Chickenfoot last nite... YIKES!!

[thelionsden]

Well, I saw some of those youtubes of Chickenfoot a few months back and they sounded kinda weak to me and I love Satch live. The tunes I heard seemed to kind of stifle what Joe does best a bit and Sammy seemed a bit sloppy.

So this girl I know won some tix to an outdoor concert outside the RR hall of Fame last nite and I semireluctantly went down to check it out.

Well, I have to say they frikkin ROCKED the place..!! Sammy is just a natural and his voice and the harmonies with MA sounded great, Joe just totally TORE IT UP!! Joe is all Marshalls. Great drummer. MA has the presence and can really jam. I was very impressed, cool tunes. The FOH started to get out of control and it got so loud it turned into mush and a weaker tune sent me to the exit to beat the rush but I have to say, if you get a chance to see them live, they are WORLD CLASS rockers!!

Dennis

 

[riker4208]

Do they still have Chad Smith on Drums?

 

[thelionsden]

Do they still have Chad Smith on Drums?

Yes, he really smacks em and he is tight and free... very natural player fits well with these dudes.

 

[Goo Fighters]

I heard Joe is rocking the Vintage Moderns and ditched Peavey......That's cold Joe! Good decision though....

 

[thelionsden]

Great tones with the Marshalls last nite

 

[Renardm]

They play any Van Halen?

 

[thelionsden]

I didnt hear any but I left early.. To be honest, it was a little bit like Van Halen in a way only with Joe on guitar. Joe is just so explosive and edgy it had kind of the same effect as Van Halen only fresher. I saw Van Halen on the last tour with DLR and it was good and on one tune in particular Ed demonstrated his amazing world class prowess, but all in all, the show was kinda tired IMO and again FOH had the sound so loud DLR voice was making my ears shut down. Sammy is a much better singer too at least as far as pitch is concerned.

 

[Steve_2020]

I didnt hear any but I left early.. To be honest, it was a little bit like Van Halen in a way only with Joe on guitar. Joe is just so explosive and edgy it had kind of the same effect as Van Halen only fresher. I saw Van Halen on the last tour with DLR and it was good and on one tune in particular Ed demonstrated his amazing world class prowess, but all in all, the show was kinda tired IMO and again FOH had the sound so loud DLR voice was making my ears shut down. Sammy is a much better singer too at least as far as pitch is concerned.

Someone suggested they call Chickenfoot: "Van Alien."

I'm looking forward to seeing them. Heard a song on the local classic rock station - they just dropped one in the middle of a set and it fit wiith all the well known rock stuff they play. Took me a second but I figured out who it was.

Sammy can still Sing. MA was playing more than root notes. Joe was playing simple rhythm/riff guitar with big tone and tossed in some Chuck Berry licks. Drummer kicked ass.. Cool.
---------
I saw the Van Halen reunion tour a while back. The DLR era contains my favorite VH songs. Roth was as good as he can be at this point. Alex played fine. The kid held down the bass parts ok. There is some talk in current Chickenfoot interviews about how Eddie's guitar parts took up so much space, Michael Anthony was relegated to playing roots on everythng when he waa in VH. hmm.

Eddie was a bit of a disappointment at that show - about a year and a half ago.

I'd seen him Kill in concerts many times over the years and he just didn't do it for me that night. His rhythm guitar stuff was rock solid. The lead stuff -a main reason to go see VH - was kinda...weak - or phoned in. The mix was mushy and his then-new EVH amps got washed out. Washed out/mushy lead tone in a three piece band? Whoa. And I had decent seats (for a basketball arena).

The only time his guitar playing was mixed nicely/loudly and his playing truly impressive was on his guitar solo section. But as cool as it was to hear that section again, it was pretty much the same 'guitar solo' he's been doing for a couple decades. Still fun to see and hear....

And it was great to hear all those DLR era tunes non-stop in a show. But I had almost as much fun watching the crowd which turned out for this show, as the show itself. People were nuts. It was an 80s rock party all over again...

Would I go see the reunited VH again? Yeah. And hope Ed would do better next time. Sorry, but when I go see guys like Jeff Beck who still somehow always seems better than the last time I saw him, I just can't cut slack to EVH.

This show was back when there were several rumors that Ed had again fallen off the wagon (some shows around this time had been cancelled iirc.) Now he's got the broken hand.

My best wishes that Ed gets well in all ways, and comes out rockin next time.

 

[WoodyTone com]

lions -- Where was the show and what Marshals was Joe using?

Also, if you dig Satch, don't know if you've heard the five free VOX-pormoting tunes he has out now. Link: http://www.voxamps.com/exclusives/satriani-vox-tracks/

 

[sweetpeeeeeee]

Someone suggested they call Chickenfoot: "Van Alien." QUOTE]


This is brilliant "Some kind of Alien...Joe comes walkin' in...."


J.P.

 

[dantedayjob]

So Sammy didn't play any guitar? That's odd... Saw VH in '88 and Sammy played on about 20-25% of the songs, have seen him solo too and he played even more then (probably 70-75%)... he's no slouch on the guitar himself

 

[jimfog]

Do they still have Chad Smith on Drums?

LOL.....I know. The most relevant, only still famous guy in the band gets relegated to "great drummer!"

 

[thelionsden]

LOL.....I know. The most relevant, only still famous guy in the band gets relegated to "great drummer!"

In your opinion of course Red Hot Chili peppers were never relevant to me and still aren't. Never heard of Chad Smith before.... Doesn't hold a candle to Joe IMO for fame in my book, or sammy, or MA for that matter. So , to me, least famous, least relevant. They could have gotten ten other guys to do what he did there but no one to replace Joe or Sammy.

