Chickenfoot Concert Review in Atlantic City at the House of Blues on August 22, 2009
On a cloudy Saturday, Blogs N' Roses set out to another show at the House of Blues in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I don't know why I continue to go back to the House of Blues, every concert I have gone to there has terrible sound. But I am like a beaten child creating drawings of a happy family, I have hope that sometime in the future, God will smile on me.
Well on Saturday, God decided to completely open his fly and piss as hard as he could on us. It rained so hard it was difficult to see even with our windshield wipers on super high. Halfway into the Armpit of America, it stopped raining just in time to see the beautiful, nausea inducting Atlantic City skyline. But we could not be deterred by shitty skylines, tweaking crackheads, and peddling prostitutes; we had a date with Chickenfoot.
We had seen Chickenfoot before and they put on an amazing show. (Review here) So much so I recommended you go and see this tour. I was excited to see them manage the larger stage, the larger crowd, and see how touring has been.
The opening act was Davey Knowles who was a white blues musician from England or something. His accent was tough to discern who he was. Davey initially came out and impressed me with his blues inspired riffs, thumping basslines and excellent shuffle drum beat. But that soon faded as his songs droned on into guitar riffs that were over played, keyboard solos, and dualing guitar and keyboard solos. Also if you are legitimately trying to playing the blues it is the notes that are not being played that are key. In a typical 12 bar blues setup the chord progression is generally: I, IV, V, I, IV, V, I IV, V, etc. This should be the typical beat for your blues bass line. It becomes too much when those are being filled in by bent notes or whatever. This band was your "white guy attempts to play the Delta blues." I was not impressed. But a lot of the crowd was impressed and a lot of people bought Davey's cd.
Chickenfoot came on at exactly 10:00 pm, opening with the slow building Avenida Revolution. Joe walking out with his new Ibanez Chickenfoot guitar and wearing his typical black outfit with black sunglasses. Michael Anthony wearing, what appeared to be an Affliction like shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. The red rocker going with tight gray/faded black jeans and the ugliest red and black Chuck Taylors I have ever seen. It would make Bob Wettner's choice in footwear look modest. Chad Smith had a Chickenfoot shirt on, which is all I could see.
By the way, band wearing their own logo is a major concert ettitque faux pas. It doesn't matter if all your shirts are dirty, you are trying to promote your band, or whatever excuse you have. Perform shirtless. I still don't allow it even if you are a major recording artist like Chad Smith. It's tacky and I think the karma point loss from wearing the shirt affected his drumming.
On to the crtique. I was spoiled last time. They were in a club that holds probably 400-600 people, the sound was impeccible, they were hungry to prove they were a real band and not a super group, and they were fresh. At the House of Blues (a club that holds 1,200 people), has awful sound, a larger stage, and they had been on tour since April....I think it really hurt their performance.
They were not as fresh; they looked tired. Hagar felt the need to dance and provide stage antics, he was wrong. Chad didn't play as hungry and as powerful as he did in Philadelphia. The banter between Smith and the crowd was kept to a minimum, which is a shame because it was one of the highlights. Also Hagar explained the meaning behind the songs, why they wrote this song or how they wrote that song. It made the Philadelphia show almost like a VH1 Storytellers episode.
Even Satriani seemed off at times. Yes, he still did his normal shredding, but it was more subdued this time around. The only member of Chickenfoot that was consistent was Michael Anthony. His quick bass work, harmonies with Hagar, and charisma, lit up stage left. He was fun to watch.
Don't get me wrong, they still put on a good show, but it just wasn't as good as that intimate club date back in Philadelphia. I think if I hadn't seen that Philly show, I would have a different review. I talked to a few people leaving the show and they loved it. Some said "They are the best rock band out there right now." I don't really agree with that statement, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Most fans were leaving shocked at Satriani's ability, loved Hagar and Anthony, and respected Smith.
I had taken lot of pictures, but I took the wrong camera with only a 3x zoom. That wasn't enough to make out anything.
