Date: October 7,2011
Location: Yoshi's, Oakland, CA
Preconceived Thoughts of the Band: I for one, am not an active jazz listener. I do have some Charlie Parker and some Wes Montgomery in my iTunes, but I HAVE to be in the mood for it, which is rarely. Jazz is way too complicated for me.The poly-rhythmic and complex chords never really synced in with me. I love it when I hear melody and harmony. I've always been that way since I can remember. I barely know this Gary Burton guy, but when I mentioned him to a couple of friends they were surprised (and jealous) that I would get to here him. From what I got in his biography, he's kind of a big deal. He has a great album background, has a GRAMMY for one his albums. He's a professor at Berklee College of Music. It's pretty amazing.
I'm sorry that this is a jazz concert review, but I thought it was helpful for me. As a musician, I need to explore different genres. I'm trying to become an open-minded musician....
What Actually Happened (BITCH SPOILER ALERT?)-
I went to this concert with my concert production class. Yoshi's is an interesting "venue". It's a mixture of a venue/bar/restaurant. It had sort of an intimidating feel to it. Everything was too clean. I thought to myself "Man, I should have taken a shower". We were invited for dinner, away from the other guest. That was a great feeling. I felt like I was really important. We got bumped up to watch the quartet at 8 instead of 10. That was great! because I would have been in Stockton around 1 am. That would have sucked!!
Yoshi's venue is the most intimate venue I've ever been. There were tables and chairs everywhere. The "pit" area was uneven so everyone would have a clear sight of the stage. There was minimal lights around the audience. The majority was in front of the stage. The crowd were at least twice as old as my class. I think we were the "young" crowd. One thing I don't like about jazz performances is their leisure walk to the stage after they are like 17 mins late. I can accept 5-7 mins, but 17 mins. I begin to lose my cool.
They walk out and start their piece right away. I like the use of vibraphones in a jazz piece. It different from a typical jazz band with horns. Come to think of it, there wasn't any horn players; just vibraphone, guitar, double bass, and drums.
I once again tried to get used to their sound, but I wasn't having it. The only thing that kept me going was their passion through out their playing. The guitarist was just shredding like crazy. He was so animated as well, I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. After a while though, I started to get a little bored. My friend next to me started snoozing half an hour in. I would have done the same thing.
I remember during their sets, I saw waiters everywhere trying to get everyone's order and it was kind of annoying because I would see a black shadow as I was trying to see the performers.
Verdict - I tried to appreciate by I only did as much as I could, but they were good nonetheless. They are amazing performers were credible backgrounds. I guess jazz is not for me, but I won't give up!
Bitch Rate -
2.5/5
--Wolf James
I went to this concert with my concert production class. Yoshi's is an interesting "venue". It's a mixture of a venue/bar/restaurant. It had sort of an intimidating feel to it. Everything was too clean. I thought to myself "Man, I should have taken a shower". We were invited for dinner, away from the other guest. That was a great feeling. I felt like I was really important. We got bumped up to watch the quartet at 8 instead of 10. That was great! because I would have been in Stockton around 1 am. That would have sucked!!
Yoshi's venue is the most intimate venue I've ever been. There were tables and chairs everywhere. The "pit" area was uneven so everyone would have a clear sight of the stage. There was minimal lights around the audience. The majority was in front of the stage. The crowd were at least twice as old as my class. I think we were the "young" crowd. One thing I don't like about jazz performances is their leisure walk to the stage after they are like 17 mins late. I can accept 5-7 mins, but 17 mins. I begin to lose my cool.
They walk out and start their piece right away. I like the use of vibraphones in a jazz piece. It different from a typical jazz band with horns. Come to think of it, there wasn't any horn players; just vibraphone, guitar, double bass, and drums.
I once again tried to get used to their sound, but I wasn't having it. The only thing that kept me going was their passion through out their playing. The guitarist was just shredding like crazy. He was so animated as well, I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. After a while though, I started to get a little bored. My friend next to me started snoozing half an hour in. I would have done the same thing.
I remember during their sets, I saw waiters everywhere trying to get everyone's order and it was kind of annoying because I would see a black shadow as I was trying to see the performers.
Verdict - I tried to appreciate by I only did as much as I could, but they were good nonetheless. They are amazing performers were credible backgrounds. I guess jazz is not for me, but I won't give up!
Bitch Rate -
2.5/5
--Wolf James
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