 

[thelionsden]

lions -- Where was the show and what Marshals was Joe using?

Also, if you dig Satch, don't know if you've heard the five free VOX-pormoting tunes he has out now. Link: http://www.voxamps.com/exclusives/satriani-vox-tracks/

Show was in Cleveland outside next to the Rock and Roll hall of fame building right by the lake. I couldn't see the amps real clearly but Im pretty sure it was JVM on the left and something else for a spare that wasnt turned on. Thanks for the link Ill check it out...

 

[Jollyb]

These guys are Pros . I had no doubt they put on a great show.

Ever listen to the first few Kiss albums compared to Live Alive back in the 70's? I have a feeling thats Chickenfoot. The name doesn't help either.....

 

[Steve_2020]

In your opinion of course Red Hot Chili peppers were never relevant to me and still aren't. Never heard of Chad Smith before.... Doesn't hold a candle to Joe IMO for fame in my book, or sammy, or MA for that matter. So , to me, least famous, least relevant. They could have gotten ten other guys to do what he did there but no one to replace Joe or Sammy.

Pretty much my take too.

Chilis were a big 90s party funk band which almost broke up for the nth time before turning in a late career smash, "Stadium Arcadium" 3 or so years ago. Big world tour, now on 'indefinite hiatus.' There are still major issues in that band, just not heavy drug ones..

I've never been a chilis fan. I'm from the wrong generation. But I can appreciate their rhythm section. Hard funk, tight when called for in this loose party band. Flea's a great bass player and Chad - I guess- is somewhat overlooked, cause he can hang with Flea and drive that band.

The stuff I've read about Chickenfoot is that it came together in a very natural way. Chad has a place in Cabo and would come down to Sammy's club and jam with him and Anthony. Sammy and MA have been buds forever -since the Van Hagar days- and MA kinda sealed his fate with EVH when he hung out, jammed and toured with Sammy.

The only guy who didn't fall into the jams was Joe, but he and Sammy had been talking about doing something for a while.

Sammy was having fun with his Cabo Wabo band, but was looking to put together a bigger. better, badder headliner quality group. Time's now a wasiting for SH and he wanted a guitarist with instant marquee value. apparently had also talked with Neil Schon a while back too. Also Journey's current drummer. that didn't pan out for whatever reason.

I think getting Satch was a Great move. This band kinda has the best part of a Van Halen vibe/band model going for it...Satch writes the songs or song ideas/riffs, Sammy writes the words. But it's a real band and they all arrange and play stuff as a group. Everyone can offer up ideas.

I don't think that's ever been the case in VH. It's Eddie's way or the highway.

In any case, VH hasn't come up with any new music in forever. Though Eddie Van Halen is a bonafide guitar legend who absolutely changed rock in the late 70s/early 80s, he's been kinda limping along for many years with personal issues of all kinds- cancer, booze. yikes.

Eddie and Satch are completely different players, but they can both easily fill the Big Guitar slot in this type of classic (van halen-esque) hard rock group.

As someone said, "Chickenfoot" is fresher. As they should be.

I also think Chad Smith falling into this line up is great too. He's a groove drummer with big power. Not just a heavy rock drummer. His style also makes Chckenfoot seem fresher... Nice changeup to the typical hard rock/metal mix. Should never forget that John Bonham had swing..heavy as hell and played behind the beat -but he swung. stuff.. And it brought something new to their music back then.. Chad's bringing his own thing to this band.
----------
There are still lots of fans for this type of music. The Hip hop generation(s) aren't even going to know they're out there, but rockers will. I saw an arena full of them at the VH concert a year ago.

Hope they stick together long enough to do a few cds of their own stuff and have a career. Looks like they're off to a good start. From the Fillmore warm up gigs a few months ago to the Greek Theater (5000 seats) next month...

Too bad about that CF name i don't think it matters tho. Apparently niether do they..

 

[Gtr_Eng]

In your opinion of course Red Hot Chili peppers were never relevant to me and still aren't. Never heard of Chad Smith before.... Doesn't hold a candle to Joe IMO for fame in my book, or sammy, or MA for that matter. So , to me, least famous, least relevant. They could have gotten ten other guys to do what he did there but no one to replace Joe or Sammy.

+1

No doubt Chad is a great drummer but Sammy and Joe are in a different league in terms of name recognition, longevity, and influence. And I am a fan of the Chili Peppers.

 

[Bryan316]

I missed my chance to go. All my money is going to my bathroom renovation. I'm broke. I had to bite my lip and skip out. If they come back to town, I won't miss it again.

 

[ScottR]

I'm going to see them tonight

 

[Snottyboy]

I saw them recently....they came out much stronger than I expected and really seemed to be having fun. Lost a little momentum mid-show, but picked it back up toward the end with a long version of 'Bad Motor Scooter' where Sammy did the open on lap-steel. All in all, I liked them more than I expected to. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I didn't really think Satriani fit that well. His stuff kinda muddied into the sheer volume of it all. OTOH, I thought Chad Smith fit very well. One downer IMO, is that they left about 15 minutes on the clock before the typical concert "curfew" expired. Hey, this was Saturday night in Detroit...C'Mon!

Another thing...I listened to the album (or attempted to) before the show. From what I could stand, I thought it was pretty good, but why are all the new records recorded so loud??? Geez, I've got decent stereo equipment, but I though it might fall apart at times.

My 2 cents....I give 'em a 3.5 out of 5.