Here's a little departure from our usual fare. This is a shout out to any Flaming Nose fans who love a) Blues, b) Classic rock and roll, c) Eric Clapton d) PBS television (God bless it in all it's glory) or e) all of the above.
If you fit into any of these categories, please do yourself an enormous favor and seek out the incredible...absolutely glorious Great Performances feature of Eric Clapton's Crossroads 2007 tour video. Whether you catch it as a repeat on your local PBS station (in my case KCET-Los Angeles), make a donation to PBS and get the DVD (highly recommended), download it off of the Internet, watch it on your iPod....the pipeline is irrelevant, the content is everything. This is one of the best rock concert videos I have ever witnessed, and I've seen plenty. The good news: stars, contents, camera angles, all superb. The TV broadcast sound could have been better, but I'm hoping they will correct tracts and levels in the studio for the DVD release.
Bill Murray, Saturday Night Live alumni and all around comic genius, hosted this concert special which featured some of the most luminary, rock-out, transplendant guitar Gods still left alive on the planet. I watched it in HDTV and my head is still vibrating from: Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, Steve Winwood, Los Lobos, John Mayer, Buddy Guy and...(older, heavier, but still for my money the sexiest and only Native American Mohawk guitar God on the planet, Robbie Robertson!) Dispersed among these seasoned blues-rock legends, were some amazing young talent. My hat is off to Dereck Trucks, relative of Butch Trucks from the one and only Allman Bros Band. This young guy (who bears a remarkable resemblance to Greg Allman, and similar slide guitar sound to the late Duane Allman) is an absolute wonder. Another don't miss prodigy was the young girl playing bass with Jeff Beck on two songs. New and old all rocked together magnificently. Not that anyone cares, I had a really crappy day today, toiling away on my real life Internet job. I have to admit, coming home to this PBS gem after a long hard day, really made my heart soar. Check out this amazing special, and yours will do the same.
Jane, you have had the hots for the terrific Robby Robertson since way back, even when he made that weird movie with Gary Busey and Jodie Foster -- "Carny"!
ReplyDeleteMan, I'm such a music old lady -- strictly classical for me -- but I do love that PBS has kept up with their aging demo in a big way!
And if it made you happy after a tough day, it is magic!
Robbie always has been and always will be my number one. I've been carrying a torch for that guy for so long, it's a wonder my fingers haven't ignited. It was a wonder to see him rocking the stage with Eric Clapton. He is a superb guitar player and often doesn't get the credit in that area that he so richly deserves. I love him. He was wearing glasses, I think that made me adore him all the more. I called KCET and made a pledge, so I'll be getting the DVD set of the whole thing. Lisoid, you know that the only business that I could have ever loved more than TV was the recording industry in the 60's through 80's. After that it fell apart and it's been dying ever since. A concert like this one reminds me of why I loved it so much to begin with!
ReplyDeleteEric Clapton is the most gifted guitarist of the 20th century. Pure and simple!
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