Originally Posted by OverHillandDale
Adrian Belew's Power Trio - Review
Atlanta, Ga, Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - Smith's Old Bar
This evening for me was one of great joy and sadness. It further proved to me why Progressive Rock artists choose not to include Atlanta, and perhaps the South, in their tour schedule.
Here we had one of the premier rock guitarists in the world in a small, cozy, intimate setting. This space only holds about 250 people standing shoulder to shoulder. And Atlanta could not even half fill this joint. What is up with that? Okay, no, he does not have the notariaty of Eric Clapton, or the record sales of Peter Frampton. But come on southern america, you've got to better than this!
Okay, enough of that. On to the show.
For such a small, slight gentleman, Adrian packs a lot of energy into his performance. Each note, each chord, each note sung is full out and for you. He is simply incredible. What he can produce from those six strings (and a few electrical gadgets and pedals) is amazing.
But what I really want to talk about is his supporting band. They are a brother and sister combo that have played together for years. But, they do not have many years together. They are but 20 and 21 in age. Jill Slick (no relation to Grace as far as I know) is the bassist. She is a powerhouse of sound. She matches Levin and Wetton lick for lick in the old compositions from King Crimson which they perform and she adds in her own soulfulness to boot. She lays down a groove that glides right with Adrian every note and step of the way. She uses a pick so there's a good clean edge to her notation and allows strong chording. Her roots seem to be very heavy rock oriented, but arpaggios and scale climbing are more jazz oriented than classical. All the augmented chords of Adrian's and the time signatures demand a strong jazz background too. Something they flourished at several times during the evening. Her dark, full and wavy hair hung half over her face to give her a 'punk' look, but she often would be smiling after numbers or particularily hard sections, showing a great love and joy for what they were doing. She was having fun.
Her younger brother, Eric, also has very dark, brooding features. He is short and compact and is all muscle and energy. His percussion was equally incredible. It is a very rock oriented style. A lot of the double kicker style, with a lot of lower tone drum play. His style and technique is quick and efficient. It's strong and very syncipated. His control of the multiple time signatures and polyrhythmic compositions of Belew and King Crimson were strong and appropriate. Guiding Jill and Adrian and us gleefully thru each song. It was hard to keep from moving. Now, one could easily miss the styling of Bill Bruford in the Crimson compositions. But that was not his style. But he had rock style flourishs that did the trick as well.
The energy of this trio is definately that of a Power Trio (hence the name, eh?). At times you would almost think you were just watching a garage band, they were having so much fun. Many more "professional" or 'seasoned' groups don't always allow that to show through as much. That feeling is infective and the crowd had a great time. The favorites were all played, Dinosaur, Big Electric Cat, Frame By Frame, Three of a Perfect Pair, Thela Hun Ginjeet, and Ampersand.
So, musically, it was an excellent night. If you have a chance to catch this Power Trio, you really should. We'll be hearing from the Slick family for years to come. And, well, Adrian is one of the top guitarists in the world.
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