Post by Owen Y on Mar 28, 2018 16:26:20 GMT 12
Jason Isbell + Nadia Reid at The Powerstation, Akld last night. This show was transferred from the Town Hall, the original advertised venue. Nadia Reid & band opened for Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit (his band). Good to see her rocking out with a small band nowadays. A couple of pics:  Nadia plays Crafter guitars, including the semi-hollow electric below. 
|
Post by Owen Y on Mar 29, 2018 12:44:39 GMT 12
I've been lazy getting out lately but having missed Isbell 4 years ago (his visit then was said to have been the best concert of 2014), I didn't want to miss out this time, especially with Nadia as a stellar bonus. Alabama-born Jason Isbell was a guitarist first, before hitting the lights as a song-writer & it shows. Numerous guitar changes, electric & acoustic. Most distinctive to my eye, (for guitar nerds  ) a 'Gold Top' vintage 50s style Gibson Les Paul. Note also, his elaborate pedal board. One thing about first rate artists is that they usually have top shelf support instrumentalists & Isbell's band, the '400 Unit' are indeed so. Isbell's work now is billed with his band as 'Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit'. I was especially interested in his guitarist, Sadler Vaden (great name), particularly when playing slide. The keyboardist Derry de Borja was also prominent & extrovert. Together with drums & bass, all in all, a solid rockin' band. I must confess, I'm not yet familiar with his latest album. The set-list was a mixture also of his earlier work & a couple from his Drive By Truckers days (he was a band-member). The more interesting Americana artists are great song-writers observing the lives of rural & urban middle-America - relevant to understand in these political times. Jason Isbell is one of these song-writers. As an additional sweetener, vinyl LPs were available for good prices - Nadia's latest 'Listen to Formation, Look for the Signs', $40 & Isbell's last 2 albums, $45 (esp good value for his 2015 Grammy-winning dble LP 'Something More Than Free'). Some pics....     (Guitar here is a German 'Duesenberg'.)
|
Post by Owen Y on Mar 29, 2018 13:39:48 GMT 12
Finally, a pic of guitarist Sadler Vaden... 
|
Post by Citroen on Mar 29, 2018 14:16:08 GMT 12
Looks like you were very close to the front or have a great zoom!
Can almost read the poem on Jason's arm...
|
Post by Owen Y on Mar 29, 2018 15:01:16 GMT 12
 ..... Due to transport issues, actually I got there later than I normally like to (in order to get a good spot), so I headed upstairs, left front. A reas. view of the main mic but unfortunately the LH spkr array obscured the lead guitarist & bass player most of the night. And of course, the sound on the side was less than ideal, well wide of the LH line array stack. I take only a small camera (Oly E-M10) & a cheap, compact/lightweight 40-150mm telezoom. With that slow lens I need ISO 6400, which is technically a bit 'noisy'/grainy but good enough for online purposes. Of course digital shooting gives you Image Stabilisation & EV adjust on the fly (with a digital VFinder) is essential. Imagine doing this sort of thing in the analogue days with Tri-X or Ektachrome  (Sorry too much info )
|
Post by Owen Y on Mar 29, 2018 15:11:49 GMT 12
|
Post by Citroen on Mar 29, 2018 16:02:41 GMT 12
..... I take only a small camera (Oly E-M10) & a cheap, compact/lightweight 40-150mm telezoom. With that slow lens I need ISO 6400, which is technically a bit 'noisy'/grainy but good enough for online purposes. Of course digital shooting gives you Image Stabilisation & EV adjust on the fly (with a digital VFinder) is essential. Imagine doing this sort of thing in the analogue days with Tri-X or Ektachrome (Sorry too much info ) Great photos. Usually they frown on using anything other than a phone to take pics.
|
Post by Owen Y on Mar 29, 2018 18:53:59 GMT 12
Thanks, Yes sometimes. You don't want to sling a big DSLR into a show.
|
Pundit
Post by Dom on Mar 30, 2018 11:16:19 GMT 12
Perhaps an odd comment for a guitar collector such as myself but I found the constant swapping of guitars really got in the way of the flow of the show. A few of the instruments seemed so close to each other there seemed little point. In broad terms, one six-string acoustic for another, one single-cut/humbucker electric for another.
|
Post by Owen Y on Apr 3, 2018 9:07:08 GMT 12
Yes a little distracting. However, I guess this, together with the pedal changes, matters a lot in the studio & perhaps live in a smaller venue acoustic.
|
) a 'Gold Top' vintage 50s style Gibson Les Paul. Note also, his elaborate pedal board.
