James Gang concert review (from 8/29; Dallas; Nokia Theater Center).

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The short review: Friggin' AMAZING!
The longer impression: The James Gang Reunion is better, MUCH better, than any reasonable person could've hoped for or wished.
I have to admit at the outset that I was a bit skeptical based on the slickly produced jerky (AND manipulative) Eagles Farewell video and Crossroads Blues Festival performance by Walsh; the latter was okay (loose but serviceable), and the former was just loose like wet speghetti and waaay too goofy (drenched in silliness that leaves one thinking JW may have smoked one dooby too many back in the good ol' daze). While his off-the-wall humor was present in tonight's performance, he reserved it for teasing the audience in between numbers (err, ...SONG numbers -grin); his jesting here was delightful and clever, never over-the-top or out in left field.
And then there's the songs they performed, and boy, WHAT songs! Just about every conceiveable James Gang song one would hope would end up on the set list, and more importantly, played with energy and style that belied the fact that this group hasn't toured together in 35 years. I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive when the group reved up and started the show with Walk Away and had three female vocalist off to the side in support. My first thought was that Joe Walsh's voice must be weak or that this was an effort to rework some of the trios famous songs for an aging audience, perhaps with a watered down caberet style (James Gang lite).
My concerns were premature, however. JW's voice was not only strong, it didn't come across as having aged one iota from the old days. He hit all the high notes and sustained notes without even the slightest indication of a cracked or strained voice; it was all loud and clear. As for the three female singers, they were used as support for about half of the show, and from what I could tell only on songs that had a lot of vocal overdubs on the studio recordings. Apparently Joe Walsh is meticulous about trying to reproduce on stage what was originally heard in the studio.
Which brings me to Joe Walsh's guitar playing. Guitar pyrotechnics were in FULL force tonight, or rather last night (It's after Midnight, Man). I don't want to give away the set-list and spoil the fun for those who have tickets for future shows, but I'll say this: there were many surprises and only one non-Jame's Gang recorded Joe Walsh number performed. Everything, including some of the epic numbers were played, and all with mercurial aplomb. Joe Walsh reached into his bag of Grade A axe-man's tricks brought all of his experience to bear with sustain, echo, wah-wah and those tricky back-assward runs he's famous for to the delight of an awe-struck audience.
Standing ovations were frequent and equipment problems, performance delays, etc., were non-existant. The ONLY complaint that I heard was from someone who wanted the concert to be longer (I guess he needed a little more time to down a couple of more Buds and get that final Joe Sixpack buzz! -grin), but it was NOT too short, nor were there any perceivable low points. BTW, the energy level was high, but the volume was perfect. The sound was never blaring, always crisp & clear (all vocals & instruments). Note: We were unable to obtain first teer seating, so we were about 2/3 of the way back in the Nokia Theater Center (which is a mid-sized stadium in Grand Prairie, in between Dallas & Ft. Worth, that seats around 6300).
Also, this concert looked sold-out or very near it. The James Gang is obviously a hot ticket at a time when concert attendance appears to have fallen off considerably. Now my fingers are crossed in the hope that one of these concerts has been filmed for future DVD release; it would be a shame NOT to have documentation of Joe Walsh and the James Gang in this incarnation, in all liklihood performing as well as or better than they did 35 years ago.
Cheers,
AuPh

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Topic - James Gang concert review (from 8/29; Dallas; Nokia Theater Center). - Audiophilander 23:15:39 08/29/06 (2)

Re: James Gang concert review (from 8/29; Dallas; Nokia Theater Center). - pronto pup 07:39:05 08/30/06 (1)

I've been checking into that. - Audiophilander 13:01:19 08/30/06 (0)

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