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melvin sparks live?

leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
edited April 2005 in Strut Central
i just noticed that Melvin Sparks is playing tonight here in pittsburgh, at the Hard Rock Cafe!?! i'm super busy and the last thing i need right now is something else to do, but has anyone seen him live recently? his touring band seems to be an organ trio.just wondering if this will be a or a

  Comments

  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
    It's hard to believe he can still burn like when he was younger, but still sometimes you have to accept that you were too young to see a legand in their prime and just go.

    John Lee Hooker wasn't quite as hot on the guitar as he got older, but still he's a legand and just seeing him was great.

    I had a friend go see Pharoh Sanders (SP) and was let down that he didn't play the whole time, but really do you expect a 60+ year old guy to be able to wail on a sax for 2 hours. That takes a lotta lungs.

    It's like seeing James Brown, if you never saw him go, just don't expect to see a Sex Machine era performance.

    On a side note, if you get a chance to see Toots and the Maytals don't sleep. They still kick it like it's 1972. I went with low expectations and came out with bloody undies!!!!!!!
  • parenparen 537 Posts
    I saw The Melvin Sparks Band last Sunday and was very impressed. They played Hot Dog, some other Lou Donaldson joints, other throwbacks and some equally impressive new material. He's definitely still got it. Honestly, it was just an honor to shake his hand. $5.00 to meet Melvin Sparks, no brainer. Highly recommended. Featured Sparks on guitar and much younger players whose names I don't recall on drums and B-3. The drummer went for his often and was hotness.



    fucka:melt:icon. find a way to go.
  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts

    just wondering if this will be a or a

    I saw him last year at Ryles in Cambridge, MA, and was definitely feelin' it. He knows who wants to see him, meaning the (don't shoot me, this was on the flyer) "Acid Jazz" crowd, and so he plays that material, he brings the funk, the young band has some chops (nice drums, organ player was a goofball but had skills), and Melvin can still play like a muther fuyer. It's the beauty of Jazz, that unlike, say, the Rolling Stones, seeing the artist in their sixties can be almost as, if not just as, rewarding as seeing them in their "prime."

    I just wish he would tour with, say, Lonnie Smith (who I saw in NYC a couple of years ago with Lou Donaldson and they were FUCKING ILL) and Bernard Purdie...

    Go, it will be good. Let us know what you thought afterwards, if you want, I'd be interested to hear.
  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts
    Co-sign what people have already said. I saw him twice last year and both times he was great. As SoulOnIce said he plays what people want to hear, which is Soul-Jazz so it's right up the average soulstrutter's alley.
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