I'd gotten copied on some intra-band emails wherein they were worrying over what to include in the set, not wanting to overwhelm or otherwise irritate a cohort comprised of a lot of perhaps "jazz purists" who might not cotton to the off-the-Richter-scale funk and generally in-your-face-on-steroids arrangements. I stayed outa the debate, figuring they'd come up with consensus on just the right mix. Not my place to inject my $0.02.
I was right. The songlist was perfect. Plenty of funk (and warmly received, too), and a ton of great salsa and jazz (Rochon in particular blew a lot of minds with his solo in "We Are Nothing"). Two awesome, sophisticated new tunes, Nathan's "Come To Me," and Dave's "Salvation," debuted flawlessly.
It was interesting. The band began to decent but polite applause, but by about the 3rd tune people were loudly clapping after every solo (audible over the band), and cheering enthusiastically at the end of each tune. The cheering grew to roars, and a Standing-O at the end of the show.
Place was SRO. I may be wrong, but I overheard some talk after the show that this was the first time the LVJS had sold out a concert like this.
Below, some scenes from a love feast, roughly in chronological order, beginning with pre-show onstage shots I took after I got there about 12:30.
OK, showtime...
Simply a wonderful afternoon. Very gratifying, the response to this magnificent band. Thanks to Sonny for the fine front-of-house work using the house gear. Thanks again to LVJS, and thanks to all who come out to the show. Without you, we are nothing.QUICK UPDATE NOTE...
I just changed the tune that launches on my MySpace profile to the YellowJackets' "Rush Hour." Wow, the guitar solo sounds just like those of our homie Drew Zingg (guitarist with the awesome Ronnie Foster, and former M.D. for Steely Dan). Drew has exactly these kinds of chops. Below, Ronnie, Drew, and the guys, with Dave Sanborn sitting in.
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