Tuesday 17 January 2012

Chickenfoot @ Brixton Academy

On Saturday evening I went to see Chickenfoot.  It's a supergroup.  An American Rock Supergroup.  My husband bought the tickets.

I almost played their music the day before on my little ipod thing just to get a feel for it.  But then I stopped myself and thought - what if I'm really disappointed and then I don't want to go to the gig.  So I left it.  It was to be a surprise and I wasn't going to have any preconceived ideas.  However, the evening before I also went out with a friend, S, who was singing the praises of Joe Satriani as though he was the best musician that ever lived, he was terribly excited about going to see this guy live.  So much for no ideas.

We walked in to an audience of mostly middle aged men and a few couples here and there, it was a lot like I'd imagined the audience of a rock supergroup to look.

After the warm up from Red, White and Blues (they were ok, a bit repetitive I found), Chickenfoot came on stage to a wild reaction from the audience.  They obviously all had years of history and experience on stages, they looked completely at ease in their sunglasses with their rock swagger.  As Sammy Hagar (Van Halen) belted out tune after tune, I was pleasantly surprised by their whole delivery, and how tight they played as a group.  One of the highlights for me was seeing this crowd of men raising their arms to do the kind of arm swaying normally undertaken by an audience of teenage girls at a boyband concert.

S was proved completely right, some of the guitar parts that Mr Satriani played were so fantastic that my eyes couldn't keep up with what his fingers were playing on those strings.

The set was complete with a few random rock screams, and they said they were just there to play the kind of music that they enjoyed without needing to prove anything to anyone or hit any sales record, and it was obvious they were having the time of their lives.  I know I was, and I'll definitely come back to see them live again if given the opportunity.  A stellar night out listening to some terrific pros.


3 comments:

cucki said...

so glad that you had a lovely time xx

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Wow, Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar AND the Chilli Peppers' drummer, that must have been an amazing night. I've only been to Brixton Academy once, The Stranglers. It's a great venue, I love standing venues, especially the smaller ones, much better atmosphere than the arenas.
I think Satriani is a musician's guitarist rather than being really well-known in the UK so I'm not surprised your friend was raving about seeing him.

ricketyjo said...

Thanks Cucki, Thanks Jo.
It was a really great evening, I love to watch the drummers because they are usually a bit bonkers, arms flying everywhere! I like the inside of Brixton academy as the standing area is slanted, so in theory, everyone should have a good view. As usually happens though, I get the tall or big headed person in front of me ;) I'm also a big fan of the smaller venues, it feels a lot more personal somehow!