Saw Wishbone Ash last night

[arturs]

My first time ever seeing these guys but it was well worth it. The band is Andy Powell, longtime bassman Bob Skeat and two new-ish members on guitar and drums.

They played a small club venue in Davenport, maybe 100 people were there, maybe a little more. I'm surprised Ash don't attract larger audiences but it is what it is. They travel light and with their very basic stage setup apparently they can make a tour profitable with those numbers. Five guitars total. A drum kit, some amps and a pedal board. That's it.

The simplicity of their setup also helped make the sound perfect. No distortion of anything. There were no ridiculous over-the-top mics hanging all over the drums like I've seen in so many club shows. Three guitarists and a drummer, two vocalists (Andy and Bob), all mixed perfectly whether at the back of the room or right in front of the stage.

The sound is really important for WA because, as my concert buddy noticed, there were so many beautiful and sweet harmonic overtones on all the dual-quitar leads. Far more than you hear on any of the records. And Andy could control the feedback perfectly. He gets how much he wants exactly when he wants.

The setlist was the Live Dates album, as advertised, plus an encore, last night it was FUBB. They sounded great on all the classics. I don't own Live Dates but I knew all the songs other than the blues cover. My favorites last night were the krautrocky Pilgrimage (Andy was channeling Michael Rother for that one), Phoenix with its double-time crescendo, and FUBB with its knotty, proggy changes. But everything was good.

I would definitely go see this band again. Sorry it took me so long to get to the first time.

[SteveSly]

My first time ever seeing these guys but it was well worth it. The band is Andy Powell, longtime bassman Bob Skeat and two new-ish members on guitar and drums.

They played a small club venue in Davenport, maybe 100 people were there, maybe a little more. I'm surprised Ash don't attract larger audiences but it is what it is. They travel light and with their very basic stage setup apparently they can make a tour profitable with those numbers. Five guitars total. A drum kit, some amps and a pedal board. That's it.

The simplicity of their setup also helped make the sound perfect. No distortion of anything. There were no ridiculous over-the-top mics hanging all over the drums like I've seen in so many club shows. Three guitarists and a drummer, two vocalists (Andy and Bob), all mixed perfectly whether at the back of the room or right in front of the stage.

The sound is really important for WA because, as my concert buddy noticed, there were so many beautiful and sweet harmonic overtones on all the dual-quitar leads. Far more than you hear on any of the records. And Andy could control the feedback perfectly. He gets how much he wants exactly when he wants.

The setlist was the Live Dates album, as advertised, plus an encore, last night it was FUBB. They sounded great on all the classics. I don't own Live Dates but I knew all the songs other than the blues cover. My favorites last night were the krautrocky Pilgrimage (Andy was channeling Michael Rother for that one), Phoenix with its double-time crescendo, and FUBB with its knotty, proggy changes. But everything was good.

I would definitely go see this band again. Sorry it took me so long to get to the first time.

They are road dogs that know exactly what they are doing in a live show. We got to hang out with the drummer and guitarist (both names are escaping me at the moment) on Cruise To The Edge last year and they were both really great guys. Got to meet Andy too briefly and he was also very cool. They are a band that completely passed me by back in the day and I did not really discover them until the 00's, but now I own most of their catalogue.

[Dana5140]

Arturs, where did they play? What venue in Davenport would host them?

[Jimmy Giant]

We see them just about every year down in Annapolis. Again this 3/19 at Ramshead. Always been one of my favorite bands.

[Camelogue]

Saw them last week. Solid band but once is enough for me.

[arturs]

Arturs, where did they play? What venue in Davenport would host them?

The "Redstone Room at Common Chord". On Main Street in Downtown. The place is built into the 2nd floor of an office building. There is a pretty good restaurant right next door, also in the building. The Island Grill or something like that. We ate there and met the band who were also having dinner.

[rapidfirerob]

Haven't seen them for a few years. I've seen the original band when they reunited in the 80s and numerous times since. Mark Abrahams is a great guitarist
in addition to Andy. Always great. Waiting for them to come back to the Bay Area, at Yoshi's.

[Dana5140]

Arturs: been there many times. Saw Grace Potter there 3 times, saw Alejandro Escovedo, and a number of roots bands. I used to live on Columbia Avenue near Eisenhower elementary school.

[GuitarGeek]

I saw them a few times back around 2004-2008, something like that, including their ProgDay appearance. I remember the fest officially apologizing for their stage manager introducing them as "Wishbone Fucking Ash". THey always played a great set. Andy's a really nice guy too.

