Michael Schenker, Herbie Hancock, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, all in one week :)

Posted on June 27, 2007 by santosht

 

 

Last week was eventful. It started on Sunday with a Michael Schenker concert. Schenker is famous for his Scorpions and UFO work especially for hits like "Only you can rock me", "Rock Bottom", "Too hot to handle". He played at one of the smallest club in Seattle – Studio Seven. MSG (MIchael Schenker Group) hit the stage at about 11.00 and the club was packed with Schenker fans who were singing his praises to no end. People could not wait to see their guitar hero in action. There was a lot of excitement in the crowd. MSG played a lot of UFO songs and had a solid stage presence. Schenker made guitar playing look very simple. I shall never forget the picture him kneeling and playing the guitar leads. Wow. A few months ago i had seen "Flight to Mars" – Mike McCready’s UFO tribute band play and I have to say that some of the gimmics that McCready did while playing were pretty much like Schenker. It was a fun concert and i am sure every fan got more than what they asked for.

 

  

 

The next show was that of Herbie Hancock. He was playing at the zoo which meant cheap tickets and general admission. I was late to get there but i anyway managed to get into the first row. Yeah, i know how to get there by now. 🙂 …yes, i was right by the stage. Well, Herbie is one of the greatest and his concert was simply superb. His music had an immence human touch. You could feel the music. It was like a conversation that the band was having with the crowd. Every note was carefully crafted. I was in for a big surprise at this show. I was very impressed with the drummer by the first song itself and guess what, it was nobody other than Vinnie Colaiuta himself hitting those drums . I have been wanting to watch this guy since a long time but i never really had a chance before. And it was such a nice surprise to see him play. His playing was indeed outstanding, what can u expect from possibily the best drummer, my day was made. The highlight of the concert was the jugalbandi between Herbie and Nathan East (bass) besides of course Vinnie’s contribution. They also played a song that was called "Seventeen" which stood for its 17/4 beat. Wow. The disappointing thing was that the band did not sign CD’s or post for photographs. 😦 If you dont know who Vinnie is read this, especially what Steve Vai has to say.

 

The last show was that of Derek Trucks, the young guitarist who is already a legend at the age of 28. Recognised as one of the top 100 all time guitarist by Rolling stone magazine. He is also hailed as the greatest slide guitarist since Duane Allman. He was supposed to play with Clapton during his concert here in Seattle but he did not show up (I think because of his health). The one song i wanted to see Clapton play with Derek was see "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?", too bad Derek did not show up. But guess what, he played that song at this concert with Susan Tedeschi and it was well worth the wait. He is a genious. Watching him is like seeing two guitarists play. He can play the rythym and lead together and make it sound ultra sweet. Wow, that concert did give me a high. Five stars. Susan was very good with her vocals but her guitar playing lacked the edge. I guess thats what happens when you share the stage with Derek. Derek Trucks played at a big arena yet i was lucky to get a pic with him and Susan. Lucky me.

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Life is beautiful!!

Posted on June 16, 2007 by santosht
It was a usual Seattle morning today. It was overcast and raining outside when i woke up. I had to get to work early today for a meeting but the gloomy weather and the cold did not make me feel like getting out of my bed.
 
I stepped out of my house about 20 minutes late, than the time i had planned to. It was still raining and the cloud cover was still there. I took my car out and was waiting to merge onto 156th Ave, waiting for the cars to give me way to get on the avenue. After waiting for about 20 seconds i got on the 156th Ave and was happy to notice that the light next to my apt complex was green. On days you are late, everything matters. As i was driving past the light, i noticed that the cars on the other side were slowing down and some of them had already stopped. There were no accidents, i looked around to see why they were stopping… …i saw this guy making his way onto the street, bang in the middle of the road and noway near the zebra crossing. This guy in the car had stopped his car and the man crossing the road was bending down to help a tiny squirrel who had probably lost his way and was freezing in here. It was sad to see the poor squirrel struggle but at the same time, it moved me to see that the guy in the car stopped his car for this tiny, cute little creature and the other guy volunteer to walk onto the road and rescue the animal. The entire thing happened in about 8-10 seconds but it touched me so much. My day was made. It feels so nice to see such things. Life’s beautiful, hope those guys had a great day.
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Not so lucky this time…. :(

Posted on May 30, 2007 by santosht
Look what I missed. Chris Cornell played in Seattle at The Fenix at a private show for fans and Microsoft employees. Read that unless you were an employee the tickets were almost impossible to get… and I did not go. I am feeling so bad right now. I wish somebody at Microsoft would have sent me an email about this. 😦
 
The set list was a bomb. Some of best Cornell songs. I saw the webcast of the performance and the show was nothing less than spectacular. I am sure I missed something big. I feel so bad right now… cant wait for him to play here again.
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Black hole sun….

