Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Velden, Carinthia (Velden Am Wörthersee) / Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Austria
Concert date: May 10, 2013
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: €32.00 / €35.00
Andy Timmons is a guitar ace. One of those players who lands in the world’s very top tier every time the talk turns to polished guitar playing. His layered musical know-how, his huge stylistic range and his love of a challenge through experimentation have brought him many prestigious titles and awards, as well as collaborations with some eminent names in the music world. Touring several times with Olivia Newton John as part of her backing band is no small thing. The man who first made a name for himself as the guitarist on the first three albums by glam rockers Danger Danger is also a favorite of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, who love having him on stage with them whenever G3 comes up. Especially when the tour schedule includes dates in Dallas and the surrounding area. Timmons is originally from Indiana, but he’s been living in Texas for years. And Andy Timmons did visit Ljubljana too, back in 1998, when he played as part of the backing band of one of the world’s best rock drummers, Simon Phillips (Toto). Besides working with Phillips, he’s also known for collaborations with Kip Winger, Paula Abdul, The Beach Boys, Paul Stanley (Kiss) and, of course, a whole galaxy of top guitarists who each, in their own way, left their mark with their genius on the entertainment world of rock n’ roll and jazz alike. Among them Steve Morse (Deep Purple), Mike Stern, Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Eric Johnson… So the list is nowhere near complete.
Andy Timmons arrived at Bluesiana with drummer Rob Arshavian and bassist Mike Deane, so the lineup played as the Andy Timmons Band. It was already getting late, close to ten in the evening. Concerts at Bluesiana usually kick off by half past nine at the latest. This time there was a bit of a wait, since the turnout wasn’t exactly anything to write home about. That same night, a get-together of Golf owners was going on in Velden, Carinthia, right in the center of this resort town. Even so, Timmons was greeted by a solid crew of music lovers, about 100 all told.
Over a show that ran, believe it or not, two hours and fifteen minutes, Andy laid out his musical character down to the last detail. And that character followed pure instrumental lessons. It was a dream come true for every guitar fanatic who found themselves at Bluesiana that night. Timmons didn’t need much time to completely bewitch the crowd. The man is a rocker from head to toe, and he didn’t hide it on stage. But into his multilayered guitar character he skillfully and subtly weaves figures that call for an extremely soft touch. He’s exceptionally good at swinging the mood inside an instrumental as it develops. There are jazz figures (Welcome Home), and he also likes to steer a song into a mode of brilliant neo-classicism, like on the phenomenal newer Ghost Of You. Listening to an Andy Timmons concert is a real pleasure. His pieces are wonderfully catchy and easy to listen to. They slide down easily even with less demanding listeners. The man sticks firmly to well-crafted melodic figures, which are the guiding thread of his musical language, and he keeps his solos tight and concise too. His listenability comes very close to Joe Satriani’s almost textbook perfection on guitar. Andy doses out his solo tricks with a full-blooded helping of metal-to-rock riffs that fill up all the sonic space available on stage.
Bassist Mike, a man who’s seen it all, has been Andy’s sidekick for years. Watching him play, it was clear he’s big on cracking jokes at his own expense, and he entertained the crowd plenty that way. His focus on actually performing the repertoire wasn’t total. Even during his solo near the end of the show, when Andy generously handed him ten minutes while he and Rob went backstage to cool their heads, Mike wasn’t keen on showing off any potential wizardry on the bass guitar. Unlike Mike, the younger and show-off-hungry Rob, a drummer originally schooled in jazz, showed off his chops and his voice in a completely different manner.
All eyes were, of course, on Timmons the whole time. Cheerful and in great spirits, he didn’t waste any time between songs injecting a playful dose of black humor into the band’s performance, and he’s a musician with incredible control over his guitar playing. He’s damn precise throughout, and I can say it plainly: always accurate to the microsecond in his timing. In shaping melody, and especially through the solos, he repeatedly impressed by letting atmosphere-building win out over a sea of notes. From filigree finesses that demand a soft touch to sudden mood shifts in tornadoes of unbridled finger-racing along the guitar neck. Devilish speed, devilish »timing«, both finely balanced with emotion and passion in the language of guitar playing!
A special moment of the show came when the man and his two companions slotted their own versions of The Beatles standards from the album »Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band« (1967) into the repertoire. Here he actually presented a good half of his latest studio album, which is dedicated to the music of The Beatles and is called »Andy Timmons Band Plays Sgt. Pepper« (2011). A great choice of Beatles standards and an especially impressive variety in the covers themselves. The flexible, wide-ranging approach was served up effectively, as delicate in A Day In The Life as it was unruly in With A Little Help From My Friends, but above all it was the outstanding combination of both approaches in Lucy In The SKy With The Diamonds that hit the spot! Unmatched brilliance!
The band also treated itself to a Texas boogie country excursion, a tribute to the recently departed blues legend Bugs Henderson, when they tackled Henderson’s original Daredevil With The Red Guitar.
A good two hours that don’t bore you for a second. For the finale came Andy’s version of Hendrix’s classic Little Wing, in which the man showed, the only time during the whole show, that he can also sing quite solidly when he has to! Otherwise it was a collection of original treats for every gourmet of top-notch guitar rock! From older ones like Electric Gypsy and Cry For You at the close of the show, to a generous showcase of the latest solo album »Resolution« from 2006, when in the first half of the show we got Lydia, Helipad, Gone (dedicated to those who died on 09/11/2001, when the New York twin towers collapsed), Ghost of You, Deliver Us,…
The marathon show proved that Andy Timmons enjoyed the concert ambience of an intimate club experience, which brings you within arm’s reach of the audience. You can hardly get closer to a musician of such caliber and reputation. An Andy Timmons concert? Pure fantasy, the kind that makes every fairy tale come true! Timmons can do absolutely everything. If you’re a guitarist and you take yourself seriously, you simply have to see an Andy Timmons concert at least once in your life.
Setlist
1. Emin Jam
2. Super 70s
3. Pink Champagne
4. Beautiful Strange
5. Theme From A Perfect World
6. Welcome Home
7. Lydia
8. Deliver Us
9. Helipad
10. Ghost Of You
11. Gone
12, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
13. With A Little Help From My Friends
14. Lucy In The SKy With The Diamonds
15. A Day In The Life
16. Good Morning ,Good Morning
17. Sgt. Pepper’s (Reprise)
18. Day In THe Life
19. Dundee
20. Daredevil With The Red Guitar
21. Solo bass guitar
22. Electric Gypsy
23. Cry For You
24. Little Wing
Photo gallery
