John Mayall in MA Sun 9/11
 

He's doing a concert with his band at Wachusett in MA this Sunday.

Are you going Suze? Madformac and I saw him last year (november I think) and he was fab, if you get the chance, then you won't be disappointed and at 70 something, he leaves a lotta other artists in the dust... :nod:

Maybe I will go. I actually hadn't seriously considered going but I do love live music and it would be really cool to see him. I am honestly not so familiar with his music. I'll have to give a listen.

when we went, I hadn't heard his music at all (I initially went to see his guest, Mick Taylor, ex the Stones) and was very pleasantly surprised how good the music actually was, the main thing apart from the music, that stood out for me was his (John's) enthusiasm and vitality for a chap his age..amazing..and he's a mean harmonica player too.

Mentioning Mick Taylor as ex-Stones is not completely correct. Mick Taylor joined John Mayalls Bluesbreakers, replacing Peter Green (who left to form his own band Fleetwood Mac), in 1967. Having recorded the albums "Crusade" in 1967 (with John McVie still on bass), "Bare Wires" in 1968 and "Blues From Laurel Canyon" (guest Peter Green on one song) in 1969 he then left the Bluesbreakers to replace Brian Jones in the Stones. So actually Mick can be regarded as ex-Bluesbreakers. ;)

Well, he IS an ex-Rolling Stone...99% of people you'd talk to, who are familiar with Mick Taylor, will remember him from being a "Stone" moreso than a "Bluesbreaker".

I wanna say I saw him play a set with Peter Green when Peter was on his tour in 2002. Damn, If I cant remember, but I think John Mayall opened. Does anyone rememeber?

They were on the same bill. Mayall played harmonica on Sweet home chicago or something with Splinter group. Strange that it's been 1,5 years since they split up..Hope peter's doing well now. "Oh I'm not supposed to say that", in case PGO is watching. Give the man a record deal and get him out on the road.

I agree. Get Pete back out on the road. :nod: I would LOVE to see him again

DM, dino,

right, john mayall opened for the the sg. i saw them in san francisco.probably some of you were there too? here's my recollection. mayall played, buddy whittington was the bluesbreaker lead guitar player. buddy is technically great but very flashy, following from the gary moore school of white bluesman- there's a fair bit of posing, lots of grimancing, tons of notes.

steve miller joined mayall at the end of their set. miller is no slouch as a bluesman, he played for a time in chicago prior to getting his recording contract on the west coast in the mid 60's. so, steve trades solos with buddy and at least to my ears it was night and day. less is more, steve takes it hands down.

john mayall helps take down his gear and then helps set up the splinters equipment. the guy is basically 70 and is humping gear- that he would do that, let alone be able to do it was something i will never forget.

splinters play, pete stares at ceiling occasionally, but generally is on form. at the end steve miller comes out to play with sg. i'm not sure what's going to happen. is pete going to let steve and nigel take all the solos and just lay back? when steve solos out front in the spotlight, pete's back behind him in the shadows, playing along, eyes right on steve. when its pete's turn off he goes into a solo somewhere between his playing on the title track from 'blues don't change' and his more inspired solos from the pvk era. not a lot of string bending, playing in that elastic style - 100% peter green. i'm speechless. in this context its steve who is the poser. on that night, peter green, somehow, still the greatest white bluesmen.

that reminds me, don brown pointed out a few months ago that pete is scheduled to play at the orkny with the british blues allstars. that's this sat. 9/17. http://www.orkneybluesfestival.co.uk/2005programme.html. pete's still listed as playing, http://www.orkneybluesfestival.co.uk/allstars.html. that would be something to see.

zero

Steve Miller played at the show you were at? cool :cool:

Buddy Whittington was actually (dare I say it!) better than Mick Taylor last year, when we saw them. I'd never heard of him before that concert, but once he was on, he was great to listen to (no showboating as I remember, but an excellent guitarist) and he's not a guy you can physically miss either..he's a BIG man.
I'm not surprised to hear John was lifting equipement around, he was so fit and healthy looking for his age, thats what amazed me!

Steve Miller played guitar on the track "Yo Yo Man" on John Mayall's Along For The Ride album that also featured the "reunion' (of sorts) of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie & Peter Green.

cD- thanks! i didn't know that.

can you describe pete's playing on this?

also, do you think the album is worth having? i'm not a huge mayall fan. i have hard road, looking back, and jm and bluesbreakers 'the beano' w/ ec.

zero

Pete plays some mellow little dobro lines that couldn't have fit the song any better. I think he even plays harmonica, too.

Oh, the whole album is wonderful! I run "hot & cold" with Mayall's stuff...some albums are great (Beano, Hard Road, Back To The Roots, Turning Point), some are kinda mediocre (Crusade, Jazz/Blues Fusion)...for a few years there, he was releasing both new & reissued albums at such a quick pace, I just couldn't keep up...so I got really picky about which ones I'd get...and Along For The Ride is a keeper!!