Posted on May 21, 2007 by santosht
Black hole sun
Wont you come
And wash away the rain
 
Some songs just move you, take you to a different world. Chris Cornell is awesome at doing that. He can just take you with him to a different world all together. He can get you addicted to a song so bad that you can listen to the same song like 15 times and go like "hey, let me play that one more time.". Temple Of The Dog, Audioslave and of course Soundgarden. "Tell me how to live", "Doesn’t Remind Me", "Jesus Christ Pose", "Black Hole Sun", "Hunger Strike". You can never get get enough of these songs, never. 
 
 
 
Being in Seattle has its own advantages if you are a (grunge) music fan. I met Kim Thayil (i still get a high when i recollect those thoughts). The other day i stepped  into  Mahesh’s office and saw him browsing this site that had a pic of a Lighthouse. I recognised that it was the same lighthouse from "Hungerstrike" and in three days i was there to take a close look at the lighthouse… only to find out that you need to hike 1.5 miles to get to it. Of course i went there that weekend and took a pic there. 🙂
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A few days ago, i read on a site that "Black Hole Sun" was named based on a sculpture in Volunteer Park. I had to go there. I went there on Sunday in typical Seattle weather – rainy and overcast. I was truly impressed by the Isamu Noguchi sculpture. It just moves you. The waterbody in front, the view of Space Needle, simply beautiful! Officially, Cornell said that he had forgotten what he had on his mind when he wrote the song. Huh. I believe otherwise.
 
 
If you havent had a chance to listen to these songs, check these ones out:
– Acoustic "Black Hole Sun" by Chris Cornell
 
 
Hunger Strike by "Temple of the Dog"
 
 

I have a few more things planned out for the next few weeks, i cannot wait to get there and get a pic and update my blog.

So what was this blog about? In appreciation of Cornell? Or of Seattle? Or of grunge music? Well, i think its all about whats in my head right now, its my space after all.

 
Black hole sun
Wont you come
Wont you come….  

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Madagascar

Posted on May 11, 2007 by santosht

I saw Madagascar twice in the last two days. And guess what i can still watch it one more time today. The movie is simply awesome. I love the way the put so much life into each and every character.

I feel movie making is difficult. And its even more difficult when you make movies that are based on fantasies. I love the way some of these movies take u to a totally different world. I saw the premier of Spiderman 3 and it did that same thing to me. I was in that Spiderman world for those 2 and half hours. Its so cool. Its nice to see nice things happening to nice people. I just enjoyed the movie – forgetting all the pressure at work and about all the day to day chores. And the fact that the movie is shot in New York makes me like the movie even more – icing on the cake.

Coming back to Madagascar. I think our life is like those animals in the zoo. We have to wake up at a particular time, sleep at a particular time, be there for meetings, pay taxes, not go to parks after sunset, so many rules. Deadlines, pressure, think of "creative ways to problems", "management wants it to happen that way". Man, all this sucks. I wanna go to the "wild side". I want to go to the fun side where there are no deadlines to meet, in the kingdom of the one and only "Original King Jullian". Dance nice and sassy with him. "Woman, physically fit, physically fit, physically, physically, physically fit" – LOL. I’ll tell him i get heebie-jeebies when i think about work and yes, i’ll raise my hand before talking. I wanna work for the skipper. I wanna crack the code and give "results and not excuses". I love all the sceanes of King Jullian and the Penguins and the one in which Marty and Alex run towards each other on the beach with Chariots of Fire music – slow motion and arms stretched out. I wanna take Skippers advice and remember to be "Cute and cuddly, boys. Cute and cuddly.". You know what, "My life is half over and I don’t even know if I’m black with white stripes or white with black stripes!".

But yeah, its nothing but a dream, i can only "Smile and wave".

"Shush!!!"

