Robin Trower 1997 Tour Reviews
Patrick Schell
Thought I would give you some feedback on RT's debut in Kelso, Washington. IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE!
We had front row seating at Trophies Sports Broiler in a little, I MEAN LITTLE, town of Kelso in Washington. We first were puzzled as to why he would play such a small place like that...seated less than 150. At 9:15 pm all the sound checks and guitars were in place, and RT and company walked up to the rear of the TINY stage. RT looked quite skinnier than I had previously remembered him a few years ago. I hate to say it, but the years are catching up to our ICON of rock and roll....he looked rather older than 52.
Livingstone Brown joined him on Bass and not quite sure who was on drums, could of been Mayuyu. RT, dressed in black pants, white elbow length tee, with colorful black print vest, picked up the Strat opening with "Too Rolling Stoned". It was just as I had envisioned; precise riffs and masterful execution of that Strat. They really got into it, Livingstone strutted the bass and RT was rockin', adjusting the volume control on the strat to make that baby sing 'Trower'. RT had the infamous gestures that goes along with his adept style, and smiles were on all faces; alot of them with awe. Standing ovations, old time rockers' eyes in disbelief (along with mine) that the MAN was actually here.
Most of the songs were off of '20th Century Blues' (20th Century Blues, Prisoner of Love, Precious Gift, Whisper up a Storm, Secret Place, Promise You the Stars, Extermination Blues) and of course "Bridge of Sighs", "Little Bit of Sympathy", "For Earth Below", and 3 or so off the new CD "Someday Blues". In the past 20 years, I have never heard RT sing, and he has an excellent voice. He sang all 3 songs from the new album, and was very bluesy.....and of course, guitar dominant. His voice was shallow, and sometimes rough, like a Clapton pitch. RT played for 1 hour and 15 minutes and played 2 encores.
I will be attending the last show in SEATTLE tonight at the Ballard Firehouse....June 13th. If tickets were $100.00 a piece, I would have paid it......you can't put a price on perfection.
June 13, 1997 - Ballard Firehouse, Ballard, WA
Lonewolf
Well, Robin may have turned 50 thus year, but his playing is better than it ever has been. Friday's show was sprinkled with brilliant moments, as he pulled trick after trick out of his Fender, ranging from the ear-shattering to the heart-wrenchingly exquisite. But I get ahead of myself.
The Ballard Firehouse, for those of you who don't know it, is a converted old firestation that now has a bar at one end, and a smallish stage at the other, with room for a few hundred sweaty souls inbetween. The stage itself is only raised about three feet, and the audience can crowd right up to the edge -- as one of the security folks said, "a nice, friendly atmosphere -- just the way Robin likes it!!". In the front lobby, tour shirts (black or white, with the cover of Someday Blues on the front, and the tour cities on the back) and copies of the new CD were being sold, and copies of the new newsletter ("Trower Power") were free for the taking.
The opening act was Trust Me, a four piece playing competent '70s hard rock cover tunes: these included Good Times, Bad Times; Cold Gin; Mississippi Queen; California Man; and the closer, Highway Star!! They're not going to be the Next Big Thing (as Dianne said of the guitarist after HS, "he's no Ritchie Blackmore"), but they can hold their own with any other bar band out there, and they had the growing crowd responding appreciatively. They certainly managed to sell more beer, which is all you can wish of a good bar act, and got the crowd going, which is what one hopes of an opening act.
After their short set, they briskly cleared their gear away in order to make room for the second opener, another local act named Indica. This was another four piece, playing uninspired sludge vaguely based on the Seattle grunge sound, but without any of the elements that made some of the bands stand out from the crowd.
All their songs (save one) sounded as if they were based on the same riff -- certainly the bass line was almost exactly the same every time, and the guitarist was lost in fuzzbox heaven. His solos mostly consisted of frantic strumming, much whammy bar pulling, and sweating as profusely as possible, casting the droplets over the crowd as if it were holy water. And picks. Lots of yellow picks, tossed like rose petals into the crowd at center stage.
Mind you, there are those who like this band; there was an energetic group of fans pogoing and headbanging for all they were worth under those holy showers, and they have a fan in Howard Lees (guitarist from Heart), who came onstage to join them for the final two songs, adding his own squeals to the cacaphony. But most of the audience around me was very nonplussed by the whole thing.
After about 45 minutes, their set was done (complete with a minor scuffle in the pogoing area, which amounted to a torn shirt and a lost watch), and their gear was cleared away to reveal the stack of Marshalls waiting for magic to amplify. The techies did the obligatory drum tapping and "One! Two!" in the microphones, and then retreated from the stage. It was now about ten minutes past 11 p.m., the room was now packed with wall-to-wall people, and it was time for the feature attraction.
And, with little fanfare, out came the band. Robin was reunited with his support musicians from 20th Century Blues (Livingston Brown on 6-string bass, and Mayuyu on drums), and he came out stylishly dressed in black pants, shirt, and tie, with a light blue jacket to match his powder blue Stratocaster. A couple of moments to strap on the guitars, and the band exploded into the familiar chugging shuffle of "Too Rolling Stoned", amidst thunderous acclaim from the audience.
