John Mayall & Peter Green Tour

A friend went to see PG on tour last year and said the same. Lets hope he has the sense to knock touring on the head after this one

Maybe he should be given some credit just for having the guts to try it. I believe for many years he was a virtual recluse, unable even to walk out of his front-door.

David

"Opinions are like belly-buttons, everybody's got one"

I'm going to see them both at Harrogate later this month. Hope PG improves by then!

STEVE D

Saw them at the end of October. Wouldn't have missed it for the world -- great evening -- but I had the definite impression that this was a John Mayall concert, with Peter Green, the Splinter Group and even his BluesBreakers there basically to offset his expenses. There was no real question of "joint top billing", with the Splinter Group doing their bit first, on a crowded stage, with relatively crap sound.

Peter Green's just a member of a truly fabulous band. He's no front man, and having his name in lights over the door (so to speak) puts a lot of pressure on. He communicates vastly more effectively with his guitar than by talking.

John Mayall comes across as a very slick, ruthless salesman -- tremendously fit & sharp -- who "knows" exactly what the punters want, and will go to almost any lengths to give it to them. His ego completely fills the house. Of course, being able to do this so effectively at age 70 is extraordinary.

Both bands produced excellent performances -- very tight -- expecially for so early in a tour. However, I thought the Splinter Group were much more uplifting and spontaneous. The Bluesbreakers by comparison, appeared to be going through a well-rehearsed, numbered routine. I got no impression that the presence of the audience made much difference to them.

I also think that with tickets at about 20 quid, one is entitled to a band with a real Hammond, not a Roland VK-1 sample box, no matter how superbly played. The Splinter Group's Roger Cotton obviously agreed.

Best;

Mark

(an imperfect
forum environment is
better than none)

Hi Mark,

You must have seen them at the very beginning of the tour. By the time they got to Brighton, even his guitar playing was augmented by Nigel. At one point he came in in the wrong key and stuck with it for a few bars. It was, nevertheless, great to see him.

I'd be inclined to say that the polished nature of the Bluesbreakers was probably more down to rehearsals and regular gigging. Certainly the standard of musicianship was higher irrespective the use of a Roland rather than a real Hammond.

Dave

Dave, I sympathise. That sort of thing can be just toe-curlingly embarrasing, even for the audience!

It could be the two bands just settled into the tour differently. At our gig, the Spinter Group had a lot of grins happening, both between each other and in the music. The Bluebreakers, while note-perfect, totally professional and very entertaining, just somehow lacked the same joy. Although they were louder, cooler, and bigger-sounging, we thought the running order would have better reversed. Still, it was a great treat to see both bands. Hope you also had a good time!

Best;

Mark

(an imperfect
forum environment is
better than none)

Mark,

Did indeed have a good time, despite the errors. Took my mega-blues-fan neighbour and "the ladies" and it felt more like a pilgrimage than a concert. In contrast, I saw Alabama 3 on the Sunday and that was rather more primal.

If you're into blues yourself, Mark, there's an Australian chap called Geoff Achison touring during November and December and his acoustic set is fabulous. Should be coming to a pub venue near you and well worth a trip.

Cheers

Dave

I went to the Harrogate concert on Sunday, and tried not to be influenced by the postings in this thread.

Firstly, PG Splinter Group:

Peter Green is just a shadow of his former self. He could hardly talk, let alone sing, and his guitar work sounded very variable. By contrast, the rest of the band were absolutely superb, particularly the other guitarist (sorry can't remember the name). The versions of the old Fleetwood Mac songs were the highlight of the show, but I was disappointed that they did not do
"Albatross".

Secondly, John Mayall & Bluesbreakers:

During the interval, I saw that both artists were signing copies of their latest CD. I was annoyed to see that John Mayall was charging £20 for a signed CD; I thought this was an absolute rip-off.

As for the concert itself, I'm afraid I was very disappointed. Sure, the musicians are all extremely accomplished, particularly Buddy Whittington on lead guitar, and you can't help but be impressed by JM's energy at around 70 years of age. All of the songs were from the new album, and therefore there was nothing familiar.
The songs were all played with great technical skill, but absolutely no emotion or soul whatsoever, and there was no apparent change of pace or rhythm, so the songs just merged into one another. I would have liked the guitarist to occasionally allow some "space" and "air" around the notes/chords instead of simply trying to fit in as many as possible into each second. I saw Walter Trout a few years ago, and made exactly the same observation. At one point, I was amused to observe my wife literally nodding off.

So, in conclusion, I much preferred the Splinter Group's set (Peter Green made little useful contribution as far as I could tell), but found Joyn Mayall & Bluesbreakers somewhat tedious.

Steve D

I have been a fan of John Mayall for about 40years..I was actually in his fan club. I went to see him a few weeks ago..Hanley, S.O.T. Never again, the guy was down right rude, some of the audience were asking him to perform a couple of numbers off Laurel Canyon, he replied with....if you want to hear some numbers from that album wait until you get home and put your the bloody stereo on, was is sharp reply.
Must have been having a bad day or something.
Talking about Mayall, who do you rate as the best harpist?
Regards
Raymond.

quote:

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who do you rate as the best harpist?

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The two Sonnies - Terry and Boy Williamson.

And Charlie McCoy for a hair-raising Country demonstration.

Cheese