The Adrian Belew Power Trio with Eric and Julie Slick conquer Nashville and have you bought your School of Rock Fest tickets yet?

Have you bought your tickets for the SOR Fest yet? You really don't want to miss this amazing, amazing event - click on the above link to purchase tickets. The other bands really rock, but I'm currently freaking out over the reports coming in from the first night of the Adrian Belew tour -- and as you can see, Adrian, Julie and Eric will be performing at the SOR Fest on Sunday, June 24, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.

And of course if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that Julie and Eric Slick were not only two of Paul's very first students back in 1998, but since their graduation from Rock School a couple years ago, they are the first ones to "make it". Yay, Paul Green School of Rock Music!

Okay, on to the Adrian Belew Power Trio's triumphant return to the world of touring this week, beginning in Nashville, Tennessee.

God, where do I start? How about with the fifteen minute screaming standing ovation they received after their encore? As Adrian succinctly says in his blog:

"last night was our first show in months.
the mercy lounge, where we showed no mercy.
the place was steaming and so was the power trio.
rarely do you hear such enthusiasm pouring
from a nashville audience; they've seen it all.
but this audience was loud and excited.
and on a tuesday night no less.

the new songs went off without a hitch.
what more can I say about eric and julie?
they are awesome.

tonight at 8:00 we board a plane for vienna.
vienna, virginia that is.
let the joy begin!

From the Yes forum board:

Adrian Belew at the Mercy Lounge, Nashville, 6/19/07
"Just got back from this show, and all I can say is WOW!

Adrian was on fire, fueled partly, I'm sure, by his young bandmates, Eric and Julie Slick. They were AWESOME!

Setlist was a mix of Adrian's solo songs and Crimson favorites, all played with raw intensity and ENERGY! This show absolutely blew me away!

And to top it off, I got to meet Adrian after the show and have pics made - they're on Nolan's camera though, so you'll have to wait a bit til they're posted . . . Adrian is so personable and gracious with his fans - a very refreshing entertainer, for sure!

Adrian is a phenomenal guitarist and showman, not only with KC but with ANYONE! Or just by himself! He did a cool solo number while the Slicks took a break - a wonderful rendition of "Within You Without You".

The encore was Thela Hun Ginjeet - done with a passion I've never heard before! People were moshing on the floor - the crowd went wild and applauded for at least 10-15 minutes afterwards!

If these folks come to your town - GO! This is a must-see!"

*****

Re: Adrian Belew at the Mercy Lounge, Nashville, 6/19/07

"WOW

I am SO glad I am NOT a guitar player this morning...

I would now have to decide whether or not to just walk away and not even try anymore or I would know how much I would need to practice, practice (-IF you can even "learn" to do the things AB did on his guitars last night,) to be a decent guitarist, much less look like I was enjoying myself as much as AB and his bandmates were last night when playing my guitar.....

btw-his bandmates were all of 20-Eric Slick the drummer and 21-Julie Slick the bass player... "Now you're talking"...lol a quote of AB's. Both came from the PA "Rock School" where AB is a visiting prof....

We asked AB whether or not KC/YES would tour together in 2008.....

Reply and pics later..."It's ONLY TALK".....

More later"

*****

From the KVR Audio Forum board:

"Well this was a treat of a show. Those kids rock. Eric Slick pays attention to his hi-hats and I love that. Very groovy and skilled. Julie Slick thumps the bass, can sweep, can do amazing walking lines, and can zone out on a fretless, too. And she's seriously hot on top of all that.

Belew did a killer solo interlude, bouncing around a solo that sounded like a snake charmer on shrooms.

Blistering rendition of Three of a Perfect Pair.

Much fun was had! Go see'em if they come to a town near you."

*****

From Harmony Central:

"UPDATE:

Okay, so I went to the show last night. Absolutely unbelievable -- I don't regret it for a second. I was standing ten feet from him and I still don't get it.

His band is incredible. Eric and Julie Slick (drums & bass, repsectively) are phenomenal. He's 20, she's 21, and I was just stunned by the musicianship. I'm 37 and I can barely play my way out of a pentatonic scale -- these kids are up there holding their own (and occasionally upstaging) Adrian Belew.

I gave up trying to figure out what the hell he had going on with his rig. He was playing Parkers (mainly a really nice gold one) through two Johnsons, two Line 6s, a Boomerang, a sampler of some kind, a Roland synth, expression pedals, midi controllers and god knows what else. I think I mentioned this show was in a small bar, so his rig dominated the stage. It looked like NASA mission control. My bass player went with me, and I don't think I'm going to hear any more grief from him about my measly six pedals.

I've seen the light. I caught myself giggling while I was watching him play, and the only other person who gets that reaction from me is Richard Thompson. Both are utterly unique artistic voices, and both are superb musicians. For the uninitiated, if Adrian comes to your city, don't hesitate -- GO SEE HIM. And thanks to everyone here who encouraged me to go."

