Post by Ryan on Aug 21, 2006 1:44:17 GMT -5
I was looking through some of my old guitar magazines from the early 90s to see if I could find any Blind Melon articles.
I found this write-up of a Neil Young/Soundgarden/Blind Melon concert in "Guitar School" (Jan. 1994). The short article isn't too flattering towards Blind Melon, but they don't completely slander them either. They actually misspell Shannons name - they call him Shannon Moon. Ha!
Here's the PDF that you can download, or the text and photos are below also:
rapidshare.de/files/30180061/GuitarSchool_Jan1994.pdf.html
GUITAR SCHOOL, January 1994
The PIT
Neil Young
Soundgarden
Blind Melon
Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, New York
Aug. 20, 1993
I WONDER IF NEIL YOUNG invited the likes of Blind Melon, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam to open his tour to salute them, underline his profound influence on their music, or just show them who’s boss? Because at 47, Young still kicks out the jams with more power, passion and true grit than any of his young admirers.
At the Jones Beach Ampitheater, Young took the stage after a powerful electrical storm ripped through the area. It lit up the sky and pelted both the sold-out audience, and the opening band, Soundgarden, with driving horizontal sheets of rain. After saluting the crowd’s forbearance, Young generated his own electrical storm, unleashing a powerful, rip-snortin’ two-and-a-half-hour show.
Returning to his battle-scarred black Gretsch after nearly two years of playing acoustic shows in support of his Harvest Moon and Unplugged albums, Young breathed new life into such classics as “Like a Hurricane,” “Southern Man,” and “Love to Burn.”Backed by soul legends/Rock n Roll Hall of Fame members Booker T. & the MGs, Young displayed a bit more finesse and subtlety than usual, but without giving up an inch of his trademark distorted wailings. Though this line-up may seem odd on the surface, the MGs proved a perfect foil for Young. Donal “Duck” Dunn’s loping, rock-solid bass-lines maintained each song’s form, no matter how far out on a limb Young went with his solos. Guitarist Steve Cropper traded licks with Young and spurred him onto ever-greater heights of sixth-string dementia. The show ended with cathartic encore performances of Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” (Cropper co-wrote the song and the MGs played on the original) and Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” that left the crowd dazed and deliriously happy. It was a performance that won’t soon be forgotten.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of the evening’s opening bands; both played fine, but weren’t exactly earth-moving. Ignoring the heavens, which were opening above them, threatening to sweep the audience out to sea, Soundgarden played crisp and energetic, if monolithic, set highlights included “Rusty Cage” and “Outshined,” as well as several new songs from their upcoming album, which sound. . . well, kind of like all of their songs. Blind Melon opened the evening with a pleasant low-key 30-minute set. Vocalist Shannon Moon, is a charismatic performer, and guitarist Christopher Thorn keeps things interesting with off-kilter rhythms and the occasional use of mandolin. He leaves lead-guy Rogers Stevens plenty of solo space. Ironically, a spirited rendition of their hit “No Rain,” didn’t do anything to help the weather.
-Alan Paul
I found this write-up of a Neil Young/Soundgarden/Blind Melon concert in "Guitar School" (Jan. 1994). The short article isn't too flattering towards Blind Melon, but they don't completely slander them either. They actually misspell Shannons name - they call him Shannon Moon. Ha!
Here's the PDF that you can download, or the text and photos are below also:
rapidshare.de/files/30180061/GuitarSchool_Jan1994.pdf.html
GUITAR SCHOOL, January 1994
The PIT
Neil Young
Soundgarden
Blind Melon
Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, New York
Aug. 20, 1993
I WONDER IF NEIL YOUNG invited the likes of Blind Melon, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam to open his tour to salute them, underline his profound influence on their music, or just show them who’s boss? Because at 47, Young still kicks out the jams with more power, passion and true grit than any of his young admirers.
At the Jones Beach Ampitheater, Young took the stage after a powerful electrical storm ripped through the area. It lit up the sky and pelted both the sold-out audience, and the opening band, Soundgarden, with driving horizontal sheets of rain. After saluting the crowd’s forbearance, Young generated his own electrical storm, unleashing a powerful, rip-snortin’ two-and-a-half-hour show.
Returning to his battle-scarred black Gretsch after nearly two years of playing acoustic shows in support of his Harvest Moon and Unplugged albums, Young breathed new life into such classics as “Like a Hurricane,” “Southern Man,” and “Love to Burn.”Backed by soul legends/Rock n Roll Hall of Fame members Booker T. & the MGs, Young displayed a bit more finesse and subtlety than usual, but without giving up an inch of his trademark distorted wailings. Though this line-up may seem odd on the surface, the MGs proved a perfect foil for Young. Donal “Duck” Dunn’s loping, rock-solid bass-lines maintained each song’s form, no matter how far out on a limb Young went with his solos. Guitarist Steve Cropper traded licks with Young and spurred him onto ever-greater heights of sixth-string dementia. The show ended with cathartic encore performances of Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” (Cropper co-wrote the song and the MGs played on the original) and Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” that left the crowd dazed and deliriously happy. It was a performance that won’t soon be forgotten.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of the evening’s opening bands; both played fine, but weren’t exactly earth-moving. Ignoring the heavens, which were opening above them, threatening to sweep the audience out to sea, Soundgarden played crisp and energetic, if monolithic, set highlights included “Rusty Cage” and “Outshined,” as well as several new songs from their upcoming album, which sound. . . well, kind of like all of their songs. Blind Melon opened the evening with a pleasant low-key 30-minute set. Vocalist Shannon Moon, is a charismatic performer, and guitarist Christopher Thorn keeps things interesting with off-kilter rhythms and the occasional use of mandolin. He leaves lead-guy Rogers Stevens plenty of solo space. Ironically, a spirited rendition of their hit “No Rain,” didn’t do anything to help the weather.
-Alan Paul