Bo0tsy Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 [color=#222222]....All I can say is wow. First time I've been to see Chic live, they were fantastic. Very tight band. Jerry Barnes did a storming job playing Bernard Edward's basslines. IndigO2 was mobbed, everyone was up and dancing. I didn't appreciate just how many hits Nile Rodger's has written, as well as all their own stuff, Chic also played impeccable funky versions of songs by Madonna (Like a Virgin), David Bowie (Let's Dance), Diana Ross (I'm Coming Out), Sister Sledge (various), Daft Punk/Pharrell (Get Lucky), ixs (Original Sin), Duran Duran (Notorious), Soup for One segued into Modjo's Lady (Hear Me Tonight), and for the finale Good Times segued into Sugerhill Gang's Rapper's Delight. Only one complaint... it finished too early! (suspect Nile was off to join Pharrell who was playing next door at the O2), Did anyone else on this forum make it to the gig?[/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 No...didn't go, but he has been touring this show for a few years now so it has been compulsive viewing on Youtube.. Love Jerry Barnes, for sure. Probably my fave bass player, atm.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumps Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I saw them last year at a festival....they were beyond stunning. probably the best live band I've ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynottfan Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I am glad thy are still doing the rounds, and that Nile is still doing what he does and playing some great funky guitar, Jerry is great, but, MAN it really makes me miss Bernard, he made the simplest lines so funky and catchy and played so economically and he looked so damn cool doing it, I do miss that Brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platypus Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Caught them at the Forum in Kentish Town a few years back. Great, great live act, particularly in a smallish venue and close to the stage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I'd love to see them but it sounds quite weird saying Chic feat Nile Rodgers when he's always been in it. Like saying The Rolling Stones feat Mick Jagger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Nile signed my strat last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Houghton Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 (edited) This is a friend of mine Bernie Smith he's just done some gigs with Chic, Bernie's on the left he plays keys. He gets about a bit! Edited October 10, 2014 by Stephen Houghton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 [quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1412964233' post='2573757'] I'd love to see them but it sounds quite weird saying Chic feat Nile Rodgers when he's always been in it. Like saying The Rolling Stones feat Mick Jagger. [/quote] But..... he even has to annouce to the audience that he produced/wrote all the songs the band plays so as people don't think they are a cover band...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 [quote name='Stephen Houghton' timestamp='1412970718' post='2573835'] This is a friend of mine Bernie Smith he's just done some gigs with Chic, Bernie's on the left he plays keys. He gets about a bit! [/quote] Ha ha, my wife knows him. She used to serve him regularly in the Brentwood branch of HBOS. [size=4] [/size][size=4]Think he was playing with Annie Lennox at the time.[/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 (edited) I used to slum it with Bernie on function gigs. He don't seem to get any older....lol.. Edited October 11, 2014 by lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Houghton Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Yeah Bernie was with Annie for quite a while I think, and he hasn't really changed in all the time I have known him Lowdown. Wish I knew his secret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatboter Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Sorry but never liked Barnes..I'm not expecting an Edwards clone but all the class those bass lines used to have is now hard to find. Stereotype fills with a way too aggressive bass sound, his timing too sloppy every now and then, very cliché slapstyle and he asks for too much attention. Edwards remains in a totally different league... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyf Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Sorry, just picked up on this after being away from BC over the weekend. Yes, I went. Bloody hell, what a gig. Finally, my first time seeing Chic in the flesh. Been such a fan for years. As has been mentioned, you've gotta stand back and admire the contribution to popular music that Niles has made. Re Jerry Barnes, sorry, have to disagree. I thought he was absolutely sublime. A totally monster player who, on this occasion anyway, was a star performer in a great live band rather than simply anchored in the back in the shadows showing everyone (or should I say a couple of bass players in the audience) some irreverent "chops". There's no bigger Bernard fan than me and yes, Jerry is a more direct player but in the context of the band I saw the other night, he'll do for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I like him and since you can't have Bernard Edwards on the gig, you would likely get canned if you tried and put in a clone. So, in this sense, he went for something different and I think it works. I even like his slightly maverick style and he makes the band very exciting to watch/listen to. This is always the same issue when a mainstay doesn't/can't do the gig anymore... and I think the best option is not to try and replace him, and get someone in who can take the band to a different place. What is passed, is passed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I have to admit that I saw the Glasto coverage last year and found it hard to watch because I thought the bass parts just sounded 'wrong' I think Nile R is amazing, one of my favourite guitarists ever but this current version of Chic sounds a bit like a covers band to me (albeit a very good one!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo0tsy Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Based on the performance I saw last week, some of those comments about Jerry Barnes seem a little bit harsh . Amongst the smooth Bernard-like bass grooves, I thought he brought an extra bit of funk to the party (and there's nothing wrong with that). He's always going to be up against it when replacing a legend like Bernard Edwards. If I could play anywhere near a third of his ability, I'd er,...well, ... I'd give up my day job! . I do appreciate the point about them sounding like a Chic covers band, I mean they 'covered' a lot of songs by other artists that Nile wrote/produced. Also, given that they formed in 1976, line-ups are undoubtedly going to change a lot over time, however, IMHO the current line-up is one of the tightest bands I've ever seen play live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatboter Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Again 'm not expecting an Edwards clone but I missed the spirit and his groove regardless if it's Barnes or not....saw some gigs and his timing was sloppy and too much treble in his sound....didn't sound as smooth to my ears. Put someone like Paul Turner in that chair for instance, also not Edwards but more in the spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 [quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1413294175' post='2576791'] Again 'm not expecting an Edwards clone but I missed the spirit and his groove regardless if it's Barnes or not....saw some gigs and his timing was sloppy and too much treble in his sound....didn't sound as smooth to my ears. Put someone like Paul Turner in that chair for instance, also not Edwards but more in the spirit. [/quote] PT often plays Bernard Edwards bass lines as part of his warm up routine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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