Here's the setlist (copied verbatim from the "Robin Trower Set List 6/97" I took from the monitor after the show):
2 Rolling Stoned
As you can tell, most of the set was made up of songs from 20th Century Blues and the new release, Someday Blues, along with a couple of standards.
Robin sang the vocals on the new songs, and he split the vocals on Extermination Blues (which makes sense, as he re-did the song on the new record, and sang the vocals on the new version.) As well, he used a very clean (and loud :) sound, only using a wah-wah pedal in a few choice places, and a chorus for Secret Place. He also switched to a sunburst Strat for that song, but then reverted back to the blue guitar for the remainder of the show.
He was obviously enjoying himself, smiling expansively between songs as the audience roared its approval. It also came through in his
playing, with extended solos on every song -- Secret Place and Bridge Of Sighs were particular standouts; this being the best rendition of BoS I have ever heard -- while the supporting musicians provided solid backup.
They used dynamics to great advantage, and remained nearly impeccably in sync with Robin's changes, even when he obviously dropped a note and began adlibbing instead. And this is from a band at the START of a tour!! It's as if they had been playing together for several months, not just a few days (Robin just came off supporting Bryan Ferry). Obviously the vacation from each other (Someday Blues was recorded with Reg Isadore, Paul Page, and Nicky Brown) hasn't hurt a bit. To paraphrase an album title, When They Rock, They Rock, And When They Roll, They Roll.
After nearly two hours, the show was over, and Robin retreated from the stage completely drenched, as were the members of the audience. The only incident had been when security rushed into the crowd to find the bozo taking flash pictures (afterwards, the security dude leaned over to me and said "hurry up and finish taking your pictures, Robin asked that there be no cameras." Robin could hardly have missed my lens poked into his face at every possible opportunity -- how often do you get to be directly in front of your favorite guitar player playing live, and with a camera in your hands? -- but I never got any more flak about it, once they saw I had no flash unit. Otherwise, the audience had been vocal and appreciative, but well-behaved; they were there to enjoy the music.
Fairly soon after the show ended, the room had cleared out a fair bit, and we finally had room to breathe. But the fans hadn't gone far -- they were now all lined up outside in front of the limo, waiting patiently for Robin, who had promised to meet them and sign autographs. Since it was nearing 1:30 a.m., and we still had a three hour drive home ahead of us, I reluctantly decided not to get Robin to sign the setlist I had grabbed, and we headed out into the Seattle early morning darkness.
Well, I urge everyone to get a ticket to this tour -- the man is at the peak of his form. Like a fine wine, good musicians just get better the longer they hone their craft on their instrument. And Robin is one of the best.
Rise Up Like The Sun
I Want U 2 Love Me
Prisoner Of Love
Secret Place
Promise You The Stars
Next In Line (new)
Day Of The Eagle
Bridge Of Sighs
20th Century Blues
Sweet Little Angel
Little Bit Of Sympathy
Crossroads
Extermination Blues
Shining Through
June 20, 1997 - Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana, CA
Larry Bush
I too am a long time lead guitar player. Robin Trower is the greatest influence in my style and taste. I just came back from the concert at the Galaxy theater in Santa Ana on June 20th. If it weren't for your site we would have missed it for sure! My wife and daughter are also Robin Trower fans. I palmed the guy at the door a few extra bills and we set right at his feet, unbelievable!!!! Also got me a souvenir guitar pick Robin threw my way. Thanks again -- best concert I've been to...
June 21, 1997 - The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Chuck
I had the opportunity to see Robin at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California in June.
O U T S T A N D I N G !!!!! S H O W.
July 1, 1997 - Grand Emporium, Kansas City, MO
Don Proulx
I drove down and saw RT in K.C. MO July 1, 1997, all the way from Lincoln, Ne. Sold out show, but I got lucky and found someone with an extra ticket. This was the 12th time I got to see the man perform live. I have been a fan since the beginning of his solo career. The show was great and worth the drive.
July 2, 1997 - Mississippi Nights, St. Louis, MO
McCay
I saw RT at Mississppi Nights in St. Louis Mo. I stood right in the front just a few feet from Robin. The show was nothing short of amazing! The set comprised mostly of material from 20th Century and Someday Blues with Too Rolling Stoned, Bridge of Sighs, Day of the Eagle, and Little Bit of Sympathy added. I've always wanted to see him and it was a real treat, RT lived up to my expectations and then some. At the end of the show I swiped the set list off the monitor (my friends put me up to it) now it hangs proudly on my fridge. What memories!!
July 3, 1997 - Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI
Cyberwauk
Saw RT at Summerfest!!! Must have been 3000 people in venue. His singing and blues guitar blew the roof off the venue. Big draw at Summerfest. Where can I get the new album? Not in stores yet. Why is this? Such a talent!!!
