Concrete Blonde last night

[jammadave]

Oh... Mahh... Gawd.

Saw Concrete Blonde at the 9:30 club last night, and let me be the first to say "fantastic".

You just don't get the full Johnette Napolitano effect from listening to their albums. I hadn't seen them live before, but am very glad I did. Her voice is stronger than ever and she's gotten her bad self into "Linda Hamilton Terminator 2" shape.

Keeping this in Bassists, I'll tell you that Johnette was running a simple setup that absolutely KILLED - Fender P-Lyte (or *maybe* it was a Zone) into an Ampeg rig. Couldn't see the head or cab too well, so I dunno the specs, but that was a juicy, thick, yet amazingly crisp sounding setup.

Of course she also plays with a pick a lot, and way down by the bridge, so that helps with clarity. She doesn't have complex lines, but the songs are so well put together that it doesn't detract.

Also of note was Jim Mankey - these days looking more like Devin from Knight Rider, but still rocking (I've always been a BIG fan of his guitar work).

And kudos to 9:30 for a great mix. I stood by the FOH booth the whole night for perfect sound and a perfect view. Unbelievable. Fun Fact: first encore tune was Talking Heads' "Take Me To The River."