Funky Dunky Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Touring again, but only US dates so far. Please baby Jesus, let them come to these shores! I will actually wee myself! Anybody else a fan? These guys really wowed me - what a band, what a singer, and what a rhythm section! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 What's your favourite colour baby? That's a blast from the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 At NAMM this year. http://youtu.be/4OfXCN_qBFU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Our drummer keeps going on about this lot. I turned down free tickets to see them earlier this year, a bit meh I thought, but then I thought not so bad actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Fan early on. Only ever saw them once, while Muzzy was still a member - Town and Country Club maybe. To be honest, didn't really like the gig, too much jamming in the songs...they never played anything straight. While I have a soft spot for Vivid and Time's Up, I lost interest when Muzz Skillings left/was fired. Not doubting that Doug Wimbush has chops, but [they] seemed to change musically to accommodate Doug Wimbush more than continuing where they left off. I'd hasten to add that despite the backstory behind songs like Landlord/Cult/Funny Vibe, there was a bit of humour/fun in those first two albums that disappeared when Wimbush joined. (Personally) I don't think they've aged that gracefully either; the last two albums (Collideoscope and Chair In the Doorway), to my ears at least, just sound a bit tired and [i]doing-it-for-the-money[/i] rather than sounding like a band who are doing it from the heart. Believe me, I've tried very hard to absorb those records. I've often wondered how well these albums would have stood up had they come out a year or two after Stain rather than at the end of an eight or nine years sabbatical. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 Ah, see I got into Living Colour backwards - Stain was the first I heard, and I like it, so when I went back to the Muzz era stuff, I just found even more stuff that I loved. Muzz Skillings is fantastic, and Doug is a fabulous bassist too so I just felt like it was win-win. I see what you mean about the music being different in the Doug era, but I still liked it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Time's Up is a fantastic album, everything post-Muzz never quite got it together. I saw them at the Garage in Highbury about 10 years ago - the Collidascope tour? Pretty good. Jeff Beck was in the audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2elliot Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Fantastic band. I went to see them play at the old Mayfair Club in Newcastle many years ago, Doug hadn't been with them that long but they were great, and still are. 'Nothingness' was brilliant live. I like the darker sound of the band after Doug joined. I'm sure he did a Trace Elliot tour around the same sort of time, we watched him torture his trace rig at posh Hotel in the Toon, I think he was on Warwicks at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dunky Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Saw Doug play with Little Axe at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, this was a long long time before I ever picked up a bass, but I went because Doug was in the band. Went to answer a call of nature during the set, came back and my girlfriend informed me I had missed a pretty awesome impromptu bass solo. Gutted doesn't cover it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Bought Time's Up. Loved it. Bought Stain. Tried repeatedly to like it. Failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 I used to quite like them back in the day ('Nothingness' is fab). The only thing stopping me getting in to them more was Vernon Reid - he plays like an excitable (but admittedly talented) 12-year-old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 I saw them at least twice in the early 90s - once at the Electric Ballroom which was most excellent. However, my tastes now run more to Reid's free Form Funky Freqs improv band with Jamaaladeen Tacuma on bass and Calvin Weston as drummist... [MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtPZUEUiSYE&feature=player_detailpage[/MEDIA] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 (edited) [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1417342490' post='2619221'] I used to quite like them back in the day ('Nothingness' is fab). The only thing stopping me getting in to them more was Vernon Reid - he plays like an excitable (but admittedly talented) 12-year-old. [/quote] My exact feelings too! I thought it was just me. I think half of what he does is ok, the other is bullshit. Edited November 30, 2014 by MoonBassAlpha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 [quote name='Leonard Smalls' timestamp='1417351937' post='2619385'] I saw them at least twice in the early 90s - once at the Electric Ballroom which was most excellent. However, my tastes now run more to Reid's free Form Funky Freqs improv band with Jamaaladeen Tacuma on bass and Calvin Weston as drummist... ... [/quote] There's some good ideas in there. I quite like it but it does sound like a bag of spanners falling down a lift shaft. Could do with the old Booker T and the MGs treatment. They would jam for hours then come back the next day and pull out the riffs tang work and strip it down to the essentials. Only my opinion of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1417296532' post='2619007'] Touring