Under that hat stands a man who could tell you a few things you didn't know about Jimi Hendrix. Photos by Timothy Finn/The Star
Before he and his band inhabited the stage at the VooDoo Lounge on Thursday, Dave Mason was introduced as a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and rightfully so.
Mason was an in-again, out-again member of the on-again, off-again band Traffic, one of the premiere British supergroups of the late 1960s. In 2004, Traffic was inducted into the Hall. Dave Matthews (of the other DMB) "presented" them, which now seems entirely appropriate.
Speaking of Hall of Famers, Mason is something like the Goose Gossage of his time: a talented guy who made all the right connections (Hendrix, McCartney, Harrison, the Stones) and studded his career with enough accomplishments to deserve his enshrinement.
Above: To paraphrase Dave Mason, Johnne Sambataro may be short but he packs a big, mean guitar.
Thursday night, before a crowd of about 400, he and his four-piece backing band spent about 90 minutes visiting several significant moments in his career, from his Traffic years (" ... 40,000 Headman," "Feelin' Alright" "Dear Mr. Fantasy") to his best-known solo material ("World In Changes," "We Just Disagree," "Let It Go, Let It Flow").
That man behind the keyboards isn't Paul Shaffer; it just looks like him. It's really Marty Grebb.
Mason will turn 64 in May, but he still sings like the guy who became a college-rock star in 1977. That's the year he released his most popular solo album, "Let It Flow," which produced his biggest hit, "We Just Disagree." He sang that on Thursday. He also covered "All Along the Watchtower," exercising the license he earned for being in the studio for a bit during the recording of "Electric Ladyland."
Like so many musicians of his era, Mason the guitarist is slick and tasteful -- aware that you can keep it simple and sophisticated all at once. His band followed his cue all night. Sure, a lot of this music sounded like vintage classic rock -- how ironic was that on the day that KY died? -- but that only re-emphasized one of many generational differences between his era and this: Back then, so many rock stars were real musicians.
"Watchtower" was one of the brighter highlights of the night, right down to its fiery jam. So was the country-fied version of "Every Woman" and the rousing rendition of "Only You Know and I Know."
During a few songs ("Let Me Go," "You Keep Runnin' Through My Mind"), Mason and the band sounded like your typical electric rock-blues band, the kind that we used to hear regularly at the old-school Grand Emporium.
But during the older stuff, like "World in Changes" and especially during his finale, the funked-up version of "Feelin' Alright," they sounded like the reason he has been statue-ized in Cleveland: because he comes from a glorious era that will never be re-created, no matter how hard its creators try to revive and relive it.
| Timothy Finn, The Star
Setlist: Let It Go, Let It Flow; World In Changes; ... 40,000 Headman; Look at You, Look At Me; We Just Disagree; Every Woman; You Keep Runnin' Through My Mind; Let Me Go; Only You Know and I Know; Dear Mr. Fantasy; All Along the Watchtower. Encore: How Do I Get to Heaven; Feelin' Alright.
Missed last night's show but I saw him blow the roof off the old G.E. back around '96 or '97. Dude was on fire that night.
Posted by: Jason | January 11, 2008 at 08:24 AM
What a great show. Dave sounds better every time I see him. The man just gets better with age. Saw you there, Tim. Great review and pictures. You captured it.
Posted by: Penny | January 11, 2008 at 09:30 AM
Another GREAT SHOW at a GREAT VENUE with disappointing attendance. First saw DM at the Uptown....long time ago.... and he did a BRILLIANT acoustic version of Mystic Traveler. He's still got it.
Posted by: smartman | January 13, 2008 at 08:45 AM
Ah... the dog days of winter when we celebrate the ice age and the days that the dinosaurs walked the earth.
'Tis a pretty thin broth to be made from the carcus of a Dave Mason show, but the pantry is bare these days. From what I can see on Allmusic, Mason hasn't had a new studio release since 1987? Mason got in the HOF on a Traffic ticket for a vehicle he barely drove, but in a just world, how he gets to call himself a R&R HOFer and Richard Thompson stands on the outside looking in is beyond me.
And this is coming from someone who's not only got a vinyl copy of "Let It Flow" but the follow-up "Mariposa De Oro" somewhere collecting dust in my collection. But I bought Elvis Costello's "My Aim Is True" and "Never Mind The Bollocks" back in '77 too. Guess which ones stuck? Not everything that's old is classic and like the dinosaurs, we must evolve or die. :)
Can't wait for the spring thaw on live shows. January is too chill for a hot show like the Arctic Monkeys, eh?
Posted by: Musical Justice | January 14, 2008 at 02:24 PM
I saw the Arctic Monkeys. They were too precise and humorless. Loosen up, blokes.
I've seen RT: Always a great show, but some of his more recent albums are a bit flabby.
And when's the last time Elvis C. put out a record you really (honestly) cared about?
Posted by: RaiderHawk | January 14, 2008 at 03:18 PM