Hi everyone. Been E&T this weekend. Just got in from a few days in Lake Tahoe. We had a great time. We saw Leon Russell in concert last night. Here is a little review:
eon Russell Concert Update - Leon was quite amazing. By no means, an entertainer, but an amazing musician. He had a four piece band including him on keyboard, and they had a great sound. Unfortunately, the sound wasn't mixed well, and on top of Leon Russell's sometimes un-intelligible vocals, it was hard to understand a word. But his music was fantastic. He did a small set with just him, and I understood everything he sang. He sang "A Song for You", and that was good enough for me for the evening. He basically came out (with the aide of a cane), sat down and played for 90 minutes. Most of which, I assume was his own music, and he did way too my covers of other music for my taste.
Besides the mix not being great, I was not happy with the keyboard programmer or whoever that was in charge of Leon Russell's keyboard. The volume was way too high and the treble was out of control, even to the point of distortion. Also, the piano/string combination that he was using when he was do his solo stuff was both unnecessary and at some points, distracting.
I did run into one of the band members in the casino afterward and I shook his hand and told him what a great job he did (He played guitar, steel guitar, mandolin and keyboard - and all quite well!!) and I asked if they were on tour and he said they all travel together on the same bus and were leaving for Chicago at midnight. They are in the middle of a month long tour.
I'm always glad at the chance to see a legend, in whatever shape they are in. Sometimes, just to be in the same space as them is a satisfying thing. So, the concert was a success.
