Eric Johnson at The Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles

On Saturday evening I went to see Eric Johnson at the Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. Grimsley and I drove to the North Hollywood Metro Station at 4pm and took the Red Line to Pershing Square, arriving at 5:10. The show had an early start time of 5:45, because of of the aforementioned disco party to be held later in the evening, so we had plenty of time to walk the few blocks from the station to the venue. When we entered, there were only about 100 people inside. We were able to get good seats in the center, before the joint filled up. It was a general admission concert, but with chairs. I love that, because I don't wanna stand for an entire show anymore. It makes my feet hurt, haha.

I believe I mentioned that I won free tickets to the concert, on Facebook from EJ himself. It was all serendipitous because until a few days ago, I didn't know if I could go, and hadn't purchased a ticket for that reason. But then it turned out that I was able to attend, and now I had the free tickets as well, so it was a real blessing that came at the perfect time.

Eric went onstage at 5:50. His band included Roscoe Beck on bass, Tom Brechtlein on drums, and a multi instrumentalist named Dave Scher who played keyboards, percussion and second guitar. He was incredible, and duplicated some of Eric's guitar parts on songs where the Master was playing piano.

They started with a Beatles cover : "Things We Said Today", done EJ style. A few songs later they covered a Jimi song : "Driftin'". Few can play Jimi like Eric. It brought goosebumps to my arms and a lump in my throat, given what I've been going through. They also played a John Coltrane tune, which was really far out because Trane was a genius saxophonist. Eric played the sax parts on guitar, showing off some avant garde jazz chops that I saw once before when he toured with Mike Stern a few years ago. In addition to the covers, EJ and band went through a variety of styles, including a couple of Chet Atkins chicken pickin numbers and an old bluesy boogie called "Have A Good Time" (by Walter Horton). All of these were played in Eric's signature style, which is very high energy.

Mostly though, what he did was shred. And yes, he played millions of notes, but it wasn't the kind of "tweedle-dee-dee" shredding that lesser players engage in. Eric is so technically capable that he can run all over the neck at unheard of speed, but he's musically advanced enough to use different modes or scales to create different colors. In other words, on a song like "Desert Rose", his extended solo featured the fastest playing I've ever seen, by any guitarist, but he wasn't just repeating the same lines over and over, or doing trills, which is what I mean by "tweedle-dee-dee" playing. Instead, he will spontaneously change the scale or mode, to "say the same thing", i.e. continue to build on the melody of the solo, but in a different way. I call it using a different color, and that's the thing with Eric Johnson. He's dazzling you with his impossibly fast leads, but they sparkle with tonality. The color provides the emotion, which is what music is all about. And it goes without saying that he's much more than a lead player. EJ is also the king of inversion phrasing. He gets beautiful chiming chords out of his Strat, and he can switch between any facet of his playing to another in a split second, even while singing. Having said all of that, one of my favorite things about Eric Johnson is that in his live shows, he's not afraid to take chances. Sometimes, when he takes off on a long solo, he'll get so far out on a limb that you wonder if he'll make it back. He always does, but even then you hope he'll make it back on time. Ritchie Blackmore once said that his favorite players were guys like Jimi Hendrix, because as great as Jimi was, he wasn't afraid to experiment. Ritchie said it's like he would spontaneously "search" for new notes in his solos. He was reaching for an emotion, trying to express a feeling; sometimes he found the note, sometimes he did not, but Ritchie said that's what made him extra great, and in Ritchie's opinion preferable to a player like Joe Satriani, who is technically incredible but who never takes chances and never makes mistakes. Ritchie says players like Joe are over rehearsed.

Now, on record, both Jimi and EJ are note perfect, but you've gotta be on a finished product like an album. Live, though, neither is (or was in Jimi's case) afraid to get way out there, to push the limits, and I've gotta say, when Eric Johnson reaches for some imaginary note to express a spontaneous feeling, he almost always finds it. His playing is so far off the charts that you're stunned just watching him, but he also takes you on a roller coaster ride that delivers the unexpected.

Then, on the next song he might pick up an acoustic guitar and play a country number, but it'll be all rocked up. Or he'll sit at the piano and play a haunting ballad like "Song For Lynette". He didn't do that one on Saturday, but he did perform three new piano based tunes from his upcoming album, "EJ II", due out next month. All told, he played 24 songs in a set that lasted 2hrs 15minutes. I've seen Eric about 15 times now, and this was one of his best shows I've been to. Guitar wise, I think it was the best.

One thing that was different, the band's volume was super loud this time. My right ear is still ringing a little bit, lol. I think it was because The Regent is a small theater, shaped like a box. In the past when I've seen him live, Eric has usually played at The Canyon in Agoura, a more spacious venue. But maybe high decibel shows are trending now. Even Sparks play at ear splitting volume, like The Who or Deep Purple. Ah well, the ringing should die down in another couple of days, and it was surely worth it. ///

The show ended at 8:05pm, earlier than most concerts begin. Grim and I walked back up to the Pershing Square Metro Station and were home by 9:30. I love it! Let's have more 5:45 concerts, please.

That's all for tonight. I'll have another update on Pearl when I write to you tomorrow. Keep the faith.

Peace, and tons of love.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)