Last week, a tribute show for the late Rick "The Bass Player" Rosas was held at the Black Rose Tavern in Los Angeles. (see In Memory of Rick "The Bass Player" Rosas)
Post by Pegi Young.
From Waddy Wachtel Band: January 10, 2015 by Nina:
The Waddy Wachtel Band - "Rocking for Rick" - January 10, 2015
it was an incredible night of exciting electrifying rock 'n' roll at The Joint (presently Black Rose Tavern) in Los Angeles Saturday night 1/10/15!!!! So many great performers and a huge appreciative audience came to honor Rick Rosas - original and long time bassist with WWB - who passed away in November. Everyone said: Thank You Rick for all the years of rockin' with WWB and so many other artists.
And it was sweet to have Bob Rosas (Rick's brother) and members of Rick's family joining us.
It was a cold rainy night here in Los Angeles, but the club was packed! And the performers gave an amazing show!!!! As many people as possible got to see the first set before there was no more room, and others waited outside in the rain to get in for the second set. WWB warmed everyone up!!!!!!
We got so many great songs in one night it was awe inspiring!
Here's a list of all the performers who graced the stage. You can check the set lists below to see which songs they performed on.
Waddy Wachtel
Phil Jones
Bernard Fowler
Brett Tuggle
Jamie Savko
Al Ortiz
Blondie Chaplin
Keith Allison
Ron Dziubla
Mindi Abair
Jack Tempchin
Terry Reid
Johnny Rivers
Jason Sinay
Darryl Jones
Pegi Young
Norm Sancho
Los Lobos
For those of you who want to read my notes on some of the songs...........
Johnny Rivers was first up on the stage with his electric ukulele telling of how long he'd known Rick and singing 2 songs solo without the band. For such a crowded room, everyone was quiet enjoying his emotional renditions.
Time to plug in and ROCK.........
It's hard to find a few words to describe Waddy Wachtel, but the best I can come up with is Magnificent Multitalented Maestro. Give Waddy a guitar and you're sure to hear some of the best music you've ever heard. We're very lucky to have Waddy put these shows together, but it also gives him - and us - the opportunity to Rock It Up together. I can never give Waddy enough praise!
Phil Jones demands your attention when he puts sticks to drums and cymbals. He's the bedrock that builds an exceptionally rockin' foundation for all these shows!
Brett Tuggle can play! Whether making his fingers dance on the keys or on the guitar strings, you know Brett always delivers ..... anything asked for. And the dude can sing!
Al Ortiz has sat in on bass for Rick when he was unavailable for a gig, and we're so glad he flies in from Arizona to thump those strings. Al did a great job, and was a perfect fit for Rick's spot on stage at the show!
Waddy, Phil, Al, Brett and Jamie jumped right into "The Ocean" and we all were happy to jump in with them. Blasting with so much energy and Jamie wailing on lead vocals - YESSSS!!!!
Bring on the horn section. Ron Dziubla and Mindi Abair blew those saxophones in perfect accompaniment to "Bitch" with Jamie again thrilling all with his vocals.
Next up was Bernard Fowler singing lead vocals on "Blue Jean" and "Jail Break" (the Thin Lizzy song) like only Bernard can deliver - so amazingly talented Bernard is.
WWB left the stage to make room for...... Los Lobos. Three of the band members showed up to delight all with 3 songs. Rockin'!
WWB returns to kick it up another notch......
Blondie Chaplin was happy to give us his exceptional vocals on "Lawyers Guns and Money." Always fantastic!
Jack Tempchin picked up his guitar and took center stage. This is when it started feeling like a WWB reunion. As Waddy said, Jack was responsible for getting these shows going in the first place 15 years ago. They were called Big Mondays and the band played every Monday night. Waddy said the first couple of shows were down the street at The Mint, but they soon realized they were too ROCKIN' for that venue and moved to The Joint. Great shows they all were! It was so nice to see Jack and hear him sing again.
Pegi Young added delightful harmony vocals to the songs with Jack, and was back on stage to sing more harmony vocals throughout the night. It was so nice to have here there. Rick and Phil played with her band Survivors for many years.
