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Sharon Jones done rocked NZ...

doughboydoughboy 190 Posts
edited March 2008 in Strut Central
In recovery mode ... g/friend and baby are both sick, but was lucky enough to get 2 leave passes -- ah, bless... I owe her big time now. Rinsed though...Friday night - had a great gig with the band (Tornadoes & Tyra Hammond)... up for it crowd who stayed on trhe dancefloor the whole time, new material killed it, band in good form... all looking good for upcoming recording sessions.Got home about 4am ... baby awake at 6am - damn it.Had some strong coffee and drove for 5 hours to check Miss Jones and The Dap Kings play a twilight set at WOMAD Festival in New Plymouth... frikin unbelievable... first time I've seen them live and it was pure They only had a 50 min set... stuffed it full of 'the hits' and by the end the crowd wasn't going to move unless they dropped an encore ... WOMAD organisers let them run over - which is a first, I've actually seen stage hands unplug amps mid song when other people have extended their sets too long.Being an outdoor festival with 'plug-it-in-and-pray' sound rather than a tight indoor venue I was expecting some dodgy mix so we were close to the front ot try and get the stage sound... but after about 2 songs the front of house guys had it locked down... 1 mic on the bass drum, 1 condenser overhead on the rest of the kit... perfect.Rhythm Section were on a whole other level. I took Tyra, the young vocalist we work with.... she was completely speechless afterwards (which is first). School was seriously in session.Live performaqnce highlight of the last 3... nah, 5 years.Incredible.Thinking about flying to Australia next week to see them again.

  Comments

  • kicks79kicks79 1,334 Posts
    You might be out of luck melburn and sydney gigs have been and gone.
  • DJ_WubWubDJ_WubWub 874 Posts
    Her Byron bay gig was last week and she smoked but unfortunatly the guy at the mixing desk kinda fucked the sound up (NAGL). It was so loud i thought my ears were going to bleed and the highs were horribly distorted. It was a pity and Sharon even had a go at him from onstage between songs "your not doing me any favours are you?"

    The dude is probably half deaf so overcompensates by pumping up the frequencies he cant hear..
  • kicks79kicks79 1,334 Posts
    When i saw her at the gaelic club a few years back the sound was dope. Which suprised me as most of the time at that venue they can never get the sound right. You'd be suprised how few people can mix hip hop and funk properly in sydney.
  • DrBorisQDrBorisQ 298 Posts
    She rocked the crowd up at Golden Plains, had everyone jumping. But personally I though she was a bit below par, you could really tell she had come off three nights in a row at the Hi-Fi, plus the sound was WAY too loud, to the point of being actually very uncomfortable, and the horns were up so loud in the mix, and just sounded so abrasive.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    My girlfriend & I saw them at Womad last night too, probably the happiest I've ever been that I decided to drive 5+ hours for a show. Absolutely incredible, that band is sooooooo tight & Sharon Jones absolutely slayed it. Also saw Mavis Staples with her killer band that included sister Yvonne & great guitarist Rick Holstrom, an amazing set as well. You can't get it much better that seeing Sharon & Mavis tear the house down within a few hours of each other.
  • doughboydoughboy 190 Posts
    . You'd be suprised how few people can mix hip hop and funk properly in sydney.

    Well... comparing mixing a DJ+MCs set up and mixing a 9 peice soul review would be like comparing Italian and Indian food don't ya think? And although there is actually a restaurant in Auckland called Don Bo's that claims to serve "creative fettucine" nobody really wants to eat there do they? Bring in the specialists I say... it'd be frikin refreshing to book a gig somewhere and be given a list of day two guys who can nail the sound for a certain style of music.

    BTW - Given that most festival stage managers are born of the "my way or the highway" school of thought it was refreshing to see the DK's manager (??) giving the sound guys a full on run down pre set. But, yeah, like the other gigs mentions above, they cranked the system way too towards the end.
  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    Mna, I need some of the Opensouls early releases. Someone in NZ hook a down under bruva up!
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    Mna, I need some of the Opensouls early releases.
    Yes you do, the 45s are way cool. Actually, so is the CD.
  • kicks79kicks79 1,334 Posts
    Whatever dude. I was merely makin the point that sound guys in sydney seem to have no idea how to mix any kind of music other than rock.
  • UnherdUnherd 1,880 Posts
    comparing mixing a DJ+MCs set up and mixing a 9 peice soul review would be like comparing Italian and Indian food don't ya think?

    Who's who in this analogy, and why?
  • joostjoost 46 Posts
    saw them live twice. Both times at a really small venue that's a 3 minute walk from my home and it was pure gold.

    there's an audiostream of the performance here:
    http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/nps/output/concert_sharonjones.rm

    (realaudio)
  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    Really annoyed I missed getting tickets for here (manchester, uk) hoping to turn up on the night and buy off someone for a bit extra maybe. Never seen 'em and really want to!
  • doughboydoughboy 190 Posts
    I was merely makin the point that sound guys in sydney seem to have no idea how to mix any kind of music other than rock.

    Ah now that's a point I totally agree with - same, same in NZ too. But you could add reggae/dub - making it a list of two styles people here can mix to any level - there are a couple guys round here that can kick a sound system in the arse on that tip.
  • doughboydoughboy 190 Posts
    comparing mixing a DJ+MCs set up and mixing a 9 peice soul review would be like comparing Italian and Indian food don't ya think?

    Who's who in this analogy, and why?

    Take your pick - both be tasty dishes, best enjoyed in their singular glory with some appropriate booze. Not feelin the 'creative fettucine' approach.
  • hugh_lucerohugh_lucero 485 Posts
    I caught the 4th show of their consecutive stint here in Melbourne a few weeks back and it was blazing .. what caught me a bit was how 'traditional' it was, pretty much straight up and down showtime with Binky working the mic as the hype man .. bit of a contrast to the Bamboo's (of whom the locals are perhaps a bit ignorant) who really bring the drums and then some to their performances

    Was lucky enough to meet the Sharon & the band afterwards, they were the nicest folks ever, so much respect to all of them


    O/S heads are probably reading this thread on with a 'so what' going on, whats really nuts though is just how popular they've become out here in the space of 2 years - after the 4 consecutive shows here, and a weekend festival, they were backing up a few days later for 2 shows on a Tuesday night! making hay while the sun shines, good on em too
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