Guthrie Govan Discussion

[Yeah but guthrie]

Well I thought I would put a review of the whole gig so hopefully it will give people who werent there a summary of the acts and the whole day in general!!!!!

The first Band I saw on stage were 'heavy load' who were a blues rock trio, and a fantastic one at that. I met the guitartist at a summer course a few years back and can say he was a nice chap who had his blues turnarounds down to a T, I also thought he was cool as a cucumber on christmas morning when he broke a string on stage and tore it out with an angry look on his face. The band were tight and a great opening act to get everyone fired up, must also mention the bassist who handled singing duties while playing the bass exceptionally well.

The next act was Chris francis, who is an obvious lover of late 80's early 90's instrumental rock. Chris blasted through an array of melodic tunes with a good dose of shred thrown in, very enjoyable and also a nice bloke. Particularly fond of his guitarist of the year winning 'Thin air'.
My only gripe which goes for one of the later acts aswell, is the lack of band, cd/mp3 backing tracks are good for playing in your room and maybe small gigs/clinics, but at a full blown gig nothing goes down better than a full band (except maybe kronenberg down owen's neck!!!!)

Vendetta were up next, and for those of you who dont know, are the 80's metal brainchild of the superbly melodic Ed box. I really like Ed because he remembered my name from the guitar show at excel earlier in the year!! Vendetta are simply balls out 80's metal ala Judas priest, minus the leather clad singer (altough I saw it creeping through somewhere in the band!!). I cant recomend Ed's solo material highly enough.

Next up redd soxx, a cambridgshire based rock covers band who I noticed after seeing them before are exceptionally tight. Alloutguitar frontman Owen took axe duties and did a rather suprisingly 'less shred more taste' job on the solo front which was nice. The singer was fantastic as was the drummer who is and incredible time keeper and no doubt a valuable asset to the band.

Simon Lee's of 'Budgie' took the stage after a breif gear swap, and blasted through an array of rock tunes, including his own oscure version of a bach fugue. One thing about simon that I love is his positive attitude and general stage presence, A thoroughly nice person which is more than can be said for alot of reasonably well known guitarists. Simon also knows that at a guitar gig, guitar music fits well, where as at a pub gig, the ace of spades fits well, so he suited his set list well to the scenario.

Next up curfew, Fusion maestro nick andrews band. Andrew is obviously a talented and accomplished player, and I saw many jaws hit the floor when he blasted through his rock version of flight of the bumblebee. Unfortunatley fusion in that vein is not my cup of tea, but a superb act none the less.

Kaos 7 are a modern day metal outfit with the superb andy james and a scarily good bassist. Unfortunately they didnt play, but instead we got sacred mother tongue, who are also a modern day metal outfit featuring the superb andy james and suitably 'Metal' frontman/singer. I love metal, a I loved this band, I even bought theyre Ep after the show, and any one who has seen andy play knows he is no slouch, I was particularly pleased when they opened with 'flight of Ikarus', a bonus track from andy's solo albumchaos theory, although the quality of the act was top notch, some more material from andy's solo albums wouldnt have gone a miss, as that was one of the reasons I went to the show.

Next up was the guitarist we all know and love complete with hammond organ, brother and drum machine pete riley. In some respects the highlight of the show. I got a glimpse of the set list and was delighted to see waves on it although They didnt play it!!!! The set was flawless with the pleasant suprise of bad asteroid being thrown in mid set. Also got the opportunity to chat with guthrie for a bit in the bar although nothing worthy of legend happened, It was still a good chat!

Last up phill Hilborn with rob harris and Some bloke who used to be in whitesnake in the 70's (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Seeing the guv'nor of the uk guitar scene, guitarist from jameroqoai(spelling?) and a rock legend Bernie marsden all on one stage was exciting and a great close to the show, unfortunately after Guthries set most people left, but still the performers still put on a fantastic show.

the whole day was fantastic, good bar, good food, great level of playing, it was a shame about the turnout allthough the place had a good lump of people in it, and It got me the day of work. Alloutguitar.com is set for greatness, and I have no doubt the next gig will be even better.
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"The reason why guthrie is so good, is that he doesen't spend most of his time on the petrucci forum bitching about vai"

[markmcg]

Niceone, thanks for that
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Cheers
Mark.

Time is the best Teacher, unfortunately it kills all its students
http://www.mastertheguitar.co.uk : http://www.markmcguigan.com

[Cass679]

Nice review. Thanks!
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"He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him a spinal cord would fully suffice." - Albert Einstein