A reunion wouldn't be complete without ...... Terry Reid! Terry sang with the band for many years, but hasn't been with them for a long while. He came to town specifically for this show, and all the regulars from way back were thrilled to have him there! So were the folks who hadn't seen him before. Amazing!
Our Southern Man - Keith Allison is always ready to rock, and you can't help it but to smile and rock with him! A very talented man who also sang with the band since the onset.
The first set ended with another rockin' tune "Won't Get Fooled Again." Waddy made those guitar strings his slave and electrified everyone with the sounds he blasted through his amps. Brett was in total control of his keyboard as he played that part - seemingly effortless. Phil brought the drums in pounding after the keyboard solo, and Al kept the rockin' rumble on cue. Jamie hit high notes that give you goosebumps. A perfect ending for a perfect set.
The first set was so deliciously long that I was a little worried the band might just do the one long set. :-( But........ This is WWB! They came back with many more songs for us in a second set! :-)
After Brett wailed through vocals and Waddy was blistering fast on his guitar solo on "I Am the Walrus" Jason Sinay sang 2 Neil Young songs with Pegi Young on harmony vocals. Jason has sat in with WWB many times, and it's always fun to watch and hear him and Waddy sharing guitar solos. So nice having him there!
At some point, but I don't remember exactly when, one of Waddy's amps started smoking! Everyone clapped - Waddy burned it up! It got fixed, and we were back on track.
The reunion night wouldn't have been complete without Terry doing one of everyone's favorite songs from the early band days - "Waterloo Sunset." Yes, Terry twirled the mic stand and put everything he's got into it. Ahhhh!
Then we got another "Jail Break." This was the AC/DC one. Two "Jail Break"s in one night..... excellent! Jamie and Waddy nailed it!
Bernard gave tribute to the many performers we lost last year. Including Rick Rosas, Bobby Keyes, Ian McLagan and Joe Cocker. Then he said the next song was for them - "Heroes." Nice tribute, and we all got a bit teary eyed.
Keith then pumped it up by reminding us we must keep the Rockin' going with "C'mon Everybody." Waddy knew we needed a song like that at that point. Okay....... we definitely will Keep Rockin'!
Al turned his bass over to Darryl Jones for the next song "Live With Me." Of course, Darryl was amazing! I'm glad Waddy got to sing lead vocals on that song - he does it so well! And Ron Dziubla did a great job on sax - in a beautiful tribute to Bobby Keyes.
Waddy gave praise to his friend Ian Mclagan as the band rocked into "Itchycoo Park." Ian performed that song with Small Faces, and it was a sweet remembrance of Ian's talent.
How do we end such a wonderful night? Hey, everyone get back on stage to join Bernard singing "Rockin' In The Free World." Okay! The stage was filled with Waddy, Phil, Al, Brett, Bernard and joined on harmony vocals by Jamie, Blondie, Pegi, Mindi, Keith and Jack. Our hearts were filled with the reminder to.....
Keep Rockin'!!!!!!!
Rockin in the Free World at Waddy Wachtel Tribute Concert to Rick Rosas
Setlist, videos, and more at Waddy Wachtel Band: January 10, 2015.
Rick Rosas: 1949 - 2014
Liverpool, England - July 13, 2014
Photo by Paolo Brillo
(Rick Rosas far left)
2014-07-12, Hyde Park, London, England
Photo by Paolo Brillo
(Click photo to enlarge)
Photo by Joe "The Drummer" Vitale
Photo by John Nunu Zomot | Facebook - Bonnaroo 2011 (60)
Photo from Rick Rosas Facebook Wall Photos (62)
Bridge School Benefit Concert 2010
Rick Rosas & Ben Keith
Cutting Room, NYC, NY 07-19-2007
Photo by Johnny Marr
Also, see Tribute to Rick Rosas on Thrasher's Wheat Radio.
A nice man, a funny man, and an extraordinary bass player.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Rick's more recent playing (2005 onwards) was top quality, it was also by design quite minimalist: I suggest listening to some of those magnificent 1988/1989 shows to really hear him at his best.
Two of the best years ever for Neil Young music, and Rick was one of the main contributors to that. Alongside another fine musician (saxophonist Steve Lawrence) who passed away too soon.
The Flying Scotsman.