Post by Matt Callahan on Jun 19, 2004 11:23:28 GMT -5
When you look forward to an event with such great anticipation, sometimes you can be let down after everything is said and done. It’s comforting to know that there are still some things you can count on to give you more than you deserve. Seeing Ottmar Liebert in concert will always be a thrilling, uplifting, and emotionally rewarding experience.
My daughter and I arrived before the doors opened. I like getting to shows early. I look over the venue and check out the audience as they arrive. Getting a feel for the vibe of the building and the people that are filling it. The first person I talk to is a visitor to OL’s blog, Greg. He recognizes my name from the comments section and I remember him posting that he would be at the show. We’re both in row two. A better view, I think, than row one due to the height of the stage. Jon Gagan wanders on stage to retrieve his fretless Lakland bass. We wave and say “Hi”, tell him his CD is great.
The stage set up is spartan. For those with the limited edition version of La Semana, the guitar set up was almost identical to the picture inside. Same chair but no blankets to cover the sound gear. There are drums Lots of drums. Ron Wagner’s normal array of exotic percussion and sound effect tools on my right, and , to my knowledge, new Luna Negra member Robbie Rothchild’s cajon and conga set up on the left. At least, I think they were congas. All I could think of was Ricky Ricardo playing a show at the club. No red heads in sight, so we’re OK. After Jon’s visit to the stage, there was only a fretted Lakland and his keyboard left. This is simple. Simple is good.
An hour and a half to show time. We talk and explore a bit. Waiting for the cotton techs to set up. This is my first visit to this venue. It’s an intimate sized club, a young crowd club. Bare concrete floors and folding chairs. I hope the acoustics are good. I want to bathe in beautiful Devoe sound and float on thick, five string bass tone.
Eight o’clock…a tech walks on stage to carry off the Devoe. OL is waiting in the wings. He gives her a final check. The stage lights go out, the house lights follow. This is a smart crowd, they don’t speak. Whatever happens, you will want to hear it. Barefoot, of course, in jeans and a long sleeve grey t-shirt, OL strolls out and sits. Straight to work. Alone, bathed in single spotlight, he begins a buleria intro. Have I ever mentioned that I love buleria’s? Instantly, everyone is swaying to the music, heads are bobbing, feet are tapping. This is why we came. Every fiber of my being is now trained on this beautiful guitar and the even more beautiful sound emanating from it. I admit it, few things make me smile, but I’m grinning ear to ear. My spirit is being renewed.
Ron drifts on stage and starts his magic show. Jon and Robbie follow. From there, we were treated to two hours of comfort you experience only in a dream. I didn’t keep track of the set list, I just felt the music and let myself drink in the feeling. We got a taste of Jon Gagan’s Transit. No one plays bass like Jon. If you don’t have this CD, order it right now. Come back and finish reading this later. The Lakland sound was gorgeous and I doubt that any other human could wring out the tone he gets from these instruments. The new Cello Bass effect is fantastic.
The Luna Negra percussion duo is quite a match up. They wowed the audience a few times. The drum duet before intermission was like spontaneous combustion. Each man put his soul into the music. They also took over a few songs and played back and forth, sort of like watching a slow and funky tennis match. It’s fun to hear members of the audience comment on the cajon. “He’s playing his seat.” My daughter, who knows what a cajon is, called him “box boy”. He’s got quite a talent and I hope to see him as a Luna Negra player again.
Before the drum duet, OL gave everyone the updates. At the announcement of La Semana’s release last week, those who own it let him know how we felt with applause. I think he was happy to hear a few copies had made it to Arizona. I heard he wasn’t feeling well but you couldn’t tell. His mood seemed bright and his playing was…well, he’s Ottmar. His talent is a gift and I feel blessed to be able to witness it. His first comment was, “How hot does it get in the summer?” It was well over 100 degrees outside. One song ended a bit prematurely. He smiled, bent down to the guitar microphone and said, “Whoops”. Like he’s said before, they were in the zone, we were in the zone. No one cared.
The favorites were played. Morning Arrival in Goa made a beautiful appearance and my daughter was thrilled. She loves that song as much as I do and had been listening to it most of the day. Some of the new songs were performed. They rolled off the stage like the band had played them for years and it’s still very early in the tour. These men are extremely talented and work so well together, I wonder if they are telepathic.
I wish I had the freedom to follow the tour. Be like a Dead Head. A Liebert Lover? A Flamenco Follower? Maybe there’s a better name. Every few nights, sit and watch this incredible experience. Would that be too much? Like a pound of dark chocolate at one sitting or that one glass of wine too many? Is it better to see this once every year or two? To savor the small portion and wait between servings? Is the possibility of addiction too great and the withdrawal too painful? Maybe if you were a roadie and worked hard for the experience, you could avoid the danger.
How do you stop writing about an experience you will always remember? It doesn’t really have an end. Every time I listen to the CD, I’ll get that tingle, a reminder of hearing the song live. My daughter and I will trade stories about our feelings during the show. I hope we can keep going to concerts, keep building memories. I don’t care were OL plays, as long as he keeps playing and people can come and share his music.
