Here's the review of last night's Jackie Greene show on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood:
I’m not going to sit here and pretend like getting to the show was cake. With a near 3 hour drive through horrendous traffic, ticket fees that amounted to a measly 40 percent of the total cost, $15 bucks for parking and a lack of seats, it could have been easier. Nonetheless, I can’t recall a time that I had been more content with my purchase. You didn’t walk away angry or ripped off, as every one of those feelings had dissipated by the end of the first song.
This was my first show since July, a time in which some rather drastic change has occurred. With an entirely new band—though it was good to see Nick working backstage—Jackie Greene has come back with a vengeance. The energy and passion has returned tenfold, combining nicely with what can only be described as brilliant song writing. (The new stuff is up on Jackie’s Myspace) I lost count of how many times I’ve seen him, but that doesn’t stop this show from ranking right at the top. Though nothing can beat a solo acoustic show, this new lineup, attitude and music comes about satisfyingly close.
The new guitarist was fantastic. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not the best I’ve ever seen, but I’m not sure you can ask for anything more. He did absolutely everything a rhythm guitarist ought to. Better yet, you couldn’t sense the slightest ego even with everything he adds to the sound. There weren’t any attempts to steal the show, “express his musical self” or dance around like an idiot (you know who I’m talking about). The “So Hard to Find My Way” was flawless and I can’t even begin to describe how much his slide-work improves the set. The beauty of his addition is not that realization that he fills a void that plagued the shows in the past, but rather his ability to take the Jackie Greene experience to a level you didn’t even know was possible.
It was the little things that made the show better than the others. The drumming—something I can honestly say was irrelevant in past performances—added volumes to the impact. That a group could be this tight with less than 6 months of shows leaves me salivating for the future. Surprisingly, I was pleased with the bassist as well. Like the drummer, his play was slick and spot-on. Together their fills worked to create a flow that simply wasn’t there previously. The rhythm hits accented the songs and built the climaxes with amazing energy—one’s that were exceedingly greeted with solid solos and riffs.
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