[kj] Boston show

[ceplaster at aol.com]

Boston rundown...


Great show
Great crowd
Great vocal mix
Great drum mix- except for kick, which was way too sub-heavy and sloppy.  Note to sound engineers. Shure Beta 52' suck. Worst mike ever.
Shit bass mix-   sound guy managed to make a Rickenbacker bass, arguably one of the brightest sounding basses known to man, sound like a complete pile of mush.  Note to sound engineers,  don't ever use a Shure Beta 52 on a bass rig.  Worst mike ever.
Shit Guitar mix-  kind of thin and undermixed for the most part.  The sound coming off the stage was much better.  




By and large, a loud mix is great as long as it sounds good.   Sound guy would do a lot better if he concentrated  less on making the low end sound like a techno track and concentrate on getting clarity and warmth out of the Geordies guitar and Youth's bass.   Not an easy job to be sure, but a lot of what makes the Joke unique was completely drowned out by the over the top sub bass.   On the other hand, must be said that the rest of the drum kit sounded great, and the engineer did a great job with Jaz's vocals.  Very clear and also used a lot of cool vocal effects throughout the show.


Probably the best turnout I've ever seen for a KJ Boston show.   I've seen the shows for Extremities, Pandemonium, 2003, and this one, and in addition to the turnout it was easily the most enthusiastic crowd they've drawn.    Wondering if the noticeably better press for this record has had an impact (duh).   Virtually no between song banter from Jaz.  Get the feeling he just despises being in America, but nonetheless he delivered as did the rest of the band.


Mixing sound at the Paradise is really hard work, and I'm guessing some of the issues from last nights show would not show up at other
venues,  but having said that I've never seen geordies guitar rig sound quite right at shows, and I'm sure it's not from lack of trying.   It's just tricky I guess.  


If todays news in Boston carries any reports of dead bodies being found in the Allston/Brighton area,  it might be worth checking to see if KJ's guitar tech has gone missing.   There was some sort of crap going on with Geordie last night, although there's no guarantee that the roadie was to blame, especially if there was booze involved.


Speaking of booze, the stage was largely alcohol free, which was a nice change, compared to seeing Geordie hanging out at the bar before the 2003 gig.   Also, with the last american tour,  there was a fair amount of talk that Jaz and Geordie just weren't taking care of themselves,  and for what it's worth they were both much more on their game this time around.


KJ, thanks for making the effort to come to Boston.  We loved it,  and hope we made it worth your while.  Live music and music in general is in such a sad state now,   it's great to see a band who knows what it's all about.  


-CP



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