| Author | Message | ||
  DyvaNaye (westside314) 6-Zenith Username: westside314 Post Number: 466 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 205.188.116.138 |
I meant to put this post up last week, but I did not get a chance... On Wednesday night, May 19 2004, and for the first time in my life, I got to see Blood Sweat and Tears...but the only member left is David Clayton Thomas, and I might say ...HE DELIVERED. I spotted in a newspaper that he would be a BB Kings in Times Square, NY and I called up my partner in crime The Chancellor of Soul and said 'MIKE!!! BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS...aaaauuughhh!!! We gotta go!!!' Fortunately Mike understands these cries of distress...being a victim of 'melodious movements' such as I...lol...'and away we went'. WELL! I might say that the opening act must've been a cousin or something he was sgiving a break to...I dont even remember who she was...that is how unforgettabble her performance was... But then DCT arrived with a NEW BST...the first thing I commented on is: 'who are these high school students he has playing with him?' Of course Mike trying to smooth the moment over by not busting out laughing at what I said, summed it up as:'all those guys are either retired or gone...' Well never the less, I am sure one or two of them were his son and grandson...but those kids could BLOW! It was not quite the same intensity as the originals, but they handled the job well... I was definetly impressed with DCT's vocal abilities...he can still knock down a tune! Of course he aged but he still has that 'wicked' vibrato... The highlighted songs of the evening were: And When I Die - you should have heard the audience trying to get the hand claps right on the break parts...funny stuff... Go Down Gamblin' - ('you may never have to go...Lord...nooooo!' I love when he says that! Lucretia McEvil - that song has got the funkiest beat... More Than You'll Ever Know - look, not for nothing but you could have counted the African Americans in that audience...Mike and I were 2 out of maybe 8...but when he sang this..'he took it to church'...and I acted like I was there too...(probably thinking of Donny Hathaway)Hear Me in the audience: 'Sing David!'...of course the audience giggled...it's just the spirit of the thing, man...can't hold it down...He did a great job on that... Spinning Wheel - and he did the WHOLE version...cow bell and all...the jam! Then he provided some 'c and d' cuts on the BST albums and repitoire that I forgot the names of..I will look them up and re-post...never the less the 'BST heads' knew them...so did I, but havent heard them in a while... He talked about how BST formed in Greenwich Village in NY, and how 'back in the day' when you turned every corner you could run into Hendrix at a studio, Joplin, Clapton and the like...it almost made you misty eyed to see him reminisce with a star in his eye...notable to me in the crowd was the Vietnam Vets who jammed off of this stuff...I saw a few who wore their stuff to the show... He introduced his new music which sounds just as good as the classics...he has a cd scheduled to be released sometime this year as 'BST'... Then he closed the show with 'You've Made Me So Very Happy' and I might say this might have been the real reason that I had to go to that show, just to feel that 68-69 feeling again, when all my family was together, alive and enjoying life...that song was a 'walk through Central Park on a sun-shiny day on your way to a picnic in the late 60's and early 70's. Those of you who live in NY and are old enough to remember should know the feeling Im talking about. NY was FABULOUS back then... ...and he did not dissapoint on that tune. I might say I got a little misty and sang it out loud with him...so did Mike.It just a song you've got to sing. I had a great time and if DCT and BST some to your city, dont miss it. You will not be dissapointed. ...'and when I die...and when Im dead and gone...they'll be one child born in the world to carry on,... to carry on...yeah'.... -DCT/BST Peace and good music, DyvaNye | ||
funkcity (funkcity) 1-Arriviste Username: funkcity Post Number: 6 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.77.124.61 |
Go To: Davidclaytonthomas.com "Bloodlines" a somewhat recent album actually brought back the old BS&T horn section and they played!...Lew Soloff, Fred Lipsius Randy Brecker etc... At 60 yo+ DCT kickes ass! Peace | ||
Jimmy Mack (luke) 5-Doyen Username: luke Post Number: 208 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.198.48.201 |
DCT always struck me as blustery and over the top. And I think the old BST/Al Koopper agree tho Im glad u enjoyed the show!! I remember seeing Brenda Holloway doing Youve Made Me So Very Happy on TV in 60s and I fell in love!!I love her version-even though she prefers BS&T! | ||
funkcity (funkcity) 1-Arriviste Username: funkcity Post Number: 8 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.77.124.61 |
The begining of Jazz-Rock = BST They would routinely break into swing and latin sections of their songs. Eventually they were deemed as non-comercial...but quite musically interesting! | ||
DyvaNaye (westside314) 6-Zenith Username: westside314 Post Number: 469 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.12.116.138 |
I love the Brenda Holloway version as well...but ther is just something about that BST version that 'wears me out'...The Al Kooper -BST combo did nothing for me...I disliked that album he did with them and find myself often thinking 'why did I buy that thing?'...Give me DCT anyday...bad 'mo-fong-go'... funkcity: Thanks for the 'heads-up' on the DCT site...I like the pictures of him...I am looking forward to getting the Bloodlines cd...clever name... | ||
ralph (ralph) Moderator Username: ralph Post Number: 302 Registered: 3-2004 Posted From: 209.240.205.61 |
