....and I got to "roadie" for Schuuuuu....so now I can die happy...heeeee heeeee heeee!

I am honored, and the review is to follow....

Paul

SETLIST:

SET ONE

LASER MATERIAL
OLD SAN JUAN
SHAKER SONG
MORNING DANCE
ISLAND TIME

SET TWO

HELIOPOLIS
DOWN THE WIRE
DE LA LUZ
DRUM SOLO
MAKE IT MINE

ENCORE:

BREAKFAST AT IGORS

Spyro Gyra was at their most intense, and tore it up in Temecula last Sunday, Sept 13, 2009.

Imagine....seeing the band in the middle of acres and acres and acres of grape vinyards. It had been near 100 for three weeks, but for this Sunday, ma nature gave us perfect weather(83 degrees at 4 p m showtime).

It was my 46th Spyro Gyra concert including the intitial Novener 8, 1985 shaow at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.

I can honestly say that THIS recent show....well it may havew been their best so far....

Details when I have more time.

Paul

Cool, I hope to see them again someday. Peace and goodwill.

Due to an extreme lack of time, this review will be, once again in "fits and starts". My apologies to you all.

Laser Material--Started with Tom Schuman's usual mysterious synth-wall-of sound. This usually lasts about 30 seconds before the band kicks into the opening number. Tonight, Scott had to spend about 1 minute and half or two minutes getting his bass in perfect tune....so the rest of the band kept up with Schuu and his mysterious and dramatic swirl. I joked to my brother Joe(who I took to the concert for his birthday present) that wouldn't it be something if the band just kept up this "free jazz" type warm up for two hours. Joe laughed, and said we'd need some chemical enhancements like they used in the 1950's and 1960's. Ornette Coleman!! Roland Kirk!!!.
Anyway, Laser Material was a great funky opener, with a slight straight ahead nod in the middle. Julio always changes his solo up either a bit or alot. Schuu had a great and extended fleet fingered synth break. And Jay.....whew! A two minute closing solo on soprano with harmonic chirps and squeaks, and flurries of notes. He back announced it as "the first thing Tommy ever wrote for the band"...nearly 30 years ago.

Jay was playing two new saxes, different in color than the one's he used at the July gig at the Hyatt Newporter gig.

Julio was playing a different guitar as well.....not the familiar custom Ronaldo, but the cherry red full bodied one seen in the "Down The AWire promo video.

More Later when I got's mo time.

Paul

Old San Juan followed Laser Material. Just great to have it back in the set after nearly a decade on vacation. It's not just one of the best of Spyro Gyra's impressive latin jazz cannon, sometimes it is the best Spyro Gyra composition period(hey, the cannon lives and breathes, and as such, things change).
My brother Joe whistled in recognition of the opening riff.
It also struck me that one of the many things that sets Spyro Gyra apart from so many other jazz bands(and other bands, period)is the incredible melodies that are integrated into the songs. Sure, the musicianship and high wire act virtuoso playing are mind blowing...but each band member has such a great ear for melody, particularly Jay Beckenstein. Old San Juan is a great example of this.

Julio's solo on this one again is always different....and what a solo tonight! We sometimes forget what a great, well rounded player and musician and writer he is. But this solo built in drama, told a story, and peaked.

I have to mention the awesome point near the end of the guitar solo, everyone knows it--where the band(Schuu, Jay, Scott, and Bonny)all hit "that one note"...it is a musical exclamation point...just one note, but it is like, "WHAM". They do it twice, and it is a great example of how that "one note" can be as effective as 100!

BTW--Crowd was very appreciative throughout....sometimes these venues attrct alot of "lawn yappers" who talk thoreughout the conert in major rudeness. Only one couple of ladies who had been drinking alot did this. I always wonder why. Dod they some for the best in jazz, or to yap for two hours?? Are they so afraid NOT to yap for and hor and a half?? Couldn't what they are yapping about wait for after the show??