Chickenfoot setlist:
Avenida Revolution
Sexy Little Thing
Soap on a Rope
My Kinda Girl
Down the Drain
Howlin' Wolf cover
Oh Yeah
Learning to Fall
Get It Up
Turning Left
Future is the Past
Encore:
Bad Motor Scooter
My Generation (The Who cover) Chad destroys drum kit
Well on Saturday, God decided to completely open his fly and piss as hard as he could on us. It rained so hard it was difficult to see even with our windshield wipers on super high. Halfway into the Armpit of America, it stopped raining just in time to see the beautiful, nausea inducting Atlantic City skyline. But we could not be deterred by shitty skylines, tweaking crackheads, and peddling prostitutes; we had a date with Chickenfoot.
We had seen Chickenfoot before and they put on an amazing show. (Review here) So much so I recommended you go and see this tour. I was excited to see them manage the larger stage, the larger crowd, and see how touring has been.
The opening act was Davey Knowles who was a white blues musician from England or something. His accent was tough to discern who he was. Davey initially came out and impressed me with his blues inspired riffs, thumping basslines and excellent shuffle drum beat. But that soon faded as his songs droned on into guitar riffs that were over played, keyboard solos, and dualing guitar and keyboard solos. Also if you are legitimately trying to playing the blues it is the notes that are not being played that are key. In a typical 12 bar blues setup the chord progression is generally: I, IV, V, I, IV, V, I IV, V, etc. This should be the typical beat for your blues bass line. It becomes too much when those are being filled in by bent notes or whatever. This band was your "white guy attempts to play the Delta blues." I was not impressed. But a lot of the crowd was impressed and a lot of people bought Davey's cd.
Chickenfoot came on at exactly 10:00 pm, opening with the slow building Avenida Revolution. Joe walking out with his new Ibanez Chickenfoot guitar and wearing his typical black outfit with black sunglasses. Michael Anthony wearing, what appeared to be an Affliction like shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. The red rocker going with tight gray/faded black jeans and the ugliest red and black Chuck Taylors I have ever seen. It would make Bob Wettner's choice in footwear look modest. Chad Smith had a Chickenfoot shirt on, which is all I could see.
By the way, band wearing their own logo is a major concert ettitque faux pas. It doesn't matter if all your shirts are dirty, you are trying to promote your band, or whatever excuse you have. Perform shirtless. I still don't allow it even if you are a major recording artist like Chad Smith. It's tacky and I think the karma point loss from wearing the shirt affected his drumming.
On to the crtique. I was spoiled last time. They were in a club that holds probably 400-600 people, the sound was impeccible, they were hungry to prove they were a real band and not a super group, and they were fresh. At the House of Blues (a club that holds 1,200 people), has awful sound, a larger stage, and they had been on tour since April....I think it really hurt their performance.
They were not as fresh; they looked tired. Hagar felt the need to dance and provide stage antics, he was wrong. Chad didn't play as hungry and as powerful as he did in Philadelphia. The banter between Smith and the crowd was kept to a minimum, which is a shame because it was one of the highlights. Also Hagar explained the meaning behind the songs, why they wrote this song or how they wrote that song. It made the Philadelphia show almost like a VH1 Storytellers episode.
Even Satriani seemed off at times. Yes, he still did his normal shredding, but it was more subdued this time around. The only member of Chickenfoot that was consistent was Michael Anthony. His quick bass work, harmonies with Hagar, and charisma, lit up stage left. He was fun to watch.
Don't get me wrong, they still put on a good show, but it just wasn't as good as that intimate club date back in Philadelphia. I think if I hadn't seen that Philly show, I would have a different review. I talked to a few people leaving the show and they loved it. Some said "They are the best rock band out there right now." I don't really agree with that statement, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Most fans were leaving shocked at Satriani's ability, loved Hagar and Anthony, and respected Smith.
I had taken lot of pictures, but I took the wrong camera with only a 3x zoom. That wasn't enough to make out anything.
Chickenfoot setlist:
Avenida Revolution
Sexy Little Thing
Soap on a Rope
My Kinda Girl
Down the Drain
Howlin' Wolf cover
Oh Yeah
Learning to Fall
Get It Up
Turning Left
Future is the Past
Encore:
Bad Motor Scooter
My Generation (The Who cover) Chad destroys drum kit
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