Waddy Wachtel Band: August 29, 2015


Home	Discography / Credits / Gigs / Songs	Articles / Interviews	Photos / Videos	Contact	Waddy Wachtel Band	Search	Mailing List

Reviews and News - August 29, 2015
Review: Waddy Wachtel Band 8/29/15

Note from Nina:

First...... everyone in the Waddy Wachtel Band wants to thank all of you great Rockers for joining them at The Mint Saturday night 8/29/15. I saw all of you rockin' and rollin' and having so much fun! I know, we all want to thank WWB too!

It's been really hot in Los Angeles, but there was a nice breeze blowing when we got to The Mint. And that moon! Wow! Full, huge and bright. Like a guiding light shining down on our ROCK 'n' ROLL! The a/c was pumping in The Mint - keeping us cool, but WWB got us heated up nicely, and with some AC/DC. Very hot and cool!

There's absolutely no substitute for WWB, and when Jamie Savko started the night off with his incredible vocals on "Substitute" we all knew he wasn't a substitute - but the real thing. Waddy Wachtel was burning us up with his amazing playing - watching his fingers on that guitar is awe inspiring. Phil Jones never misses a beat on those drums - he's like a fine tuned machine that just keeps moving. Al Ortiz makes his bass sound like thunder - the good kind. I firmly believe Al can play anything. Robert Davis came to sit in for Brett Tuggle (who got called away at the last minute and couldn't make the show) playing on most of the tunes and delighting everyone with his mastery of the guitar.

The second song made me smile: "If You Can't Rock Me." WWB always rocks us! If they can't rock you, you'd better to check to see if you're still breathing. :-)

Then in the a/c we got AC/DC. "Girl's Got Rhythm" The rhythm of Waddy's lead guitar and Jamie's lead vocals mixed with Phil, Al and Robert..... I don't think there was a person in the place who didn't feel the rhythm.

Blondie Chaplin took center stage to belt out "Lawyers Guns and Money" and "Wild Honey." You might not know this, but Blondie sang lead vocals on the Beach Boys recording of "Sail On Sailor" and sang "Wild Honey" with Brian Wilson on his recent tour. Waddy told of how he met Blondie in the 70's at a Beach Boys recording session, and was blown away by his vocals. Yes, Blondie always blows us away with those vocals.

Next was one of my favorite Stones songs "Live With Me" - with Waddy on lead vocals? That's right! Waddy puts so much emotion into his singing, while burning up the strings on his guitar. And Mindi Abair got up to join the fun playing amazing saxophone solos. Mindi is a rocker!

Keith Allison then got everyone singing along on "C'mon Everybody." Okay, Keith, we're with you! He then moved it right along with a song WWB hadn't played for us before "Tuff Enuff." He was tuff enuff for us - such a wonderful performer. Another treat towards the end of the song was Waddy and Robert dueling guitar solos. Ahhhhh!

Jamie then took us to "Itchycoo Park" where we all got "high there" from his great lead vocals and Waddy and Al adding great vocal harmonies. Yes, Al can sing too!

They ended the first set with "The Ocean." Again, Jamie hitting incredible notes with his vocals. And Waddy getting us all singing along on the "la la la las" Ooooh la la! The audience was like an ocean of rockers swaying in perfect harmony!

After a short break, we were all pumped up and ready for..... more, please!

The second set started with another song WWB hadn't played for us before "Coloured Rain." It was written and recorded by Traffic, then The Animals recorded it and released it as "Colored Rain." Jamie nailed the lead vocals, and Waddy, Phil, Al and Robert made it their own.

More AC/DC..... breaking on in to "Jailbreak" and WWB made everyone want to break IN with them.

Okay....... let's all sing some more. Waddy and Jamie sharing verses on "Lola" and all of us singing with them. L-O-L-A Lola!

Mindi joined the band again on "Rip This Joint." She sure did! The boys moved aside to give her center stage, then they all burned through it ripping the place apart.

Blondie got everyone in a Sam Cooke kind of mood with "A Change Is Gonna Come" and showing his vocal prowess toward the end where he'd sing notes that Waddy would duplicate on his guitar afterwards. So good!

Keith got up for "Just Like Me" - a song he played with Paul Revere and the Raiders live many times. Just like him to keep rockin' us all!

If you want to hear some great vocal harmonies, you have to check out Waddy and Jamie singing "Ruby Tuesday." We did! Perfect blend of voices!

Another thing you must hear is Jamie singing "Immigrant Song." We did! He hits those high notes like it's a walk in the park. Such natural talent in that man. Led Zep songs aren't easy to get right, but Waddy knows his amazing band can do it - and they did! Waddy, Phil, Al and Robert nailed it!

