i've listen to joe jackson and was looking forward to my first live show. mr jackson seemed unprepared, it appears that he has been relying on his great band for too long. it looked as if he was a bit lost during a lot of his songs. although, it was interesting to hear how the song was written. i'm sure joe will find his niche quickly. nobody can possible enjoy doing a show which seems to have felt so awkward.
well, now the part i have a hard time bringing myself to do. writing a bad review on a todd show. let's start with the introduction of the new guitar. (I think it was a Line 6 acoustic) i'm sure todd felt comfortable using all the different sounds the toy can make, but to use it exclusively in a solo show with no "bail out plan" my have proved to be a poor choice.
forgotten words, forgotten arrangements made it hard to enjoy the show. todd, being the sarcastic man that he is, was quick to laugh at his mistakes. it was funny the first 2 or 3 times. but it got old real quick. at the piano, more trouble pops up. during "torch song" there appeared to be playing difficulty as well as technical difficulties. todd quips "will this thing ever work?" much to his surprise, it did appear to work.the next song. still, it didn't help the playing. and the show rolls on and on and on and on.....................oh! back to the guitar, more frustration. broken string and no guitar tech in sight. what the hell was going on?
everybody comes back for the encores. this is it "right" well........no, not enough practice, jj not knowing all his parts in while my guitar gently weeps. todd reaching his patience tries to bring the band to some type of finale'. just didn't happen.
one or three last gripes. stage technician seemed lost. everybody knows TR's picks are stuck to the mike stand. guitar cable wraps around strap and have a plan when there's an issues (broken string WAKE UP) if, and i say, if there was only one day of rehearsal, the monitor engineer can get cut a little slack. strings, jj voice, piano, guitar and todd's voice are not easy things to balance in a few hours. in ear monitors and bose speakers are surely not an easy twek in quickly.
FOH engineer(so you say) todd's voice sounded great, piano sounded great, never been a big fan of his acustics sound, but it was ok. when todd managed to sing and play more then a verse or two, it started to gel. a bit too much effet for my taste. the slap echo was cool, but i felt it didnt need that many repeats. reverbs were ovewelming there or not at all. sounded like it was the first time you got to mix all three acts. i'm sure the sound coming off the stage from the bose didn't help. with all three acts playing a the same time, i see potential. rehearsal should bring the muscians around, and with that you should get a stonger preformance to mix.
in closing, good luck to ethel, joe, and todd. it's a cool idea, please don't quit before the miricle happens.
one last thing, "I HATED THE SHOW SOO MUCH THAT I'M GOING TO CLEARWATER FOR STOP #TWO. i will check in with everyone after friday.
Peace,
Brooke
"and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"
