“This music is so much better than what I grew up with”, exclaimed a 29 year old fan. “Our music has no emotional feel to it; this band is exciting, and has real energy!”
Even the opening act of hair metal band Prima Donna Rising got the crowd into the mood of celebration. Leader and vocalist Kimble Ouerbacker was having a gas of a time wailing with his team of Steven Sunnarorg, Tony Shibumi, Greg Hollister and Hekar Rivera through an opening set of heavy metal thunder. Looking like a mix of Dio and Mott the Hoople, they played head banging rock with a happy heart, closing with a fist pumping “We’re An American Band”. What did the kids at my table think of THAT?!?
As guitarist and founding Wishbone Ash member Andy Powell said during the 1 ½ concert, “One thing about not having a hit single is that you can play whatever you want”.
True, they never topped the charts, but Wishbone Ash’s early 70s album have stood the test of time, most because of the unique sound produced by a twin guitar front line, with Powell joined by long time member Mark Abrahams, as well as a rollicking rhythm team of Bob Skeat/b and Mike Truscott/dr. For this tour, Powell and company are revisiting the music of their 1973 Live Dates album, which makes sense, as the band’s strengths have always been displayed in front of an audience.
And what has made their music endure? Well, how many bands these days even play instrumentals, for Pete’s sake? They opened with a fervent “Real Guitars Have Wings” and included the lyrical and melodic “The Pilgrim”, filled with swinging rock and displaying the differences of tone between Powells’ clean cut lines and Abrahams’ sinewy and stretched strings.
The other lost art is the mix of vocal harmonies, with Powell and Skeat delivering songs that tell a tale as on the optimistic “The King Will Come” and dramatic but understatedly majestic “ Throw Down The Sword” with the pair of guitars creating sparks during their unison choruses and separate solos. The relentless introduction to “Throw Dow The Sword” created musical images of both medieval tales and anthem-like ideals. Likewise, Abrahams mixed things up with some slide guitar work on a shady and spacey “Rock N Roll Widow” before the band took you to a UK pub with the jigs of “Ballad of the Beacon” and the foot stomping “Blowin’ Free”.
The 12 strings chimed and wailed on a searing take of the classic Jimmy Reed blues “Baby What You Want Me To Do” and then kicked in the clutch for a hectic “Lady Whiskey” before closing with the panoramic opus of “Phoenix”
As the young guests mentioned between songs, “What music that I grew up with is going to sound good in 50 years?” That kind of answers the question why Powell and company are still in demand, singing and playing songs of a time gone by with ideals and styles that still need to be heard.
Upcoming events at The Canyon Club and Saban include Tommy Emmanuel 12/09, Ambrosia 12/15 Brenton Wood 12/30and Paul Anka 01/12