Where were we? L.A. "I Love L.A." We love L.A. ...... with WWB. Waddy played rhythm guitar and sang background vocals on that song on Randy Newman's album. We're lovin' L.A. even more when Waddy and Jamie are singing it. Funny..... I kept singing "I Love L.A. L-O-L-A Lola" this morning.

More Stones? Okay! How about "Bitch"? Oh yeah! Ron Djiubla stopped by after an earlier concert and he and Mindi both got up to play - double saxophones! Be still my beating heart! No way! The only thing that was a bitch was knowing there was only one song left for the night.

"Sin City" .... where the lights are bright .... our brightest lights were up on that stage. Jamie told us all about it. Waddy showed us how to burn up those guitar strings. Phil made our hearts thump. Al gave us a bass to stand on. Robert kept the rhythm for us.

Well, rockers, I'm sorry for those of you who couldn't be with us. I hope my notes help a little and that you can join us next time. For those of you who were there, thanks again for coming - wasn't it a great night?!!!!!!!

Set List:
On all songs:
Waddy Wachtel - Lead Guitar
Phil Jones - Drums
Al Ortiz - Bass

First Set:
1. “Substitute” (The Who) Jamie Savko lead vocals; Waddy Wachtel and Al Ortiz harmony vocals; Robert Davis guitar
2. "If You Can't Rock Me" (The Rolling Stones) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy harmony vocals; Robert guitar
3. "Girl's Got Rhythm" (AC/DC) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy and Blondie Chaplin harmony vocals; Robert guitar
4. "Lawyers Guns and Money" (Warren Zevon) Blondie lead vocals; Robert guitar
5. "Wild Honey" (The Beach Boys) Blondie lead vocals and guitar; Waddy and Jamie harmony vocals; Robert guitar
6. “Live With Me” (The Rolling Stones) Waddy lead vocals; Jamie harmony vocals; Mindi Abair saxophone; Robert guitar
7. "C'Mon Everybody" (Eddie Cochran) Keith Allison lead vocals and guitar; Waddy and audience harmony vocals; Mindi saxophone
8. "Tuff Enuff" (The Fabulous Thunderbirds) Keith lead vocals and guitar; Robert guitar
9. “Itchycoo Park” (Small Faces) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy and Al harmony vocals; Robert guitar
10. "The Ocean" (Led Zeppelin) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy and the audience harmony vocals; Robert guitar

Second Set:
1. "Coloured Rain" (Traffic) Jamie lead vocals; Robert guitar
2. "Jailbreak" (AC/DC) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy and Al harmony vocals; Robert guitar
3. "Lola" (The Kinks) Waddy and Jamie lead vocals; Al and the audience harmony vocals; Robert guitar
4. “Rip This Joint” (The Rolling Stones) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy harmony vocals; Mindi saxophone; Robert guitar
5. "A Change Is Gonna Come" (Sam Cooke) Blondie lead vocals and guitar; Robert guitar
6. “Just Like Me” (Paul Revere and the Raiders) Keith lead vocals and guitar; Waddy harmony vocals
7. “Ruby Tuesday” (The Rolling Stones) Jamie and Waddy lead harmony vocals; Robert guitar
8. "Immigrant Song" (Led Zeppelin) Jamie lead vocals; Robert guitar
9. "I Love L.A." (Randy Newman) Waddy and Jamie lead harmony vocals; Robert guitar
10. "Bitch" (The Rolling Stones) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy harmony vocals; Mindi saxophone; Ron Djiubla saxophone; Robert guitar
11. "Sin City" (AC/DC) Jamie lead vocals; Robert guitar

Thank you to those who help make these shows rock:
John Philbrick for being so on top of keeping the guitars and amps in tip top shape.
Mark Nathanson for making the sound zing.
Charlie McIntosh for welcoming everyone with a big smile, and his lovely assistant Anna Whalen.
Norm Sancho for assisting with set up and friends.
And especially....... All you Rockers who come to these gigs and share your wonderful energy and keep rockin' with WWB. You make these shows possible and delightful!

We don't have a confirmation on the next Waddy Wachtel Band gig yet, but I'll definitely let you know when we do. I know we all - band and fans - want it soooon!

Photos by Ken Rehor........

Waddy Wachtel, Phil Jones	Waddy Wachtel, Al Ortiz, Mindi Abair, Jamie Savko	Mindi Abair, Jamie Savko
Jamie Savko	Phil Jones	Mindi Abair
Keith Allison, Waddy Wachtel	Keith Allison	Robert Davis
Phil Jones, Al Ortiz	Jamie Savko, Blondie Chaplin, Phil Jones	Waddy Wachtel
Waddy Wachtel	Nina and Rockin' Audience