Robby Krieger Band review

OCTOBER 18, 2000:   SAN DIEGO, CA  – Brick By Brick

 This review was written by a fellow Doors fan who attended this same show in San Diego  two years ago that I was at.  

 Tom wrote this review at the time; this is the first time it is being published.

It's 1:50am October 19, 2000 and I just got home from "Brick By Brick". The musical guest: "The Robby Krieger Band". The guitarist and co-lyricist for The Doors.

Robby opened up with Hello I Love You, a song he wrote. The crowd at Brick by Brick welcomed him as only southern California fans can.

The band sounded great or "tight" as they say in the industry.  On bass guitar was Angelo Barbera.  He was in the groove without a doubt. I'm sure he rattled some of the bricks loose during Roadhouse Blues.  Local radio station KGB had a contest, and the winner got to sing Roadhouse Blues with the band.  His name was "Tim" I think (sorry if I got the name wrong), but what he didn't get wrong were the lyrics or his enthusiasm.  The crowd loved it.

On the drums was Andrew Crosby.  A solid and stellar performance, all night long. John Densmore would be proud. On rhythm guitar and sometimes lead vocals was what appeared to be a shy and somewhat reserved young man, maybe his name sounds familiar ... Waylon Krieger?  But don't let his appearance fool you.  He's ready to rock.  On keyboards was Steve Bach. (Robby said he was a direct descendent) joking or not, Steve's playing and his energy is what the band needed.  He mesmerized the fans several times throughout the night. He and Robby soloed back and forth a few times, and for a brief moment you could feel the magic between them.

Finally we come to Mr. Robby Krieger.  This is a man who enjoys playing music, PERIOD! When you think of guitar heroes, Robby Krieger probably won't pop into your mind, but check him out in concert and you'll have to re-arrange that top five list.

A slight draw back in the evening were the microphones. Either they were not working properly or their volumes were turned down. But without Jim singing it really didn't matter. As far as I could tell the fans were there for the music and were not expecting a "Doors" reunion. (Even though some fans shouted out between songs, "where's Jim")

Robby has a new disc out, or for all of you diehards, "a new album", called Cinematix.  The band played a couple of tracks from it, instrumentals.  And it sounded good. Fresh and powerful!  For their encore the band played Light My Fire, with all band-mates taking turns soloing. If you closed your eyes you could very well be in the "Whisky" or the "London Fog" back in the early days.

After the set was over, Robby and the band came out to sign autographs. Being the gentleman he is, Robby swapped stories with the fans and signed some albums and other memorabilia.

To wrap this up, do I recommend The Robby Krieger Band to everyone?  NO.  Just to the fans who appreciate the hard work that goes into the music that transported the lyrics for a band that still has a place in today's rock and roll!!

Thomas E. Miller   

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12/02