Just saw Richard Bona last night...

[bassandbeyond]

...playing with the Mike Stern band at Catalina's in Hollywood. In general, there were flurries of virtuosic notes coming from every direction, but I have to say that the highlights of the evening came whenever Richard sang. Especially when he used a looping effect to sing harmony with himself! In a world full of nimble-fingered bass players, it's his African folk music roots that really set Richard apart, in my opinion.

He was not playing Fodera. Instead, he had an orange 5 string with some kind of midi pickup installed. I didn't recognize the make....anybody know what kind of bass this is? I must say I wasn't terribly impressed with the sound of his new axe.

[gwx014]

Originally Posted by bassandbeyond

He was not playing Fodera. Instead, he had an orange 5 string with some kind of midi pickup installed. I didn't recognize the make....anybody know what kind of bass this is? I must say I wasn't terribly impressed with the sound of his new axe.

That sounds like his New York Bass Works Cremona 5. www.NewYorkBassWorks.com

[funkydanbass]

What amp was he using?

[rakirksey]

I'm going to tonight to Catalina's. I'm excited.

[deaf pea]

Originally Posted by funkydanbass

What amp was he using?

From my experience you can be pretty sure that the amp was back-lined (provided by the venue), and NOT particularly "exactly" what R. Bona would like to be using . . .

[bassandbeyond]

Originally Posted by gwx014

That sounds like his New York Bass Works Cremona 5. www.NewYorkBassWorks.com

Yup, that's what it was. He was playing through a Glockenklang head and 4x10 cab.

[funkydanbass]

Originally Posted by deaf pea

From my experience you can be pretty sure that the amp was back-lined (provided by the venue), and NOT particularly "exactly" what R. Bona would like to be using . . .

Yup, I know that... hence the question, what was he playing through 'this time'??

[funkydanbass]

Cool, glockenklang...

[LO_bass]

I saw him in Oakland a few months ago and was equaly impressed by his singing and looping.

At the show that I saw, he used a Fodera Single cut and a walter woods head with two ampeg bxt (or something..) 410 cabs. His sound was very upright like combined with the Fodera high end.

[KJung]

+1... his solo work is unique and beautiful. It's amazing how he can do some of those lush tunes live in a trio setting and pull it off (from what I've seen on YouTube).

Cool!

[rakirksey]

I just saw him last night and I think the gear was probably rented considering that Mike Stern had two Fender amps on some anvil cases with SIR (Studio Instrument Rentals) plastered all over it.

The other interesting thing that my crew of music nerds that I went with noticed as that it seemed as if Richard was actually smoking Mike Stern a bit. There was a part in the set where Mike didn't have anything to respond with when they were trading solos back and forth. Of course it could have been that Mike was so awed by what Richard was playing he couldn't focus. I know I had to pull my jaw off the ground at the end of both sets.

I don't even want to start with Dennis Chambers. He is at a whole 'nother level.

[bassandbeyond]

Originally Posted by rakirksey

it seemed as if Richard was actually smoking Mike Stern a bit.

There was some of that going on Wednesday night as well. That band is kind of like a bunch of wild dogs vying for dominance over the pack!

[willgroove2]

Originally Posted by rakirksey

I just saw him last night and I think the gear was probably rented considering that Mike Stern had two Fender amps on some anvil cases with SIR (Studio Instrument Rentals) plastered all over it.

The other interesting thing that my crew of music nerds that I went with noticed as that it seemed as if Richard was actually smoking Mike Stern a bit. There was a part in the set where Mike didn't have anything to respond with when they were trading solos back and forth. Of course it could have been that Mike was so awed by what Richard was playing he couldn't focus. I know I had to pull my jaw off the ground at the end of both sets.

I don't even want to start with Dennis Chambers. He is at a whole 'nother level.

If you get the DVD they did together richard push's him hard the whole set

[y-o-y]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was at the Wednesday night show sitting in the front row about 5 feet from Richard. When he was tuning up, Mike Stern said to him something along the lines of "what is that amp? it is soooo clear. If you want, [someone] is driving up to Oakland and they can bring it if you want".

I thought that was pretty cool.

[bassandbeyond]

So what was that amp?

[y-o-y]

Originally Posted by bassandbeyond

So what was that amp?

Glockenklang Heart Rock amp + Glockenklang 410 cab (I don't know much about the Glock line, but I think it was the Quatro)

[Arandaz]

I saw this group in DC at Blues Alley, Best show of the year in the DC area in my opinion. Richards singing through the looper blew me away. Dennis Chambers on drums was awesome. I didn't care much for the sax player though. All in all though, great show, I assume the DVD is awesome too.

[Ammioz77]

Originally Posted by Arandaz

I saw this group in DC at Blues Alley, Best show of the year in the DC area in my opinion. Richards singing through the looper blew me away. Dennis Chambers on drums was awesome. I didn't care much for the sax player though. All in all though, great show, I assume the DVD is awesome too.

Good lawd! They played in dc and I missed them? I saw him a few years ago when he was with Pat Methany at the Lisner auditorium at GW university.Mann... Show was scheduled to start at 8pm.. by 8:10 they had strapped on and were doing work! They didn't take their first break until almost 10:45 and then Pat introduced the band. They had done Teentown right before the break so Pat made a point of introducing Richard. Just the sheer force of music they made that night was incredibly - I mean you felt it physically! The wife and I had to finally throw in the towel around 11:15 or so cuz we had to work the next morning and they were still charging like a freight train steaming down hill with no brakes. But the thing about it that stood out the most to me was NO ONE OVERPLAYED! And by god there were more notes flying around that night... but every single note was musical. Richard played a couple of instruments and sang and Pat also had this incredible young vietnamese cat out of Cali on trumpet who also played and sang.. Incredible night!

[jerry]

Originally Posted by Ammioz77

Pat also had this incredible young vietnamese cat out of Cali on trumpet who also played and sang.. Incredible night!

That was Cuong Vu, wonderful player!