Tonight I went to see Eric Johnson at a venue called The Rose, located in Pasadena. The Rose is a supper club, owned by the same people who own The Canyon out in Agoura Hills, where I have seen EJ many times. The Canyon is also a supper club, where most of the patrons sit at tables and have dinner (or supper, depending on what you wanna call it) before the show starts. There is also standing room behind the tables for general admission patrons like myself, and it's kinda cool because everyone in front of you is sitting down and you have an unobstructed sightline. You don't have to worry about the Usual Giants who Always Seem To Be In Front Of You at club shows.
The Rose looks almost exactly like The Canyon on the inside, a very similar layout (and there is a third venue in Santa Clarita, also called The Canyon, which I haven't been to). I was thinking back over my 44 year concert history, and I am pretty sure I have only been to a couple of concerts in Pasadena, most recently to see Linda Perhacs at a free concert at the Levitt Pavillion in a city park, in July 2013. I also saw perhaps the greatest concert I have ever been to, which was Pink Floyd at The Rose Bowl in April 1994, on the legendary "Pulse" tour. And way back in about 1984, my friends and I saw a band called Alcatrazz at a former movie theater called Perkins Palace. Alcatrazz was formed by Graham Bonnet, who had been Rainbow's lead singer in 1980, and he had hired a 21 year old kid named Yngwie Malmsteen to play guitar for the band. We had already seen them play a year earlier at The Country Club right here in Reseda, but at Perkins Palace we walked out of the show and asked for our money back because Yngwie wasn't there when the band went onstage. Instead, there was some dark haired dude, a real show off who didn't play like Yngwie.
As it turned out, he was Steve Vai. But we didn't know that when we walked out. Or did we?
I can't remember. Maybe we did know it was Vai, and we walked because of a combination of being pissed at Yngwie's absence (we didn't know he had quit the band) and the fact that Vai was hamming it up big time as his replacement. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was a guitar showoff. I mean, it was okay to be a guitar showoff as long as you were a guitar showoff that I approved of. And being surprised to see Vai on stage that night, I definitely did not approve of his posturing. I was a lot more opinionated then, at 24 years of age. Things had to be "this way" or "that way" and there wasn't a lot of leeway. Now, though I am not a huge fan of either guitarist anymore, I would go to see Steve Vai instead of Yngwie, who was great when he burst onto the scene, but never became a great songwriter, in my opinion. He just kept playing the same speed-of-light guitar runs. And Vai is an incredible player, of course, but as far as I am concerned can't write a song to save his life. But at least he plays different.
Well, there is a digression for you. If there is one thing you can count on me to do, it's to go "off subject". But I had to give you a little bit of my Pasadena concert history, which is negligible but somewhat memorable, especially in the cases of Pink Floyd at The Rose Bowl and Alcatrazz at Perkins Palace. Aww, heck - and Linda Perhacs at Levitt Pavillion, too. It was she, after all, who got me and Grimsley into the sold-out Opeth show at (lo and behold)....The Canyon, back in May 2013, just a couple of months before we saw her play at The Levitt.
Ergo, we can say that Pasadena Concerts - though few in 44 years - are nonetheless memorable. And tonight's Eric Johnson concert at The Rose will prove to be no exception as the years roll by. EJ was playing a solo acoustic set tonight, just him and no band. He played two guitars, steel string and nylon, and a grand piano. His set was short, just 70 minutes, but in that time he must have played at least 20 songs, in just about every style that he is known for.
The thing about Eric is that he is so musical. He is not only one of the great guitarists, but he is a great songwriter, and this is what comes home to you as you watch and listen to him in an acoustic setting. He is also an accomplished pianist, with a style that compliments his guitar playing. Many of the great songwriters play both guitar and piano, and use piano to write with, because the musical options are greater when writing on that instrument. Of course, when you know the neck of a guitar as well as Eric Johnson does, you can write just as melodically on either instrument, and he does.
On top of that, he is a fine singer who sings with emotion and phrasing, and though his voice is light, it once again fits exactly in the style of his music, combining with his instrumental abilities on guitar and piano to make beautiful songs.
And this is what creating music is all about. The art of the song. The art of melody and harmony and feeling. In popular music, this is the format that has produced much of the most beautiful music of our time.
With Eric Johnson, yes he is one of the great "shredders" of all time. And if you go see him with his full band in an electric setting, you will hear why he is considered a "guitarist's guitarist". But for me, a huge fan of guitar and of music in general, I have always liked Eric because of his music.
Music.
It takes musicality to make music. Playing an instrument or instruments is only part of it. Musicality comes from your soul. Your fingers are just the transmitters.
I have seen Eric somewhere between 12 and 20 times by now. I am gonna have to do some Googling to try and narrow it down. Only two of the shows have been acoustic, and tonight was very special because his music means more to me than I can put into words. He always plays a lot of songs that have never been recorded, and so you always get something you've never heard before as well. His songs have been part of the soundtrack of my life, and I was very glad to be able to see him play tonight.
Finally, concerning The Rose, it is right across the street from the Pasadena Civic Center. I was unfamiliar with the area, but had a little time to walk around before the show started, and I was curious about the "temple" looking building across Green Street. I crossed to check it out, and it was indeed the Pasadena Civic, the legendary launching pad of local Pasadena boys Van Halen, who played sold-out shows there back in 1976 through '78, just before they hit it big.
That made this night extra special, and I had to walk up and touch the stone wall around the entrance, just to get the vibe and honor the legacy of the Mighty VH.
It was a good night, and another memorable experience in Pasadena. ////
Elizabeth, if you are reading, that was a beautiful picture of yourself that you posted this morning. I also saw that you posted a pic of your keyboard on FB Stories, so maybe you are working on some music of your own? I hope so. :)
See you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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