Niedziela 17 Gru 2006, 13:39
Living Colour has been my favorite band hands down since I first saw them at CBGB's in NYC in the late 80's. Vivid, Time's Up and Biscuits (Japanese version) will remain to be some of my favorite albums of all time. In my opinion, everything went downhill after the leaving of Muzz Skillings and Doug Wimbish coming onboard, which lead to the disapointing "Stain" and the dismal "Collideoscope". Don't get me wrong here, I'm fully aware of Wimbish's talents, dedication to the band and I know for a fact that he happens to be a very nice person as well. However, his artistic and over-the top playing style as a bassist have had a negative impact on the band overall in my opinion. Living colour needs a bassist (like Muzz) who understands and respects the role as a bassist instead of continuously overstepping his artistic boundaries such as playing the bass like a guitar and utilizing 36 effects pedals and God knows what else. Now it appears whenever I visit one of their shows, including the one in Tilburg last night, as if there is a communication and/or ego struggle between Wimbish and the incredibly gifted founder/guitarist Vernon Reid.
This became apparent last night when Wimbish once again went into one of his so called artistic solo tantrums, completely forgetting himself and causing chaos, leading to miscommunication and technical failures which led to a temporary halt of an otherwise excellent show. Fortunately the crowd was treated to an incredible drumsolo by Calhoun to fill the gap. Time for Wimbish to start his own band where he can showcase his obvious talent and different artistic views. (if he is able to keep himself in check and understand his personal boundaries that is)
The setlist was excellent, lots of Vivid and Time's up tracks, keeping their latest sub-par work to a minimum. The show wasn't as tight as the Paradiso concert, but all in all a very good show all around. Corey, as almost always, continues to amaze and keeps the audience wanting for more and more. Calhoun continues to kill, and I'd love to know where he gets his energy from. Incredible and awe-inspiring.
The fact that 95% of the audience was around my age (30-35) worries me, since I have to conclude that LC has trouble finding a new and younger following. Colour, if they want to keep progressing and connect with a new crowd should stay true to themselves without Doug Wimbish. But hey, that's my opinion.
Overall rating: (despite Wimbish) B+
-amsteryank