Guthrie Govan Discussion

[alexkhan]

Mike Landau finally played a couple of shows at Tone Merchants on April 7th and 8th and it was like a dream come true to finally get this legendary guitar master to play there. Both shows were great, but I thought he really went into a stratospheric zone on the Apr 8 show. Perhaps Mike and the band felt more comfortable with a show under their belt playing at a new venue for the first time. It was the same for Guthrie in Jan of last year. Guthrie and the boys made a great debut at TM on Jan 18, '05, but they really hit the zone the following night. I felt the same watching Mike and his band two nights in a row.

I don't know what else to say except that Mike Landau is simply about as good as one can get. During the Apr 8 show, as I took it all in, I was going - "Well, it doesn't get any better than this!" When you see a master find that zone, take chances, feed off the other guys in the band who are also clicking and from the enthusiasm of the audience, and simply feel it in his bones, it's just an absolutely amazing guitar-playing spectacle to behold. Mike was going for stuff that he wasn't really trying to pull off on the Apr 7 show. There were a few barely noticeable botched notes here and there that weren't there on the first show, but the energy, the feel, and the positive tension were all so much more evident Apr 8 compared to the show of Apr 7. I got the sense that Mike kept it "safe" during the first night because he wasn't quite feeling it but just went all out the following night in terms of going places that he hadn't gone before - which is what advanced improvisation is all about anyway.

And as for the tone, watching Mike two nights in a row tells me that how he feels and how well he's playing has a huge effect on the tone as well. He was playing the identical stuff on both nights and he just sounded a lot better on the second night. Once again, this demonstrates that it's in the hands - even in the hands of the same player. When you are really inspired, you're going to sound better than when you're not. It starts with the player to sound good or not, not the gear. After the first show, I was thinking, "Hmmm... well, the tone was good but not exactly mind-blowing..." Then, on the following night, he just sounded way, way better than anybody who has ever played at TM - humungous tones that were organic, raw and refined at the same time, sweet to aggressive, never ever fizzy, fat yet cutting, warm and clear, and on and on and on... It was all there on the second night.

If there is another player who can be mentioned in such rarefied realms of where Mike Landau stands amongst the greatest contemporary rock electric players, it's surely Jeff Beck. And I've seen Jeff several times and he's in a zone of his own when he's on, but I've also seen him real off and that was bad. I don't think Mike could ever be bad, even if he was to have an off-night. I also think Mike has a wider harmonic vocabulary and a bigger palette of sounds, but they both have their own trademark stuff, so it's really Apples and Oranges in the end. The most striking aspect of it is that Mike has his own thing just like Jeff does. Mike is certainly one of the most strikingly individualistic players out there. Simply put, no one plays like Mike, no one... I still love Jeff and he's absolutely one of my 4 or 5 favorites, but if I had to choose one gig over another on a given night, it'd surely be Mike. I look forward to seeing him again at TM. Mike seemed to enjoy it a lot as well. The sound just engulfed you from all angles in that room. A most memorable evening...

The Apr 8 '06 Landau show ranks right up there with Guthrie's Jan 19, '05 show as the best I've seen at Tone Merchants to date. Shows like these will forever remain ingrained in my head. Any live recordings or video footage just don't quite capture the magic of actually being there. After watching Landau, I'd have to say that Guthrie and Landau are my two favorite players. I love many other guys, but Guthrie and Mike pretty much cover all I'd ever really want to get into and connect with me in a very personal way. They simply move me in a very profound way. It's really unexplainable.

Mike's music is thoroughly "LA", but he expresses a darker and the more "real" side and mood of this sprawling metropolis. People outside of CA tend to view LA as "la-la land" with the glitz of Hollywood, the sunshine and the beaches, the expensive real estate, etc. giving a false impression of what real life is like here. I think Mike's music and playing reflect that more moody undercurrent that is not so evident on the surface. There is definitely some angst and raw energy in Mike's playing and his tone often reflects that as well. It's not always pretty or sweet and is rarely ever slick. It's a real life expression of what he sees and feels filtered through his own musical vision. There's something very profound in what he's doing.

I used to wonder what it was that Scott Henderson liked so much in Mike's playing. It has always been obvious to me that if Scott had to choose one guy who he thought could do no wrong, it was Mike. Judging by the recorded work of Mike, that made me scratch my head. I finally asked Scott during one of his regular visits to our facility what it was about Mike that he dug so much. He just said, "You gotta see him live. That's all I could say." And he was right. From what I heard, it was the same with Scott. He didn't get it and wasn't even very interested in Landau until someone dragged him to the Baked Potato club in Hollywood to see Mike live. Now Scott's one of his biggest fans. Scott's whole thing about guitar players is: "What's he got to say?" Mike, obviously, has a whole lot to say on the guitar...
















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Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.

[kabuki]

Nice review Ed. Mike is really the "Tonemeister" of our times
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...the torch has been passed...

[treeduck]

Great Ed, thanks for that...



Who's he got playing with him there?

[Bode]

Great review Ed!
I'm so glad to find out about more people being in love with Mike's playing. I'm a huge fan of Mike for as long as I can remember, and I havent even seen him live yet!
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