July 5 & 6, 1997 - House Of Blues, Chicago, IL
Gordy Power
Well it's been a while since I've seen him around these parts but the Sunday House of Blues show in Chicago was a great one. The opening act was a Sacremento CA act called Sweet Vine and they were in the vein of Storyville and the current California blues/country/r&b sound. Worth checking out.
RT is physically looking better than I've seen him in a long time. Getting a little grey these days but more relaxed and comfortable than past shows. He looked like he was having a ball! Very small setup on stage. Played virtually the whole new album with VERY little emphasis on older material (less than half the show). His playing seemed to be tighter and much more focused. The last couple of times I've seen him he seemed to stretch some of the solo's out a little too long. Last night the tunes sounded considerably more aggressive and to the point. The HOB is a GREAT place to see acts because you are REALLY close to the stage. The sound was killer and his guitar sounds a little edgier and fatter. His rig was the standard (2) 4x12 tan Marshall cabs with (1) Marshall head and pair of tweed 1x12
self-contained boxes that may be Fenders of some sort. Not sure, they could be remakes of the old grey Marshalls with the controls on the top facing up. There was no name plate on the front but you could see the tubes glowing inside the grille cloth. He seemed to really nail that left/right delay-separation sound from the Bridge of Sighs/For Earth below
era. Was never really sure what they use to get that huge sound. I was about 10 feet above him, dead center, and about 60 feet back and was almost like wearing head phones.
The only complaint was that Livingston Brown got a pretty crappy vocal mix. Trower sounded surprisingly good on vocals and while there is no way he could cover any Dewar/Pattison material, the new stuff sounded really nice and his playing was really tight while he sang. Did a real nice job of "Crossroads" and the encore was the redo of "Demolition Blues" and he and Livingston traded vocals. It worked.
July 7, 1997 - Fercocci's, Elgin, IL
P. Doherty
Just a Message to describe the thrill it was to see Robin Trower once again in my life. I was thrilled to see that over the years Trower has became better with age. (like a fine wine) He has always left a spot in my heart for his style of music but his performance at Fercocci's was a classic. I've seen others that have become older and have not held their own but Trower hasn't missed a beat. I was saddend to hear that James Dewer has lost some of his health (if in fact that is true.) [it is - ed.] The current musicians he is playing with have filled the rolls extremely well. There is only one thing I might have wished to do and that would be to have wished Mr. Trower well. Maybe that can be passed on to him.
July 18, 1997 - Al Rosa Villa, Columbus, OH
Jim Hawk
I saw the Trower show in Columbus and it was good but not great. He played much from Bridge Of Sighs, 20th
Century Blues and the new one---a few from others. Overall not enough variety and show all too short. He
started at 11:00 p.m. and stopped at 12:10 a.m., and then came back for 2 encores and was out the door at 12:25 a.m. He sold 2 shades of t-shirts and the new disc. There was also a newsletter called TROWER POWER where you could recieve info 4 times a year and recieve an interview CD plus unreleased demos as bonus tracks---sounds pretty cool and I signed up. Hope the disc is as cool as they stated.
July 23, 1997 - Theatre of the Living Arts, Phildelphia, PA
Gotsound
WOW!! RT is really laying down the grooves. The set was polished and had a good sound. Robin does a god job singing, although I still miss Jim Dewar.
Point of interest: Met Marty, roadie for RT, selling excellent quality shirts and the Someday Blues CD. He relayed story of how RT had got him earlier in the day. Seems Marty had parked the equipment truck (a Ryder) with engine
running in front of the hotel while he ducked in hotel to take care of business. Well he came out and the truck was gone! RT and another band member were standing out there acting innocent so he said he just came out and tried to act nonchallant (but was actually sweating bullets) ... Lucky for him RT had moved the truck around the side and while they took it in stride Marty made it clear it wouldn't happen again!!
July 25, 1997 - Tramps, New York City, NY
Karen
Wanted to let you know that we saw Trower play in Manhattan last night at a club called Tramps, and he was in rare form! Have been going to see Trower play since 1975 and each show is a revelation. No one else compares. He blew us all away as usual last evening and he seemed to really enjoy being there for his fans. The audience was great and everyone enjoyed the tunes from his new CD. It was great to hear him sing also!! He opened with Too Rolling Stoned, and ended with Little Bit of Sympathy before coming on for an encore. Played alot of new material from 20th Century Blues and his latest, also Day of the Eagle and Bridge of Sighs. Daydream was notably missed though.
John Micheal Angelo
My brother-in-law just saw Robin Trower last night in New york City, and he used Marshall cabinets, three Fender Hot Rod De Ville amps as pre amps, and a Marshall head to power them. Robin also tuned his guitar down to D, that's why he used 12's. [A friend of my] brother-in-law got to talk with Trower personally. He was so excited he woke me up to tell me but the pay phone cut us off. I'll see him tonight. I have a gig and I use a single Hot Rod De Ville amp with my black Les Paul Custom 1996 and it cranks!