RE: [Harp-L] Blues Traveler in Idaho falls, July 20, 2009

["Anthony Smith" <anthony@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I saw Popper sit in with Smokin' Joe after performing at Memphis in
May/Beale St. Music fest center stage around 1994.

He was hitting the clubs and went up to Smokin' Joe and asked if he could
sit in.  Joe looked at his harp stuff and said sure.  Two songs later he
asked Popper if he wanted to join the band to which Popper politely
explained who he was, BT, etc.  Ended up playing a solid hour of AMAZING
stuff.  I couldn't agree more that the solos tend to get repetitive and
boring in the BT shows but he is still one of the best and in that setting
he'd blow your mind.  I also remember when he first hit the scene and many
accused him of cheating or some trickery because they couldn't believe what
they were hearing. Still today, he's got his own sound and still the man!



-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of RhythmShark
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 10:29 PM
To: icemanle@xxxxxxx; turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Blues Traveler in Idaho falls, July 20, 2009

Ben Wilson is a complete master of his instrument.  I used to love hearing
him in the Ultrasonics.  Maybe Blues Traveler is now just a vehicle for John
Popper and the rest of the band is not encouraged to "step out."

John Popper is a one-trick pony.  His solos are just a barrage of triplets
with no melody, line, start or finish.

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of icemanle@xxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:47 AM
To: turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Blues Traveler in Idaho falls, July 20, 2009

Keyboard player, Ben Wilson, (or is it Ben Webster) is formerly of Big Dave
and the Ultrasonics and was the keyboard player for the SPAH 1998 Blues
Show, backing Kim Wilson, Curtis, et al......


-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx; harptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, Jul 21, 2009 7:49 pm
Subject: [Harp-L] Blues Traveler in Idaho falls, July 20, 2009








I saw Blues Traveler perform last night at the Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium.

Following are a few of my impressions.

John Popper, almost 20 years after his arrival on the scene, remains a
terrifically innovative and technically accomplished harmonica player and a
compelling singer and songwriter.  To those considerable gifts he's added an

increasing mastery of electronics, and he created some sounds last night
that took the harmonica pretty far from its roots, including some apparent
controlled feedback that sounded like a Theremin.  

His talents aren't matched by the rest of the band, all of whom are
competent players at least, but none of whom seem capable of challenging
Popper to reach greater heights.  Indeed, the band sounded almost exactly
the same as they sounded when I heard them perform in 1993 (with the
exception of the keyboard player, whose textures on synthesizer, organ, and
piano were always interesting and sometimes riveting). 

By the way, if you're interested in the names of all the band members or any

other band-related info, you can find it on Blues Traveler's website at
www.bluestraveler.com.

Thanks, Richard Hunter



author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l



 



_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l

--
I am using the free version of SPAMfighter.
We are a community of 6 million users fighting spam.
SPAMfighter has removed 1152 of my spam emails to date.
Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len

The Professional version does not have this message

_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l