PS: If you havent seen Madagascar, you dont know what u are missing. Get it today! If u have seen it a while ago and dont remember the scenes i am talking about, its time u rent the DVD again, else the foosa will attack you…. 🙂

"Dont you shush me Alex".

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Velvet Revolver

Posted on May 9, 2007 by santosht
Velvet Revolver @ Showbox. Huh. Honestly i was quite surprised to see the concert sell out in days since the tickets went on sale. Sell out concerts is very rare in Seattle, its not like NYC. I only remember Alice in Chains concert selling out so fast.
 
I am usually the first one to buy tickets when there is assigned seating and this time i took it easy and i had to buy a ticket from Craigs List. I got the ticket on Saturday – so yeah, i was all set. Thanks Steve for sending the tickets on time. I had reached the venue an hour before the doors opened so i was right in the second row and very close to the stage. I picked the right speaker knowing the fact that Slash likes to be on right side of the stage.

 
There was an opening band – they were quite cool actually but i was so excited about VR that i just could not concentrate on their gig. I was observing the crew set up the stage and i was quite surprised to see that there was not even a single wire flying on the stage. Not even one – no taped wires, no. Nothing. All the setlists were tightly taped to the ground with the one for Slash’s which was stuck to his amp.
 
Finally, Velvet Revolver hit the stage at 10.15. I expected them to come running in but no, they came in pretty cool. SLASH was about 3-4 feet away from where i stood. Yeah. The same guys who i as a school kid used to worship. It was a dream come true. His appearance was usual. A leather jeans a black tee, round dark glasses and his trademark hat. He was ultra cool. The tatoos on his skin were clearly visible to me. The rose on his left hand the lady on his right hand. His Les Paul. I could see the all the scratches cause by the wear and tear. I was right there trying to savour every moment of the show, of being right next to this man – Slash. His leads were sweet and he make it all look very simple. He was awesome on Slither. I guess he saved the best for the last. And i just loved "Wish you were here". Scott Weiland was cool too. He is so energy packed. Woo. He really brought life to their stage presence.
 
They did not let cameras in and so i was a little disappointed. Yeah. U cannot help it sometimes. But guess what, i got Slash’s plecktrum. 🙂 I also got his Setlist. After the oncore i was still wiating for them to comeback to maybe sign autographs, but yeah. it was over.
 

The staff asked me to move out and i started making my way out and guess what………………… KIM THAIYL WAS RIGHT THERE. YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. I could not believe my eyes. Yes he was there in the soundbox. I was so excited. This guy does not play often anymore and i always wondered if i’ll get to see him on stage. I said hi to him and he stood up and greeted me back. I went to him and i said thank you to him for all the music. He was so cool – no airs about him. When i asked him abt him playing sometime he said no commercial music for him anymore. Thats so sad. I asked him if he will play with "The Presidents" and he said no. He asked me if i was from Bombay and then he said that has been there in his early days. I asked him for his autograph and he said sure. I did not have anything on me that time so i got his autograph behind my Microsoft visiting card. Lol. I also took a pic with him through my cell phone and said thank you to him again and he gave me a punch to say good bye. Man, what a pleasure to meet Kim. I dont know if he will ever read this but honestly, Kim thank you so much. You rock and thanks for all the music. I hope i get to see him play some time. My day was made. After all u have to be really lucky to see two guitar gods in flesh and blood on one single day. Man!!! In minutes I was all smiles and screaming on the phone telling my friends abt how lucky i got that day………. 🙂
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Rock-and-roll April

Posted on May 3, 2007 by santosht
 Last month, i saw quite a few bands. A few of them were local bands and some were real big one.
 
The once concert that i was looking forward to was that of "Flight to Mars" that features Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. Well, i guess i just could not control my excitement and i got to the venue one day before the show itself. LOL. The concert was on Saturday 7th April and i was at The Showbox on the 6th. 🙂 No worries, i decided to listen to the bands that were playing that night. The crowd was made up of youngsters, with majority being school kids. The main band was F LOATER. There were three other bands that played before them but yeah, floater was awesome. They are a three piece band with the basist doubling up as a vocalist. I was very impressed with the bassist/vocalist and the lead guitarist. Their style was totally unique and i guess they are really big in the underground circuit. The crowd knew lyrics to most of the songs they played.
 
So finally, on April 07th i went to Showbox once again. After watching the opening bands Mike made a small appearence on the stage. He was not even introduced. He just walked in to join one of the organizers of the show who was on the stage to talk about the event. No airs around this guy – Mike McCready. He was carrying his guitar and was speaking a line or two every time he had a chance.
 
