Waddy Wachtel Band: Reviews and News


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Reviews and News - November 16, 2013
Review: Waddy Wachtel Band 11/16/13

Note from Nina:

By the time the Waddy Wachtel Band hit the stage for their first set Saturday night 11/16/13 at The Joint in Los Angeles the place was packed. Everyone was eager to get rocked up, and the band was eager to give it to us.... And they sure did!

The Joint was filled with happy rock and rollers as well as lights and cameramen. Gary Simson, the director of the in-progress documentary on Waddy, was there with his crew filming.

Bernard Fowler started things off with lead vocals on "You Got Me Rockin'." That was the message of the night...... Everyone sang: "Yeah! Yeah! You got me rockin'!" Waddy Wachtel, Brett Tuggle and Blondie Chaplin joined the chorus singing harmony vocals. Superb way to begin the night! It was cool to have Bernard, Blondie and Brett back with WWB. That's a lot of great B's. And a great PJ as well. Phil Jones sits at that drum kit and provides the solid and versatile beats all night that make the ride sail in all directions.

Brett then took us further down the rockin' road "All the Way to Memphis" singing lead with his fingers dancing on his keyboard. To the delight of everyone, Mindi Abair rocked around the stage playing saxophone and joining Waddy and Jamie Savko on harmony vocals. Brett had been on tour with Fleetwood Mac, but unfortunately John McVie had to undergo treatment for cancer so the Australian leg of the tour was cancelled. John is on the road to recovery. We were happy to have Brett back with WWB!

The amazing Jamie Savko then thrilled everyone with his lead vocals on "Problem Child." With Jamie and Waddy harmonizing on that song, no one had a problem!

Bernard took the mic next and sang his wonderful version of "She's So Cold." I can tell you that when Bernard sings that, there's not a cold chick in the place. They were all HOT! Especially fun when Bernard and the band segue into a reggae beat in the middle of the song. Bernard has been working on his new cd which looks to be great.

Hold on as we move down that rockin' road..... Bernard, joined by Waddy and Jamie on harmony vocals, told us "I Can't Let Go." Yes, we can't let go either! Don't want to!

Blondie Chaplin returned from doing some gigs with The Beach Boys this summer to sing one of the tunes he sang with them on tour "Wild Honey." Sweet! Blondie also sang "Sail On Sailor" with the Beach Boys at those gigs - the tune he sang lead vocals on for their album. Nice to have Blondie back on our stage!

More traveling on the rockin' road....... Lukas Nelson (son of Willie Nelson) came back to sit in with WWB again and took us "Further On Up the Road." A taste of blues with Waddy, Lukas and Brett smoothly transitioning between solos. Very talented young man Lukas is!

Movin' on down (or up) the road we need to fuel up. Keith Allison helped us "Pump It Up." Keith always pumps us up! Mindi added more fuel with her great sax solos on that tune. Mindi is working on a cd of her own tunes that she's planning on having released in April. Should be great! Waddy co-wrote and played on one of the tunes on the album.

No WWB night is complete without a Warren Zevon song, right? Right! Keith belted out "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" and no one was gonna "lay my head on the railroad tracks." We were on the train with WWB! Watching Waddy play those fantastic riffs and then in between use that slide on his guitar neck - everyone was sliding down the road!

Chug-a-chug...... Here we go..... Jamie has such a versatile voice, as quite a few fans have said, and with such a wide range. He got us all in unanimous motion as he sang "Girl's Got Rhythm." Girls and guys were rhythming right along!

Brett finished off the set with "I Am the Walrus." Goo goo g'joob! With Waddy's fingers in a blur on those strings - they were moving so fast. We were now flying!

Short break time. :-)

I'll speed things up a bit for the second set. I'm sorry if I write too much, but most people tell me they enjoy reading about the shows. Thank you for your sweet words!

Jamie, Waddy and Brett - vocal harmonies on “I Can See For Miles” are breathtaking. Need I say we were were seeing for miles - clear rockin' road ahead - full steam!

Jamie took us up the "Misty Mountain Hop" as only he can. Wow! Easy road up that mountain with Jamie.

Bernard and Lukas wailed through “Hoochie Coochie Man" taking control of that tune..... and us.

Everyone loves Bernard's vocals on "Heroes." Ya gotta hear it! Bernard with WWB - magical!

Waddy then gave us lead vocals on "Live With Me." Yay! With all those other singers taking turns delivering great lead vocals, it's always a treat to hear Waddy show that he's not just an amazing guitarist, producer and composer - but he's also got a fantastic singing voice.

Saxophones! Mindi and Ron both brought their brass on stage to rock it up and spice up Brett's vocals on "Lady Madonna." It worked beautifully!

Two more from Blondie. "Lawyers Guns and Money" and “A Change Is Gonna Come." Blondie does some amazing things with his voice on “A Change Is Gonna Come," and I was mesmerized by Waddy's guitar playing.

Toot toot! Get on board! Keith Allison invited us to "C'Mon Everybody" so we did! Mindi added the toot toot on her sax. Well, it was more than a toot toot - it was some delightful blasting!

