Will Lee

On Sun, since I had to leave the show Sat nite early, I went back to the Keswick to meet up with Will Lee of the Fab Faux. I met up with my friend T Life and his wife Rene, and together we met up with Will after the show. First on the show, from the Cavern to the Rooftop. This show topped, if possible, the previous nights White Album show. The band is just so meticulous in reproducing perfect sounds for each song. As someone who never saw the Beatles live, to me, this is the next best thing. But I Digress. Meeting up with Will I had the chance to ask a few questions for this blog and here they are. When asked who Will had wished he had had a chance to work with FRANK ZAPPA was the reply even before the question had finished being asked. Then when asked who living he would have like to work with, both Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers names came up. Again for those who don't know Will, not only is he David Letterman's bass player, but quite possibly the only living human to have worked with all four of the original Beatles, along with countless other performers,(Jimi Hendrix, Steve Miller, The Rascals, Motown, Sly & the Family Stone) too many to list here. Will is a consummate bassist and multi instrument player. Guitar, Harmonica, piano, violin, trumpet, and French horn are among his talents. It is nice to know that someone who has basically been "to the top" of the music profession is such a down to earth approachable individual. I hope to someday be included in his list of friends, for he surely is one of mine.

Chili Stu

Tonight in seeing the Absolute Zero's there was this opening act called Chili Stu, that Dawn and I had to wait to finish before our host band, the Zero's, came on. What a pleasant surprise. This trio of Keyboard, bass and drums, was all over the place, in a great way, in their music style. I personally think they are of a jazz fusion blend, but it can be seen in so many other genre's. A little bit soul, funk, reggae, rock, and r&b all thrown in a pot and stirred. We never knew what the next songs style was going to be, which we found to be invigorating. Andrew on drums and Luke on keyboard are classically jazz trained and it shows. Jeff on the 5string bass is the funkmister that blends with the others to produce great melodic mixtures of music. Plus Jeff's vocals are spot on. All together a great mix for a trio that will be hard to top in the coming months to the top of the Philly music scene.

The Absolute Zeros

Well busy busy busy was I on Sat. After the Fab Faux show, I went down to center city and saw a Local band called the Absolute Zeros. They had requested to be my friend on myspace and had asked me to come see them and give them a review, and after a few months of playing tag, the nite finally came. The band consists of the following: Kelvin Cochrane - Vocals, Guitar: Sabu Rex - Bongos, Percussion; Steve La Monica - Bass; "Wild" Bill Rose - Drums: Austin - Lead Guitar. Tonight however there were only 4 members, Sabu was not there. Now I had heard of this band from another local performer, Laura Cheadle (who by the way has been previously written about, check her blog out). Well, Dawn and I were pleasantly surprised, not knowing what we were in for. In my opinion, Kevin's voice is a cross between, Joe Cocker and Jonnie Lang. Steve is a fret running bassist, Austin is a great guitarist, and Bill on drums is a sold essential metronome for the band. Their music is a cross between 60's rock like Joe Cocker, to New Orleans style funk like Jon Cleary. It was well worth the wait to see this band and it is great to have become their friends. I will be catching more of them in the future and I am sure, enjoying watching them grow into a major force to promote the "Philly Sound" of today along with other great up and coming local acts.

The Fab Faux

Sat Nite was a great show at the Keswick, the Fab Faux were in town. Now for those who are not familiar with them, They are quite possibly the best Beatles tribute band (in my opinion) around. They don't try to impersonate the Fab Four in looks or clothing, or even instruments, but what is lacking in appearance is more than made up for in sound. They are perfect recreations of the best music by the best ever band that you will find. Dawn and I have heard them several times here at the Keswick, and just closing your eyes, you would think it was 1970 all over again and John Paul George and Ringo were on stage in front of you performing. The Fab Faux performed the ground breaking WHITE ALBUM in its entirety. They had the Creme Tangerine Strings and The Hogshead Horns along with ERIN HILL and ANDY YORK, and as stated above it was performed perfectly. I will have more on the Fab Faux after seeing the second show tomorrow, as they perform from the Cavern to the Rooftop show.

This coming Weekend

This coming weekend I get to see The Fab Faux and The Absolute Zeros. Getting to see Will Lee again is always a pleasure as he is such a great person and not unreachable to the fan. The band is by far the best Beatles tribute going. I have seen others and they can not compare to Will and the gang in the Fab Faux. They recreate the Beatles to a T. If you closed your eyes, you would think that John Paul George and Ringo were really in front of you performing. As for the Absolute Zeros, It has been a while in the making, but Dawn and I will be seeing them at the Tin Angle Sat night after seeing Will and the Gang at the Keswick. I am looking forward to the show as I have heard their music on their MySpace page and enjoy what I have heard. More to come in the next few weeks up to the great one and only Brian Wilson show, that I have been looking forward to for 2 months.

Lindsey Buckingham

Well, Sat night at the Keswick was a night I was looking forward to since I slept thru the Crosby/Nash show eariler in the week. I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I was in the quality of the show. I had to leave after the 3rd song as the music was just so loud that it was uncomfortable to stay and enjoy the music. I was told that there had been no sound check, and it bothered me that the people working with the band was more concerened about covering the glass partions in the lobby to prevent anyone from looking to the stage (what was that all about) then making the audience happy and acutally lowering the volumn of the music to an acceptable level to prevent a mass exodus. I wish I could have stayed, but I just could not take the assualt on my ears. Very dissapointing night.

The Quarrymen

Well It's been a while but I have a great one for you today. Last week I got to see 3 original members of the Quarrymen. I have a picture of them with a very young John and Paul that I had signed along with the Beatles themed guitar. I have some pics of them and here is one. They sounded great, considering their ages. They played some skiffle and some old rock songs like That will be the Day, Come go with me and Elvis songs along with some of their old original songs done with John and Paul. Enjoy the photo, and remember to support your local venue for classic rock shows.