At the end of the show, I meet another blog visitor, Mike. I thought about these three people that have one thing in common, one shared passion. If we could share it with others and let them see the magic that they are missing, maybe there will be more CD’s released and more shows in the future. It’s up to us to spread the word. Let’s get to work. The benefits are great.
My daughter and I arrived before the doors opened. I like getting to shows early. I look over the venue and check out the audience as they arrive. Getting a feel for the vibe of the building and the people that are filling it. The first person I talk to is a visitor to OL’s blog, Greg. He recognizes my name from the comments section and I remember him posting that he would be at the show. We’re both in row two. A better view, I think, than row one due to the height of the stage. Jon Gagan wanders on stage to retrieve his fretless Lakland bass. We wave and say “Hi”, tell him his CD is great.
The stage set up is spartan. For those with the limited edition version of La Semana, the guitar set up was almost identical to the picture inside. Same chair but no blankets to cover the sound gear. There are drums Lots of drums. Ron Wagner’s normal array of exotic percussion and sound effect tools on my right, and , to my knowledge, new Luna Negra member Robbie Rothchild’s cajon and conga set up on the left. At least, I think they were congas. All I could think of was Ricky Ricardo playing a show at the club. No red heads in sight, so we’re OK. After Jon’s visit to the stage, there was only a fretted Lakland and his keyboard left. This is simple. Simple is good.
An hour and a half to show time. We talk and explore a bit. Waiting for the cotton techs to set up. This is my first visit to this venue. It’s an intimate sized club, a young crowd club. Bare concrete floors and folding chairs. I hope the acoustics are good. I want to bathe in beautiful Devoe sound and float on thick, five string bass tone.
Eight o’clock…a tech walks on stage to carry off the Devoe. OL is waiting in the wings. He gives her a final check. The stage lights go out, the house lights follow. This is a smart crowd, they don’t speak. Whatever happens, you will want to hear it. Barefoot, of course, in jeans and a long sleeve grey t-shirt, OL strolls out and sits. Straight to work. Alone, bathed in single spotlight, he begins a buleria intro. Have I ever mentioned that I love buleria’s? Instantly, everyone is swaying to the music, heads are bobbing, feet are tapping. This is why we came. Every fiber of my being is now trained on this beautiful guitar and the even more beautiful sound emanating from it. I admit it, few things make me smile, but I’m grinning ear to ear. My spirit is being renewed.
Ron drifts on stage and starts his magic show. Jon and Robbie follow. From there, we were treated to two hours of comfort you experience only in a dream. I didn’t keep track of the set list, I just felt the music and let myself drink in the feeling. We got a taste of Jon Gagan’s Transit. No one plays bass like Jon. If you don’t have this CD, order it right now. Come back and finish reading this later. The Lakland sound was gorgeous and I doubt that any other human could wring out the tone he gets from these instruments. The new Cello Bass effect is fantastic.
The Luna Negra percussion duo is quite a match up. They wowed the audience a few times. The drum duet before intermission was like spontaneous combustion. Each man put his soul into the music. They also took over a few songs and played back and forth, sort of like watching a slow and funky tennis match. It’s fun to hear members of the audience comment on the cajon. “He’s playing his seat.” My daughter, who knows what a cajon is, called him “box boy”. He’s got quite a talent and I hope to see him as a Luna Negra player again.
Before the drum duet, OL gave everyone the updates. At the announcement of La Semana’s release last week, those who own it let him know how we felt with applause. I think he was happy to hear a few copies had made it to Arizona. I heard he wasn’t feeling well but you couldn’t tell. His mood seemed bright and his playing was…well, he’s Ottmar. His talent is a gift and I feel blessed to be able to witness it. His first comment was, “How hot does it get in the summer?” It was well over 100 degrees outside. One song ended a bit prematurely. He smiled, bent down to the guitar microphone and said, “Whoops”. Like he’s said before, they were in the zone, we were in the zone. No one cared.
The favorites were played. Morning Arrival in Goa made a beautiful appearance and my daughter was thrilled. She loves that song as much as I do and had been listening to it most of the day. Some of the new songs were performed. They rolled off the stage like the band had played them for years and it’s still very early in the tour. These men are extremely talented and work so well together, I wonder if they are telepathic.
I wish I had the freedom to follow the tour. Be like a Dead Head. A Liebert Lover? A Flamenco Follower? Maybe there’s a better name. Every few nights, sit and watch this incredible experience. Would that be too much? Like a pound of dark chocolate at one sitting or that one glass of wine too many? Is it better to see this once every year or two? To savor the small portion and wait between servings? Is the possibility of addiction too great and the withdrawal too painful? Maybe if you were a roadie and worked hard for the experience, you could avoid the danger.
How do you stop writing about an experience you will always remember? It doesn’t really have an end. Every time I listen to the CD, I’ll get that tingle, a reminder of hearing the song live. My daughter and I will trade stories about our feelings during the show. I hope we can keep going to concerts, keep building memories. I don’t care were OL plays, as long as he keeps playing and people can come and share his music.
At the end of the show, I meet another blog visitor, Mike. I thought about these three people that have one thing in common, one shared passion. If we could share it with others and let them see the magic that they are missing, maybe there will be more CD’s released and more shows in the future. It’s up to us to spread the word. Let’s get to work. The benefits are great.
