With a name like that, we'd better have some substance. Once again, this band seemed to pull it all together like no other. Comprised of J.T. Alessi and Matthew Smith on guitars & vocals, Jeff Fritz on keyboards, acoustic guitar, & vocals, Adrian Ash and Richie Jones on drums, percussion, & vocals, and myself on bass, we thoughtfully reunited to entertain the fans of folk. Well, the mates studied hard and translated Paul Simon's idyosyncratic compositions into fan-friendly sing-alongs. It's not as easy to commit to as some other artist's catalogs, speaking as a bass player, of course. The parts are not difficult (well, ok, some from Graceland are perhaps the most challenging I've had to play), but the song forms remain the challenge. We were all remarkably on the same page when it came to these tunes. Of particular note was the "seemingly innocent magnum opus waltz" Still Crazy After All These Years. It's just one of those songs that never repeats anything! As was said about one of the other songs while we were on stage, it makes for a wonderful guitar lesson, as you will virtually finger every existing guitar chord known to modern man.
For my part, I practiced Bakithi Kumalo's 2-bar "bass solo" in You Can Call Me Al for 2 weeks or so. I got it a bit better as I went along, still not 100%. I learned a bit how to ease up on the tension in my hands; relaxing is the key. Economy of movement. When notes occur that quickly, you cannot waste a moment of effort. On the record, the part is played forward and then reversed by playing the tape backwards, a la The Beatles with George's guitar solo on I'm Only Sleeping or John's ending vocals on Rain, or even that opening piano note on Yes' Roundabout. Here is where I got my schooling on the transcription and execution - props to you, 66pbass, a well done distillation of the recorded sounds translated to the real world and slowed down to my own plebeian level. What else? Many corrections and adjustments to my older charts. The famous Anthony Jackson upper-register licks in Slip Sliding Away. The fretless wizardry on the other Graceland cuts, particularly Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes. We also did The Boy in the Bubble, Graceland, & Under African Skies. Beautiful music all around.
Highlights from the show: a strong opening deep cut with Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall; a much improved rendition of America (at the risk of self-incrimination, I'll spare you the torrid story this time); Jeff delivering an impeccable piano performance on the über-ballad Bridge Over Troubled Water (J.T. singing his "Art" out on that one as well!); big applause after my bass break in You Can Call Me Al (Charlie Sheen would've told me I was winning!); Matthew's strong arrangement of The Boy In The Bubble (fun bass part on that one, too); funkin' it up on 50 Ways... (lotsa drummers know it, but how often does it ever really get called?); the acoustic tunes with J.T. and Matthew giving us a nice unplugged mini-set; Late in the Evening with J.T. donning his electric ukulele and myself sporting the Ashbory Rubber Bass (it was extra "fonky", with Jeff delivering those tight horn lines and making it look easy); Still Crazy After All These Years with J.T. nailing the lead vocal and Matthew slicing into the solo with a searing electric guitar; the big finish with hit after hit spilling forth... We left a lot out due to time constraints, even after cutting our one break down to 10 minutes. It was downright inspirational!
Pictures taken during the setup, and then during the show on my phone:
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| 1st to arrive! |
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| The Alessi Family is in da house! |
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| Lighting courtesy of my stand light. |
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| J.T. with his Epiphone Les Paul Acoustic-Electric Ukulele. |
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| The SG Twins |
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| This photo of Matthew, J.T., & John courtesy of Jeff Fritz. |
Here is a copy of what our set list ended up being, after many adjustments:
Some pics of the full group, as taken by our good friend Melissa Jo.
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