So Roy Ayers is playing here in Houston this weekend and my curiosity is piqued. Anyone seen the man perform in the last ten years have something to say? Could be really bad but maybe...Yay or Nay?
YAY. Saw him last year in Manchester, and several times in the last 10 years. He's still got the skills to pay the bills. Band were tight and there were (good) fresh treatments of some of the classics. Plus, he's not lost any of his sly humour.
So Roy Ayers is playing here in Houston this weekend and my curiosity is piqued. Anyone seen the man perform in the last ten years have something to say? Could be really bad but maybe...
Yay or Nay?
My friend saw him last week and said it was an incredible show.
I've seen him a couple times, most "recently" during the first Triptych festival in Edinburgh, and it was excellent. While that was some time ago, now, I don't see why anything would have changed. Like many other groups he relied heavily on the back catalog, and it was reproduced faithfully; nothing corny or over the top. Played a longer set than I would have expected as well. Money well spent.
what are his "classics" ? ... (beside everybody loves the sunshine)
Errm, songs like "Red, Black & Green", "We Live In Brooklyn, Baby", "Brother Green (The Disco King)", "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Searching", "Running Away" a.o.
Re: his live show, the last time he played here I actually heard it wasn't all that. My friend who went to see it said that Roy was playing some kind of MIDI-vibraphone that just didn't sound good.
Seen him a few years ago, puts on a great show with lots of energy and runs through the classics. A good performer for sure.
peace.
Started out with 'We Live In Brooklyn', did 'DC City', and pretty much anything you thought would make a great Roy Ayers show, "searching", "Everybody Loves The Sunshine".This was 8 years ago, but a GREAT show, I would go.
I saw that show (well, the later performance - he played twice on the same night).
I actually heard it wasn't all that. My friend who went to see it said that Roy was playing some kind of MIDI-vibraphone that just didn't sound good.
Sounded great to me...
Besides seeing a living legend still playing great, the highlight had to be the fact that the entire band (apart from the guitarist) were wearing matching, Roy Ayers-logo'd Puma tracksuits: They carried it off, too.
Yeah he did a mega long extended version when I seen him, and the concert I went to was outdoors.... he got some synchronized dancing steeze happening too... entertainer for sure!
what are his "classics" ? ... (beside everybody loves the sunshine)
Errm, songs like "Red, Black & Green", "We Live In Brooklyn, Baby", "Brother Green (The Disco King)", "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Searching", "Running Away" a.o.
Re: his live show, the last time he played here I actually heard it wasn't all that. My friend who went to see it said that Roy was playing some kind of MIDI-vibraphone that just didn't sound good.
We did a show with Mr. Ayers about 10 years ago and he and his band were excellent. They played ALL the classics that you would want to see live. Roy was really cool. He and I talked all about records and sampling. I asked him if he had any copies of the RAMP album and he said he had original sealed copies in his basement. He said he really did not care for Puff Daddy, but then Roy said "after that dude sampled sunshine and I started getting these big checks.. PUFFY IS MY MAIN MAN!" LOL. At that time he was playing some type of electronic midi vibes thing called a "CAT." Lucky for us the airline he flew in on had a mix up with some of his lugge and the "CAT" thing did not make it to the venue. We ran down the block to one of our other theaters and grabbed a set of vibes from the symphony and rolled them back up the hill. We put the vibes on stage and mic'd them up. Roy checked it out and said "That will work." So I got to see Roy playing a real set of vibes. You should really not miss a chance to see a legend like this.
The KAT allows him to trigger midi stuff, for example a telephone ringing in "Poo Poo La La" (although there is a live gig where this didn't work so Roy says "Yeah, I had my phone rigged up to sound like the vibes - Musicians trip on that!") or a Miles trumpet-tone for "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" where he plays the solo in the style of Miles (and does it really well).
Before that he was playing, IIRC, a Deagan Commander 11594 Vibraharp - they sound **way** better than the KAT vibe samples; you can literally "Feel the vibes" if you are at the front of the gig, but they are much bulkier and fragile - for a man who tours so much, it makes practical sense to go with the KAT.
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My friend saw him last week and said it was an incredible show.
I've seen him a couple times, most "recently" during the first Triptych festival in Edinburgh, and it was excellent. While that was some time ago, now, I don't see why anything would have changed. Like many other groups he relied heavily on the back catalog, and it was reproduced faithfully; nothing corny or over the top. Played a longer set than I would have expected as well. Money well spent.
peace.
Errm, songs like "Red, Black & Green", "We Live In Brooklyn, Baby", "Brother Green (The Disco King)", "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Searching", "Running Away" a.o.
Re: his live show, the last time he played here I actually heard it wasn't all that. My friend who went to see it said that Roy was playing some kind of MIDI-vibraphone that just didn't sound good.
we live in brooklyn...
Started out with 'We Live In Brooklyn', did 'DC City', and pretty much anything you thought would make a great Roy Ayers show, "searching", "Everybody Loves The Sunshine".This was 8 years ago, but a GREAT show, I would go.
I saw that show (well, the later performance - he played twice on the same night).
Sounded great to me...
Besides seeing a living legend still playing great, the highlight had to be the fact that the entire band (apart from the guitarist) were wearing matching, Roy Ayers-logo'd Puma tracksuits: They carried it off, too.
i would go again
are there pictures of this? I want to see them. I want to own one, too. What colors were they?
i like his version of For Real. does he play that still?
We did a show with Mr. Ayers about 10 years ago and he and his band were excellent. They played ALL the classics that you would want to see live. Roy was really cool. He and I talked all about records and sampling. I asked him if he had any copies of the RAMP album and he said he had original sealed copies in his basement. He said he really did not care for Puff Daddy, but then Roy said "after that dude sampled sunshine and I started getting these big checks.. PUFFY IS MY MAIN MAN!" LOL. At that time he was playing some type of electronic midi vibes thing called a "CAT." Lucky for us the airline he flew in on had a mix up with some of his lugge and the "CAT" thing did not make it to the venue. We ran down the block to one of our other theaters and grabbed a set of vibes from the symphony and rolled them back up the hill. We put the vibes on stage and mic'd them up. Roy checked it out and said "That will work." So I got to see Roy playing a real set of vibes.
You should really not miss a chance to see a legend like this.
Before that he was playing, IIRC, a Deagan Commander 11594 Vibraharp - they sound **way** better than the KAT vibe samples; you can literally "Feel the vibes" if you are at the front of the gig, but they are much bulkier and fragile - for a man who tours so much, it makes practical sense to go with the KAT.
seconded. He has done that both times Ive seen...
He gave the crowd what they wanted when Ive seen him. You won't be disappointed.