again, but only US dates so far. Please baby Jesus, let them come to these shores! I will actually wee myself! Anybody else a fan? These guys really wowed me - what a band, what a singer, and what a rhythm section! [/quote] They were supposed to be touring Europe in oct but pulled the shows about a week before due to wanting to finish the album. I was bummed out as I had tickets for the London show - got a refund obviously. I too came in backwards, started with Stain (love it) and discovered more and more gems going back in time. Funnily enough just yesterday decided to give Colleidoscope another go as I found it a bit "meh" ten years ago. Quite liking it this time around but the production of both this and Chair In the Doorway wind me up. A bit souless. Will def see them again though, first time I caught them was 2002 at the Forum and it was one of my favourite ever gigs Edited November 30, 2014 by Merton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 (edited) Saw them at a small Club in Milwaukee a few years ago, Shank Hall (referenced in the movie Spinal Tap). A tiny bar really it's not a hall. Very cool place, hell, I saw Stanley Clark there as well. Really interesting the small clubs some of these guys play. As I said I got there early enough to catch an argument between Vernon and the owner in the middle of the street. The owner wanted 20% of their merch sales. I remember Vernon finally saying; " Well, I guess were not selling any merch tonight" I don't blame him,a 20% cut is ridiculous. Blue Edited December 1, 2014 by blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK Jale Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Good story, that sounds like Vernon. He's a cool guy, super bright and articulate. I took him vintage camera shopping once... I know nothing about cameras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 (edited) [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1417377260' post='2619767'] There's some good ideas in there. I quite like it but it does sound like a bag of spanners falling down a lift shaft. Could do with the old Booker T and the MGs treatment. They would jam for hours then come back the next day and pull out the riffs tang work and strip it down to the essentials. Only my opinion of course. [/quote] That's improv for you! Reminds of the story about Derek Bailey recording an album for Bill Laswell; he turned up and was told the duration of the album was to be 1 hour. After playing for precisely 1 hour he got up and left... Compared to Derek the FreeFormFunkyFreqs are as polished as the JBs! Edited to add: darned automatic spell check sneakily making improv improve! Don't impose your taste on me, you machine, you! Edited December 1, 2014 by Leonard Smalls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Seen them on both occasions they've played Glasgow. 25 years apart. First with Muzz and then Doug. Both times were phenomenal. Had tickets to see them in October but they cancelled their tour. Vivid is an amazing album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetaFunk Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I've always thought that Vernon Reid's best work was outside of Living Colour. His playing when he was with Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society was amazing and the Smash and Scatteration LP with Bill Frisell is a gem. His banjo playing is a bit special too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnm93 Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I recall really liking them 20 years ago, and seeing them once, possibly at The Astoria (?) Off to tinterweb to remind myself.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 [quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1418248665' post='2628534'] I've always thought that Vernon Reid's best work was outside of Living Colour. His playing when he was with Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society was amazing and the Smash and Scatteration LP with Bill Frisell is a gem. His banjo playing is a bit special too. [/quote] I like his "Mistaken identity" album from the mid-90s, the track Uptown Drifter is a favourite http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-q2xFymQgg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1417376951' post='2619762'] My exact feelings too! I thought it was just me. I think half of what he does is ok, the other is bullshit. [/quote] I never got Vernon (although really liked the band) until I saw them live. His playing, whilst not particularly tasteful or musical IMO, was very [i]physical[/i]. It really hit you over the head in a way no-one else I've ever seen has. FWIW they were incredible live (and yes I saw them with Muzz). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I've been a fan since university - still have a copy of Vivid (which Mick Jagger produced) on vinyl and it counts as one of the best albums I've ever heard - not a single dud track on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) I saw them supporting Anthrax, on the State of Euphoria tour (1988/89). Totally blown away by them, they were just awesome. Then saw them a few years later, with Stereo MCs (as a 3 piece, before they hit the charts) as support. One of the most boring gigs I've ever been too. Over the years I've gone off that kind of music a bit. But every now and then I give Vivid a spin. Edited December 11, 2014 by bartelby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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