More later.

Alrighty then, I can steal another few minutes to finsish OSJ.

After Julio's reflective yet dramtic turn, Tom Schuman took a piano solo that really shined. My brother and I found ourselves laughing outloud because it was so good> Like Julio's guitar solo, Schuu started out sloooow, emphasis on chording, before he built it up to long and incredibly clean runs. Tom is "on" every night, but tonight he was laughingly "on".

As I said to my bro joe, "And we still have Jay's solo!".AND
AND Jay indeed brought it home, with the rest of the band puncuating in the backround..."bahm-buhm-buhm". It is very rewarding to pay attention to what is going on in the backround in Spyro music(particularly during solo's).. It is always rewarding and interesting.

Jay and the band end OSJ to much appreciation, and Jay states that he wrote Old San Juan "on my 30th birthday...though I won't tell what year that was!!".

What a performance of a great Spyro composition.

More tomorrow......

As always....thanks for the review.....i had the chance also to become Tom's roadie when they played here in '04....well...more like a keyboard tech...hehehe. I qas reading about Julio's guitar and you mentioned he was using the same guitar from Down The Wire's EPK. I think that guitar is the Telecaster he used on the "Bob Goes To The Store" video.....i remember saying that when i saw the EPK. It also has signs of wear and tear from 20+ years.

Check it out and let me know! I'm looking forward to see them Dic 16 in Ft. Lauderdale!!!

Thanks again for the review....oh...and it's been 10 years now since i joined The Magic Island!!!...time sure flies!!!

Again, my sincere apologies for posting this review in fits and starts(what is THIS--a FIT--or a START??).

I am just REALLY busy, and can't find a half hour or hour to knock this out in one fell swoop.

Before I get to "Shaker Song"....I want to say that I heard the NEW theme song to "SESAME STREET"....stay with me now....

I watched when I was a kid, and remember the jingle jangle riff at the beginning.

Well, the updated version features a funk riff that sounds(to MY ears) that it is a DIRECT cop of Tom Schuman's main funk riff from Laser Material!!!!

Am I crazy of what??? Please search out an episode of Sesame Street and listen to the theme song at the the VERY start....and tell me if ya agree or not.

I'll close for now, only to say that Scott and Bonny B seem to be having an incredible ammount of fun, Bonny played the drums AND percussion parts on OLD SAN JUAN perfectly.....with a huge smile on his face.

Scott seems to be playing better than ever, with alot of "short features" within songs in addition to his own 7 minutes feature on "Down The Wire".

As someone mentioned to me after the Hyatt gig(a fellow musician who has lead his own bar band for 20 years)--well seeing Scott play for the first time LIVE, he had to meet Scott...and tell him that there was something wrong, no one should/could be that great a player....he could not believe how great Scott played, both individually and as an ensemble player.

And as someone just posted on the Spyro Gyra comment board(on Spyro homepage), it is impossible to "pop" like Scott on a five string bass and be so clean in his playing...yet Scott does it!

Next time I post, I promise to get to Shaker Song....which MAY be the best version I have heard thus far.

Paul

Another start....

"Shaker Song" was again, a wonderful arrangement. First saw it a couple of months ago in Newport Beach at the Hyatt. Just incredible, as it combined the jazz trio arrangement from the "Road Scholars' days in 1996-97 with sax and guitar. In fact, Jay and Julio had a "call and response" battle that was out of this world.

Tom's piano solo was in the vein of the 1996-97 take, but even better. Scottie's bass turn straight ahead and well, you know Scott! Bonny was right there.

Jay jazzed up the sax, playing a bit behind or ahead on purpose to change the phrasing of the ssx singing he does.

There exists a full take of this tours arrangement on youtube....I don't know how to link it, but it is worth hunting down, I promise. Maybe someone else can find the non pro shot youtube vesrion and link it here on the "new video" thread.

More later when I got's mo time.

Paul