Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
March 20, 2008
by Live Music Head
What a great night for James Gray on the keyboards.
Starting with Break on Through, the keys were right there.
I know James not from his Blue Rodeo days,
but as an accordion player with Rancho Misterio.
And I may not have attended his CAL premiere with the Yes show,
but I did see him in The Last Waltz and
in the Pink Floyd band for the Animals show.
The most anticipated song for me was Whisky Bar,
otherwise known as the Alabama Song...
and wow, I wasn't expecting a bass and yet
I felt it, of all places, in my throat.
Sort of a mischievousness about the bassist too;
a playfulness in his stage presence.
To Light My Fire, again James rocked.
Mike Daley gave good Robbie Krieger,
and I was impressed with Clifton David's delivery
of the last line in the song.
I was glad too that
he only gave a couple of primal yelps as the Back Door Man.
The drummer first got my attention when I Looked At You,
and again in The End, when I thought of Apocalypse Now;
the greatest war picture ever made.
A film I've seen a hundred times,
on its release in 1979 gave new life to the Doors catalogue.
Although Clifton David gripped the mic stand like I've seen before,
and sounded an awful lot like Jim Morrison,
I didn't really think of the Lizard King as I stared up at him.
I don't remember hearing the sound of rain
for Riders on the Storm either,
but kudos once again must go out to the Gray keys.
From the outros,
Roadhouse Blues was the highlight
and Mike Daley made me think of Jeff Healey during it.
And I think it was the Changeling that got me
shaking my butt a little.
The sound of the bass seemed to move down
from my throat to my hips,
and I really dug into that.
http://www.classicalbumslive.com/
