Quote:
Originally Posted by stealthn
Geez I went through 10 pages of this thread and no one said Les Paul.....Most guitar players owe a lot to Mr. Paul.
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I did I did, pg 16
Here is a little story about Les Paul:
About 20 yrs ago I was having dinner at the House of Blues in Chicago and Les was greeting people before the show. I politely excused myself from the table, walked over and had a nice long chat with this guitar and music icon. He was incredibly humble and engaging. He genuinely enjoyed chatting with fans or at least he made me feel that way. He asked if we were going to the show later (I didn't even know he was playing) and I mumbled "of course, wouldn't miss it".
I went back to the table where my dinner was cold and my wife was being incredibly gracious and patient. I explained to her that Les Paul, Slash, and Neal Schon were playing in an hour and I ummm... we really shouldn't miss it. Being the wife of a guitarist she has endured more than her fair share of guitarfests but she could tell from the stupid grin on my face and the way I kept jumping up and down that I ummm, we really needed to do this. She agreed, I got tix at the Box office and in we went.
The cliff notes:
It was indeed a big jam session with everyone leading off on one of their signature songs and each taking a solo.
Neal was visibly nervous sharing the stage with LP and he used too much chorus and other effects and seriously overplayed. I have seen him live many times with Journey but this was not his night.
Slash was Slash. Very humble and respectful of LP but seemed to relax a bit and let his signature sound shine through. He played well and really nailed the blues solos.
Les Paul was magnificent! He fell easily into the other guys tunes and really shined on his own. He has an unusual style that is truly American. Somewhere between jazz and bluegrass and when pressed he could really tear up the fretboard. This 70 something iconic guitarist definitely showed these two young whipersnappers a thing or two about playing guitar and engaging an audience.
One of my favorite concerts of all time. When Les passed away in 2009 I went out and bought a LP Studio Sunburst in his honor.