Topic: Va Beach Show
Well guys first of all let me say that I am a BIG J.B. fan. This is my third show this year and I have traveled as many a 7 1/2 hours one way to see a show. What I have learned consistently from my experiences is that the sound man seems to only be concerned about the sound where he is set up. Overall, twice I have been directly behind him and everything was good, and twice I have been off center and have experienced the same disappointment. The show last night was in probably the most acoustically adjusted building that I have ever been in and with reason I was very disappointed with the sound technician.
Being a big follower and knowing most of the material front and backwards, I know that the band performed at a very high level last night. I listened for the little things such as dynamics of Joe's playing and vocals, The precision and perfection that Bogie plays with, The meshing of Bogie and Carmine as one on the bottom laying a great groove, and lastly the fill the J.B.'s band needed for a time and found in Rick on the keyboards.
Last night I took 5 new fans to the show with me as we talked about the show afterwards, we seemed to share the same opinions.
Very rarely were Joe's Vocals clear enough to understand. At times they were overpowered and unheard. With the exception of The Great Flood, If Heartaches were Nickels and Slow Gin, Rick might as well as sat the show out because, any where other than on the stage he didn't exist. With the exception of a muffled kick drum Bogie seemed to be playing on stage volume alone / which eliminated a lot of the dynamics off stage. Carmine's Bass was also very muddy and at times drowned out Joe's guitar.
I know that there may be other opinions out there that differ from mine but, I feel as a dedicated fan that paid a price and traveled a good ways too see the show that I should share this. Also I am disappointed for the new fans that made the trip with me. I know with my heart that the Band put the effort in and played great and that's what makes it sad. Being a musician myself, one thing that I learned in the past is that a sound man can make you or break you on any given night. I truly believe that the sound man let the Band down last night. Not to mention the audience. This one falls directly on him and not the beautiful acoustically friendly venue.
) I really enjoyed the show.
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