Back around 2012 or so, Nektar were touring the States with Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash, which was the band their original bassist had formed, who had been gigging in the UK for some years at the time, but I think this was the first (only?) time that they toured the US. I guess it was a known fact that Andy wasn't happy about Martin using the Wishbone Ash name. In fact, there was eventually a lawsuit (which Andy won), though I can't remember if the lawsuit had been enacted at that time or not. Anyhow, the show came to the same venue that Andy's band had played several times. Basically, the owner wouldn't let Martin's band play, out of loyalty or whatever to Andy. I thought that was a strange thign to do, "I'll take the one band you've got in your package, but not the other one".

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

[QUOTE=GuitarGeek;1177077]I saw them a few times back around 2004-2008, something like that, including their ProgDay appearance. I remember the fest officially apologizing for their stage manager introducing them as "Wishbone Fucking Ash". THey always played a great set. Andy's a really nice guy too]

That story about a supposed apology made for my over-enthuastic stage introduction is one of those weird stories that seems to set the kindling alight and continue to smolder after many years.

Misconception #1 is that my Co-Stage Manager made this introduction. He did not. I, Geoffrey Logsdon did so.

Misconception #2 is that there was a small contingent of knicker-twisted folk supposedly "thinking about the children" who had most assuredly never heard the word 'fuck" before, and were certainly going to encounter that dread word at a two-day rock festival.

Misconception #3 (my favorite) is that this supposed wadded-panty group somehow were able to voice their displeasure of this comment that an apology was actually made onstage by my contrite, chastised self.
This did not happen either. It could be said that my excited introduction of a band l had waited 40 years to see may have been over-exuberant, and anyone who says l made any sort of act of contrition on stage does not know me well at all. I would have said it again.
The possible origin of this may be the result of a few panty wadders commenting upon it, and maybe getting some sort of statement of contrition, which has been conflated into some dramatic onstage apology.
Didn't happen, and would not have happened in a million years. I would do it again.
There is an extant recording with the "fucking" hilariously excised from the intro. I am a huge lover of revisionist history, especially when heard later by grown-up people, sometimes called adults.
Anyway in the remainder of the recording there is certainly no apology made, or recorded. Long live Wishbone Fucking Ash.

[SunRunner2]

[QUOTE=veteranof1000psychicwars;1203233]

I saw them a few times back around 2004-2008, something like that, including their ProgDay appearance. I remember the fest officially apologizing for their stage manager introducing them as "Wishbone Fucking Ash". THey always played a great set. Andy's a really nice guy too]

That story about a supposed apology made for my over-enthuastic stage introduction is one of those weird stories that seems to set the kindling alight and continue to smolder after many years.

Misconception #1 is that my Co-Stage Manager made this introduction. He did not. I, Geoffrey Logsdon did so.

Misconception #2 is that there was a small contingent of knicker-twisted folk supposedly "thinking about the children" who had most assuredly never heard the word 'fuck" before, and were certainly going to encounter that dread word at a two-day rock festival.

Misconception #3 (my favorite) is that this supposed wadded-panty group somehow were able to voice their displeasure of this comment that an apology was actually made onstage by my contrite, chastised self.
This did not happen either. It could be said that my excited introduction of a band l had waited 40 years to see may have been over-exuberant, and anyone who says l made any sort of act of contrition on stage does not know me well at all. I would have said it again.
The possible origin of this may be the result of a few panty wadders commenting upon it, and maybe getting some sort of statement of contrition, which has been conflated into some dramatic onstage apology.
Didn't happen, and would not have happened in a million years. I would do it again.
There is an extant recording with the "fucking" hilariously excised from the intro. I am a huge lover of revisionist history, especially when heard later by grown-up people, sometimes called adults.
Anyway in the remainder of the recording there is certainly no apology made, or recorded. Long live Wishbone Fucking Ash.

Alright, you made your point and I for one get it. You are proud to have upset those "panty wadders" with an obscenity that you believe they may never have heard before (and should have expected at a Rock concert). You are also happy to report that you never, ever issued an apology for voicing that intro and you would do it again if need be. Then, you repeated your (apparently) famous introduction line, to close your missive.

"A foul tongue reveals a lot more about you than the one you are using it against..."

[moecurlythanu]

^ Sunrunner, are you a real human being, or are you playing one as part of a project?

[arturs]

I saw them a few times back around 2004-2008, something like that, including their ProgDay appearance. I remember the fest officially apologizing for their stage manager introducing them as "Wishbone Fucking Ash". THey always played a great set. Andy's a really nice guy too.

Total speculation here... But I would have to guess that the band got a good chuckle out of that introduction!

[SunRunner2]

^ Sunrunner, are you a real human being, or are you playing one as part of a project?

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