Tuesday, September 29, 2009

All jazzed up

Last night m'lady and I went to c2g and listened to the Todd Harrold Band. Wow. How did it take me this long to hear these guys? I've known of them for years, but never really knew anything about them. I was pleasantly surprised, and so glad we went out last night. They're sort of a jazz, funk, rock, blues, jam type of band. Good stuff.

We arrived a little after the advertised showtime of 7:30, and a guy was just walking out as we walked in. He said hello, and we did back. We didn't know until later it was Rob Dixon, the saxophone player. We found a table and I don't know exactly why they were just then doing a sound check, so the show didn't start until 8. I wasn't real thrilled about having to sit through a drum micing, but it was worth it.

I also wasn't sure how well I would like them. Todd - the leader of the band - is the drummer and vocalist. I'm pretty much a guitar-driven sort of guy, so I was a little worried. But when he introduced John Swain, I recalled seeing him several years ago in another band (ASQ), though he had really long hair then, but I remembered being slightly amazed by him. It was, in fact, the same guy, because he made his telecaster sing, scream and wail. Wow. I love listening to him play. And I don't know much about saxophones, but Rob Dixon has to rank right up there. Superb. The other member of the group playing last night was Matt Collins on keys. I wasn't so sure about the bass being provided by the keys, but it was actually quite good, as well as the other fills and whatnot he provided. Of course Todd Harrold is a master drummer, and I really liked his voice too.

All told, it was an hour of some pretty darn mesmerizing-good music. I will definitely check them out the next time I see them around. I know the show last night was taped for television, but I have no idea when it airs. You might check here if you're interested, but I don't know how it works.

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