When "Flight to Mars" hit the stage, they got a hero’s welcome. They are really loud. Tim DiJulio was the other guitarist> Tim is a cool guitarist and his presence is always felt. He was almost like a frontman of the band. Mike was playing second fiddle to him initially. I am not trying to take away anything away from Tim when i say this but there were times when i was wondering how come Mike isnt dominating the show. Well, Mike came back with some OUT OF THIS WORLD solos. Phew! He was so good. Wow. Just awesome. If you ever see Mike live, u’ll just love him. He is full of energy, running from one end of the stage to other, having fun with his band mates. I think the most time he spend in one spot was about 3 seconds. He was talking to the crown, shaking hands with them, signing autographs, throwing plecktrums, having a ball. I managed to get his autograph on my Shirt, a Tee shirt i bot and on a plecktrum. 🙂 And yes, i also got a pic with him. 🙂
 

 
 
Next i saw were two legends of Jazz. Larry Coryell (g uitars) and Mose Allison (Piano) at Jazz Alley. Larry is considered a mastero and was part of the John McLaughlin guitar trio. He was so comfortable playing different styles and was simply awesome. This man has shared the stage with some of the greatest musicians of our generation and was really classy. Mose Allison is a very old man (80 year old) and he has penned some of the very famous songs like "Young man blues" and "Parchman farm" amongst many others. His voice was really young and was playng the piano like anyone can only dream of. Larry joined Mose and together they played some real cool stuff.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Last show was that of Damien Rice. I am a DIE HARD Damien fan and in a nutshell, he was out of this world. Wow. It  was truly one of the best concerts i have been for. He is a genious. I think his show deserves a special mention and i’ll just write another blog abt that one.
 
All in all, April was amazing fun. I am going to see Slash’s Velvet Revolver on Monday and then Meat Puppets later this month. I am excited….
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6th sense

Posted on April 18, 2007 by santosht

 "Don’t know y missing u a lot 2day" read the SMS sent to me by Kalpita.
 
Wow. Perfect timing – i said to myself! How does she know that i was feeling a bit low today. I always feel there is a hidden bond that connects us to the hearts of the ones we truly love. How often has it happened to you? There have been times when i almost knew that i’ll bump into that someone special at the strangest of places – like a college library, railway station. I wonder how it happens? Like the times when i feel like talking to my mom at unusual hours and my mom answers the phone by saying – "Don’t know why, but i was feeling so much like talking to you today". Its really strange. There have been times when i knew that my mom might not be keeping good health and it was confirmed when i spoke to her. I feel that there is a bond that connects us to the ones we love the most… …just like 6th sense. Life’s beautiful!
 
I am missing you too a lot today, Kaplita!
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Gone but not forgotten

Posted on April 6, 2007 by santosht
I still remember the time when i was still in school and i was listening to Nevermind on my small mono-casette player. I just loved the album and i used to listen to it all the time, playing it as loud as i can. Its an awesome album, all the energy, aggression, awesome. I was a Nirvana fan from that day. I have been reading his biography, his scrapbook, and the more i know about him, the more i like him. I just love to drive by his house on Lake Washington, sit in his park (Viretta Park), and gaze at the lake. Its a feeling you have to experience by being there.
 

 
Yesterday was Kurt Cobain’s 13th death anniversary. I started my day listening to "My my, hey hey" by Neil Young, the song that Kurt quoted in his "sucide note". I listened to Nirvana all day long and then decided to pay a tribute to the man, to visit the place where he breathed last. I drove to his house on Lake Washington Blvd. I sat in Viretta park (Kurt’s park) looking around…. observing his house, looking at the bench and imagining how it would have been there when Kurt sat there with his guitar, looking at the park, took a few pics, other people in the park. I left rose i brought on his bench. I talked to a few others who were in the park, spent some time in solitute and left after about an hour.
 
 
Sad he isnt there anymore. Rest in peace Kurt!
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Dave Matthews dance

Posted on April 2, 2007 by santosht
I am a die hard Dave Matthews fan. I had once drove 300 miles to watch this guy after work. And i was not at all disappointed. Wondering why, just check this video and you’ll understand. He is so into the song that he is in his own world. Man, its a treat to watch him.
 
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