Don't call me a bitch! Unless you're WWB playing "Bitch." Jamie on lead vocals, Waddy and Brett singing harmonies, Brett playing a guitar solo, and Mindi and Ron blowing through the sax reeds...... Love may be a bitch, but WWB ain't!

We will keep rockin'...... As Bernard told us to for the last song of the night "Rockin' In the Free World." Lucky us!

I know that everyone who was there 11/16 enjoyed the ride and are feeling that lovely r 'n' r glow on a beautiful Sunday. I am! I hope this review helped some of you who weren't there to be able to feel how fantastic it was. If you weren't there, do yourself a favor and take a ride over to join WWB at their next gig!

Set List:
On all songs:
Waddy Wachtel - Lead Guitar
Phil Jones - Drums
Rick Rosas - Bass

First Set:
1. "You Got Me Rockin'" (The Rolling Stones) Bernard Fowler lead vocals; Waddy Wachtel harmony vocals and slide guitar; Brett Tuggle keyboards and harmony vocals; Blondie Chaplin harmony vocals
2. "All the Way to Memphis" (Ian Hunter) Brett lead vocals and keyboards; Waddy and Jamie harmony vocals; Mindi Abair saxophone and harmony vocals
3. "Problem Child" (AC/DC) Jamie Savko lead vocals; Waddy harmony vocals; Brett guitar
4. "She's So Cold" (The Rolling Stones) Bernard lead vocals; Waddy harmony vocals; Brett guitar
5. "I Can't Let Go" (The Hollies) Bernard lead vocals; Waddy and Jamie harmony vocals; Brett guitar and harmony vocals
6. "Wild Honey" (The Beach Boys) Blondie lead vocals and guitar; Waddy and Jaime harmony vocals; Brett keyboards and harmony vocals
7. “Further On Up the Road” (Robey, Veasey) Lukas Nelson lead vocals and guitar; Brett keyboards
8. "Pump It Up" (Elvis Costello) Keith Allison lead vocals and guitar; Waddy harmony vocals; Brett keyboards and harmony vocals; Mindi saxophone
9. “Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (Warren Zevon) Keith lead vocals and guitar; Waddy harmony vocals and slide guitar; Brett harmony vocals
10. "Girl's Got Rhythm" (AC/DC) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy harmony vocals; Brett guitar and harmony vocals
11. “I Am The Walrus” (The Beatles) Brett lead vocals and keyboards; Waddy harmony vocals

Second Set:
1. “I Can See For Miles” (The Who) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy harmony vocals; Brett guitar and harmony vocals
2. “Misty Mountain Hop” (Led Zeppelin) Jamie lead vocals; Brett keyboards
3. “Hoochie Coochie Man” (Willie Dixon) Bernard and Lukas lead vocals; Waddy slide guitar; Lukas guitar; Brett keyboards
4. “Heroes" (David Bowie) Bernard lead vocals; Brett keyboards; Ron Dziubla saxophone
5. “Live With Me” (The Rolling Stones) Waddy lead vocals; Jamie harmony vocals; Brett keyboards; Ron saxophone
6. "Lady Madonna" (The Beatles) Brett lead vocals and keyboards; Waddy and Jamie harmony vocals; Mindi saxophone; Ron saxophone
7. "Lawyers Guns and Money" (Warren Zevon) Blondie lead vocals and guitar
8. “A Change Is Gonna Come” (Sam Cooke) Blondie lead vocals and guitar; Brett keyboards
9. "C'Mon Everybody" (Eddie Cochran) Keith lead vocals and guitar; Waddy harmony vocals; Brett keyboards and harmony vocals; Mindi saxophone
10. "Bitch" (The Rolling Stones) Jamie lead vocals; Waddy harmony vocals; Brett guitar and guitar solo; Mindi saxophone; Ron saxophone
11. "Rockin' In the Free World" (Neil Young) Bernard lead vocals; Waddy, Blondie and Lukas harmony vocals; Brett guitar and harmony vocals

Waddy always says thank you at the end of the night - not only to the wonderful musicians and singers who have performed with him, but to those of you rockers who come to these gigs. Love to all of you!

Many thanks also to the great WWB crew tonight: John Philbrick, Charlie McIntosh, Mark Nathanson, Norm Sancho, Anna Whalen. And thanks to the folks at The Joint for all they do to make this experience so delightful: Ondrea Faillace, Fernando and the bar maids, bar dudes and security helpers.

Upcoming gigs:
At The Joint Los Angeles:
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013 - Holiday Bash

See you there and Keep Rockin'!!!

Photos by Robert Bruns......

Waddy Wachtel, Phil Jones, Rick Rosas, Bernard Fowler, Jamie Savko, Brett Tuggle

Bernard Fowler, Brett Tuggle	Mindi Abair, Jamie Savko	Waddy Wachtel, Phil Jones, Mindi Abair
Ron Dziubla, Waddy Wachtel, Phil Jones, Bernard Fowler, Rick Rosas	Waddy Wachtel, Brett Tuggle	Ron Dziubla, Mindi Abair, Waddy Wachtel
Bernard Fowler, Rick Rosas	Phil Jones, Blondie Chaplin, Rick Rosas	Brett Tuggle
Mindi Abair, Waddy Wachtel, Phil Jones	Keith Allison	Waddy Wachtel, Phil Jones, Lukas Nelson