Going to the show, I had no idea who was opening for Adrian Belew last night in Phoenix at the Rhythm Room. I only heard the guy at the door pronouncing the guy's name to someone in front of us - "Like 'banana' with a Z... and an O." As openers go, you usually don't expect much, but Saul Zonana scored immediately with, admittedly, a completely meaningless thing - his guitar, a Parker Fly, and one of the most beautifully painted guitars I've seen in recent memory. Green with purple and red swirls, it was gorgeous. Luckily, he actually had something musically substantial to offer - Beatles-y rock filled with lots of great hooks and clever melodies (I even caught a bit of King's X in his guitar tone - I'd be surprised if he wasn't a Ty Tabor fan.)
Performing solo, accompanied by a drum machine and backing tracks, he got a surprisingly good response from the crowd and, in fact, I headed over to the merch table and picked up his latest album, Love Over Money, which is as good as I was hoping it would be, and very close to the live show itself. Check this dude out.
We weren't but a few minute into Adrian Belew's show when a hassler began his loud, possibly drunken schtick: "I'M A LONE RHINO!" This, from the very back of the Rhythm Room, was delivered over and over again despite absolutely no acknowledgment from the stage. After a few minutes, the guy gave up and moved on, away from us, at least, and everyone around us looked relieved. You're a lone rhino, all right.
The guy wouldn't be getting "The Lone Rhinoceros" tonight. Adrian Belew's show hewed pretty close to the track listing of the recently-released Side Four Live (available only from his site, (signed) or (unsigned), but don't take that as disappointment. While they may have followed a similar setlist, they broke out in different directions at all points, including a couple of very long jams that, admittedly, lost their way occasionally. The thrill was really just seeing his new trio in action. Belew is backed by the young brother/sister duo of Eric and Julie Slick on drums and bass, respectively, whom Belew found at the Paul Green School Of Rock. (See, kids? It really is cool to stay in school.) The two make a powerful backing for the wild exploits of Belew, who needs something solid under him to stay thoroughly grounded.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
ah, what could be better than difficult listening hour?!!
is there a live recording of this trio coming out? sounds like there should be.
2 - Tom Johnson
Sorry, Mark, I guess I didn't make that clear enough - Side Four Live IS this trio. Unfortunately the only place to pick this thing up is off of Adrian's site or at the shows. For whatever reason, it's not available on Amazon, CDBaby, or even in local indie shops.
3 - Mark Saleski
hmmm, i'll still have to get me a copy.
about that Zonana guy: interesting that he's playing with just guitar a beatbox...because that's how i saw Adrian once. it was literally him and a boombox. he opened for 10,000 Maniacs.