*****

"Belew is not only a innovative guitarist, inspired artist and mind-boggling multi-tasking vocalist but he is a great guy. I met him at an airport once and he was extremely cool.

His recent solo stuff is sick. Sides one, two and three (particularly one & three) are awe-inspiring. "Ampersand", "Writing on the Wall", "Incompetence Indifference" and the list goes on. The Slick kids hold up their end very nicely as they gain invaluable experience backing Belew. It is very exciting to watch. When I first saw the Belew/Slick trio I was on the edge of my seat. I didn't think the kids would be able to keep up with him. They did. It is rare to catch such an exhilerating show from a group that you can respect. Great stuff. BB Kings, Times Square, Monday night. I'll see you there."

*****

From Friendly Mama:

"Hammy and I went to see the "Adrian Belew Power Trio" at Mercy Lounge. We'd ordered the tickets last week before we had any idea I'd be going with Hammy to Bonnaroo. If we'd known, I'm sure we'da bailed on the idea of being out late THREE TIMES in FOUR NIGHTS, but we had bought the tickets and so, went. And how glad I am that we did! What a fantastic show!

...As for the Power Trio: Wow! Of course Adrian is an amazing, whimsical, energetic guitarist who is tremendous amounts of fun to watch and listen to. And now, he's playing with 21 and 20 year old siblings Julie and Eric Slick (on bass and drums respectively) who are such instinctual, innovative and talented musicians that they seem to encourage Adrian to even greater feats of musical outlandishness. They were all three so good I don't know how they kept up with one another.

It was a crazy, loud, late night and getting up was really hard this morning but it was so worth it! I love to be reminded of how much I love music."

*****

From the comments section of my blog:

"Hi Robin,
I read your blog daily, mainly to see what the ABPT are up to. I saw them in Nashville last night and I must say your kids are pretty darn impressive:) My husband "air" drums at shows and he said he couldn't keep up with Eric! I think the crowd really liked them. This big guy in front of us stood right in front of Eric (blocking my view) and kept calling Julie's name out. She is really cute. I know you're a proud momma. I haven't seen Adrian before with your kids, so I'm not sure which songs were new to their set list, other than Men in Helicopters which Adrian announced as a new song for the three of them. Adrian had some technical difficulties throughout the night, but all in all it was an awesome show. Best Wishes to you and your kids!"

*****

From the comments section of Adrian's blog:

"Justin said...

Mercy Lounge - What an incredible show!!

You see, I have attended basically every Tennessee area show you've performed since 1997 or so. I caught the premier Projekct Two gig at the Cannery. I saw your do a show by yourself with the acoustic for Lightning 100 FM in '98 or so in support of the Salad Days album. (I even managed to meet Audie a couple times and discuss starting a band.) I saw all the 12th and Porter Heavy Construkction gigs for KC in 2000 and 2001. I saw the Bears at both 12th and Porter and 3rd and Lindsley in support of Car Caught Fire and Live. I was at the Crimson 328 performance hall gigs in 2001 that were released by the DGM Collector's Club. I saw KC in Knoxville at the beautiful Tennessee Theater in 2001. I traveled to Atlanta to catch the Power to Believe show in 2003 at the Variety Playhouse. I saw your trio with Mike and Mike opening for Buddy Guy at the Riverfront and at the Exit/In last year. In ALL of those shows, I have never heard a performance as INTENSE as last night's. It was... face melting. The funky / crazy groove on 'Three of a Perfect Pair' was... dare I say... fatter even than that of Levin / Bruford. It was just a total reconstruction. The Slick twosome have added such an incredible, groovy, HEAVY and INTENSE bottom to your tunes... I don't think touring with even Claypool and Carrey could have topped that sound. Your entire catalogue has been reinvigorated. I hope you stick with this group for a long while. I can't imagine any other musicians interpreting your material with as much of a modern edge as those two have.

So cheers to this trio!! Way to go on the new (for this tour) tunes too. Just killer!"
******

So all of these reports coming in are obviously making me eat my heart out, but what can you do, at least I get to see them Saturday night at the Sellersville Theater in PA, the Asbury Park Fest on Sunday, and BB Kings in NYC on Monday.

But tonight, if you are anywhere near the Washington, D.C. area, you can catch them at Jammin' Java, where you will also see their proud Dad, Gary, snapping photos and cheering them on, because the lucky bastard gets to join the tour this afternoon and he'll also be at the Anapolis, MD show tomorrow at Ram's Head Live while I stay home and babysit our dog.

Oh...and work on my new novel.

Err..in between stalking my kids and Adrian Belew on line, of course...but hey, apparently I'm a born publicist though I think love of my family and love of this band's music has much to do with it...

In fact, everything to do with it.

And don't forget about the School of Rock Fest this weekend. It's going to be insane!

Later,
xo