Mahavishnu, California Guitar Trio, Looping Theremin

["David Kirkdorffer" <vze2ncsr@verizon.net>]

Yesterday evening in Boston, the California Guitar Trio, accompanied by 
Tony
Levin and Pat Mastoletto played Mahavishnu's Dance of The Maya.

Pamelia Kurstin, on looping & theremin, opened the show and joined the band
for a totally awesome version of Miserlou. Shje can hit her notes!

It was quite good. The California Guitar Trio played well, as did Tony 
Levin
and Pat Mastoletto. They did their usual mix of virtuosic and goofy
elements, including instrumental versions of Long Distance Roundabout, a
Ghost Riders In The Sky + Rider of The Storm medley, Miserlou, Bach's Fugue
in D Minor, and Mahavishnu's Dance of Maya.

Perhaps the highlight of the night for me was when they played an
instrumental version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. And the whole room
started singing along. As you can imagine, it was very sweet and very 
funny.

It's quite a thing to see Tony Levin play. He's sooo relaxed, and he
communicates well with the other players on stage. At one point he donned a
woolly Patriots hat and stepped to the microphone. I've never heard him
speak before, so hearing his Boston accent was a bit of a surprize.

Go Pats!

David Kirkdorffer



----- Original Message ----- 
From: <mungenast@earthlink.net>
To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2005 9:49 AM
Subject: Mahavishnu was more than speed Re: ELP and shredding


> "Me,  I specialize in playing a whole lot of instruments I can hardly 
>play
in
> front of live
> audiences............shamelessly."
>
> Tim replies:
> Ah, Brian Jones Syndrome...not a bad condition to have!
>
> As for Mahavishnu, they were always bigger than mere technique, for me. I
loved the compositions, most of them. How many people can ROCK AT 11/4??
(LOL)
> Those cats could.
> All day.
> Still holds up for me... To this day, I can even hum you John's solos,
because in spite of their sheer speed, there was a certain beauty to a lot
of them. The songs play in my head, still, and if you're gonna have a song
stuck in your head, you could do a lot worse than "Birds of Fire."
> Yours in Lenny White (another fine drummer),
> Tim
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "loop.pool" <looppool@cruzio.com>
> Sent: Feb 4, 2005 12:02 AM
> To: "LOOPERS DELIGHT (posting)" <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
> Subject: ELP and shredding
>
> I recently heard  "In the beginning" after a long hiatus.
> What a beautiful song, even if it was atypical of ELPs output.
>
> I loved that group and saw them a couple times but I have to say that
> revisiting most of that material
> it just hasn't aged well for me, personally.
>
> At the time it was virtuosic music that was really impressive.
>
> I remember distinctly though,  my brother Bill and I going to see an ELP
> show at Winterland
> and there was this band called the Mahavishnu Orchestra opening up for
them.
> This was a few weeks before
> their first record, Inner Mounting Flame came out and I remember so
vividly
> looking over
> and seeing my brother Bill, as the only standing member of the audience
with
> his mouth literally hanging open
> 30 seconds into the first song before I realized that I too, was standing
> with my mouth hanging open...........we were the only
> ones in the audience who seemed to be having that reaction and I felt 
>like
> my whole world changed in a heartbeat.
>
> Carl Palmer was a really, really accomplished rock drummer and in one
quick
> pass of 16th note triplets across his huge
> vistalite drumset,  Billy Cobham annhialated him and every other rock
> drummer I had ever seen or loved for sheer speed and power. He just 
>ramped
> it way, way the fuck up and it was amazing.
>
> It's interesting, but for what incredible missionary zeal I had for jazz
> fusion in those early days,  I find that it no longer holds
> my interest,  but I think sometimes that is what happens in the life of a
> musician...............frequently we go through a phase were sheer
viruosity
> blows us away and inspires us to work our asses off on technique, but it
all
> ultimately becomes a means to an end:  the ability to express oneself 
>with
> one's chosen instrument.
>
> Speed and technique now mean very little to me unless it serves the
> composition and the music (which frequently it doesn't).
> Bill and I laughingly refer to the excesses of the NAMM show by calling 
>it
> the:
>
> "Weedela weedela
> Thwakita wakita
> Thuggida buggida
> SHOW"
>
> because all the insecure guitar players all play 'weedela weedela'
arpeggios
> as fast as they can at every guitar booth
> all the insecure bass players play 'thwakita wakit'  popping and slapping
as
> fast as they can and
> all the insecure drummers play ' thuggida buggida' triplet 16th rolls at
> every drum booth.
>
> Me,  I specialize in playing a whole lot of instruments I can hardly play
in
> front of live
>
audiences............shamelessly........................LOL.................
..........I
> should probably pay more attention
> to the shredders for the sake of my audiences.
>
> rick
>
>