. I'm attaching a few that were barely passable. I was way too into the show and wouldn't have taken too many more pictures anyway.

On a side note, there was some kid next to me filming the whole thing with a video camera - the viewscreen was showing killer footage. Alas, security came over and told him to put the camera away. Instead of being happy with what he had, the fool still kept filming. There was no second warning - he was promptly hauled off and I never saw him again. Idiot - I probably would have been able to get a copy, too.

[launched]

One more,,,

[Davo]

Cool photos!  I really wanted to see them, but they never hit the west coast.