BS&T may have enjoyed a much longer career than they had if it weren't for the boorish off stage antics of DCT. He was a prime example of someone who was way too full of himslf and thought he could do exactly as he pleased and it caught up with him. The guy could sing but basically he was a jerk. | ||
Eli (phillysoulman) 6-Zenith Username: phillysoulman Post Number: 497 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 70.16.130.124 |
Ralph, True story. One day during the waning stages of BS&T, I was in NYC in Greensich Village one Saturday afternoon, when DCT was waling with a couple of other folks, and he exclaimed: "what a great day to be David Clayton Thomas"!! Talking about full of himself. Could you just imagine the Pope exclaiming: "Ah, what a great day to be the Pope"!! I dont think so. BTW, the Vibrations band did a slamin version of Spinning Wheel!! | ||
Eli (phillysoulman) 6-Zenith Username: phillysoulman Post Number: 498 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 70.16.130.124 |
That should have read Greenwich. Paulie snuck in there for a second, capice??@#$^&* | ||
douglasm (douglasm) 4-Laureate Username: douglasm Post Number: 82 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.113.12.67 |
DCT never seems to show up when "Blue Eyed Soul" threads appear. He's got the voice for it, but there's something in the presentation that to me was always lacking, in the same way Dennis Johnson of Chase had the vocal "chops" but with a certain "something" preventing him from being really good. I guess as a reverse example, Al Kooper can't sing worth a damn, but I'd listen to him all day long. | ||
funkcity (funkcity) 1-Arriviste Username: funkcity Post Number: 9 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.169.237.246 |
Dennis Johnson of Chase..... Whoa! I saw them at: Cobo Hall 19xx? as a warm up for Ike and Tina Turner. 4 trumpets in the Cobo echo chamber...great band but it sounded especially bad in that place! Unique Voices you either like or don't like: David Clayton Thomas Michael McDonald Doug Mallory (obscure but from Canada's Dr. Music) These guys swallow their words uniquely enough to create their own "sound". Just don't try to pick out the lyrics! ;-) Ha! | ||
Erik T (erik_t) 3-Pundit Username: erik_t Post Number: 31 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.228.108.148 |
I like BS&T. I wish they'd recorded a live album early on, I've listened to the Japanese release and it sounded on the, uh, flat side. Even with the Breckers on board (76). I saw them last summer, and was mostly underwhelmed although the 'So Very Happy' encore was a nice highlight to the evening, I thought the band meandered too much with out doing anything too exciting. I didn't know he was known to be such a blowhard. When he was a teen ager in Toronto he was sent to jail for stealing a car, and like Neil Young he seemed to have gotten outta here as soon as he could. | ||
Sudi Kamau (sudi_kamau) 4-Laureate Username: sudi_kamau Post Number: 77 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 172.147.139.135 |
I liked David Clayton Thomas's singing better than most of those "blue-eyed Soul" acts, but I've heard that he was a real jerk. I liked Blood Sweat & Tears quite a bit. | ||
Erik T (erik_t) 3-Pundit Username: erik_t Post Number: 32 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.228.108.42 |
By the way, Al Kooper is touring again. He's supposed to play Toronto in july. The word 'funk' was in the name of his current band whose full name escapes me like most names... anyhow, has anyone here seen them? | ||
DyvaNaye (westside314) 6-Zenith Username: westside314 Post Number: 474 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 152.163.252.200 |
FunkCity: Please note the thread that I am going to start in your honor. 'Unique Voices'. Read on! | ||
Jimmy Mack (luke) 5-Doyen Username: luke Post Number: 225 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.198.48.201 |
Yes I agree with funkcity--McDOnald and Thomas stike me as pretentious/not genuine in their singing--does anyone else feel that or am I off?Dont jump on me too much for saying this but on rare occasions I actually prfer Michael Bolton when some sincerity comes thru(Im heading for cover--I do NOT like his "singing" overall and of course hate the whole Isleys things and his attitude). Rob Thomas has more soul than all of them. | ||
DyvaNaye (westside314) 6-Zenith Username: westside314 Post Number: 485 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 209.212.74.212 |
Rob Thomas is the bomb though... | ||
Bong-Man (bongman) 1-Arriviste Username: bongman Post Number: 8 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 63.148.123.128 |
David Clayton Thomas caused a big mess in the Detroit area in the late 80's. He played a small theater show in Bloomfield Hills and made the following statement..... "Its hotter in here than a box-car headed to Auschwitz" Not a very smart thing to say in a predominently Jewish town. Needless to say an apology was issued. He's done faux pas of that type several times in his career. | ||
DyvaNaye (westside314) 6-Zenith Username: westside314 Post Number: 491 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 152.163.252.200 |
ooooooo...not very Kosher of him....I see he is the kind who will take it to the edge and then pull back...Never the less, the man can still blow. Talent: undeniable. | ||
Jimmy Mack (luke) 5-Doyen Username: luke Post Number: 233 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.198.48.201 |
What a pig DCT is for that comment. Its not a human comment to make in any town. | ||
funkcity (funkcity) 2-Debutant Username: funkcity Post Number: 14 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.169.237.246 |
DCT in a Black Leather outfit circa 1968... The Place : Central Michigan University. The band jammed and soloed and DCT rocked. Al Kooper never had the voice to "compete" with the BS&T horns. BS&T never had a hit album until DCT arrived. Recently I saw BS&T out here in Pasedena. The current band plays 1/2 nighters on the weekends then returns to NY their home base. It's a great living if you can pull it off ! |
