Chickenfoot concert reviews!

Just saw the first show in seattle. Holy shit !!!!! The nay sayers will be crushed further into the abyss of Van halen hopelessness. People that have made the constant stupid ignorant comments about this not being a real band or half van halen could not be more wrong. Wabo rehash ?? You got to be fucking kidding me ! Sam left the wabo and VH thing behind for this band. Not even a margarita all night. He just drank from a water bottle. Not one VH tune! Thank god. they must have read the boards and took head to my suggestion of NO VH tunes !! They sounded like a whole new band. Like a bunch of fresh 25 year olds pounding it out tune after tune. They were everything I expected but more so ! Sam sounded killer ! I don’t remember him sounding even that good at the VH shows I saw. I can honestly say I enjoyed it as much as any VH show I ever saw. They sounded like they have been playing together for years !! I liked all the tracks. Every last f*****g one of them !! They had that place hopping on “Get it up”. Sammy jammed on Bad Motor scooter ! Satch was over the top money !! He broke out a double neck ! Hell they all were money !!

Glad it went well, wish they would come to Afghanistan and put on a show haha, Toby Keith came and it was a treat, that guy is a real Patriot and supporter; it would be unbelievable if Van Halen or Chickenfoot came over here and blasted some red white and blue fury into this shitty ass country. Rock on dudes and I will catch the next tour. God bless.

AIRBORNE5150, it would be awsome if VH or CF played for you guys over there. you guys deserve it! keep up the good work…sounds like CF is gonna be a great concert! and when VH is ready it will be exciting and great too.

Reading all these threads on CF I had a realization. Now I know why “gay” used to be a synonym for “having fun”.

I agree with AIRBORN 5150.

Sam is the quintessential American and my gosh would that be an amazing concert. You guys would probably have the energy to “fix a few things” after that.

Thanks for all you do over there and the sacrifices you make to be in harms way. You deserve Chickenfoot and Ted Nugent.

God bless you, this country and Rock and Roll.

Good call Rodney! Brilliant.

All you guys holding your breath waiting or the next… (sorry, I just broke down laughing when I wrote ‘next’… or was it crying?)… Van Halen album you’re going to go blue waiting for anything as good as that on their next disc.

Man these clips surfacing are just killer. The energy is phenominal. You can love or hate Sammy, but you can’t deny this is one talented rock band having a blast on stage.

I’ll probably get killed for saying this, but could you imagine if these guys could just all get along and Eddie ever joined them on stage for some fun??

Jesus, Satch and Eddie on the same stage.. the world may very well go super-nova and just end right there.

Saw the SF show at the Fillmore. What can be said about this band that hasn’t already been said. For only being together a short while, they played like they’ve all been together for years. Was a little surprised they didn’t cover any VH, Satch, RHCP, etc.(except for Montrose) but with them playing the entire Chickenfoot album – no fan can say they didn’t get their money’s worth. And their encore of Highway Star was incredible. The entire band brought their “A” game. Sammy’s vocals and guitar were running on high octane. One the greatest vocalists/frontman in music history. Whatever band he’s involved in, he elevates them to a level beyond expectation and he leaves it all on the stage every night!!! Joe – To come into this band as a solo guitar virtuoso and yet be able to sit in the perfect spot to contribute to a vocal driven band is fantastic. Killer riffs, killer tone, great melodic lines, a true team-player! Chad and Mikey locked in with each other the entire night. Both sitting right in “the pocket” providing some serious bottom-end. They are what every rhythm section strives to be!!! Mikey’s vocals were spot-on and just raised the energy level of the show. 100% Red Hot Rock n. Roll!!! Do not miss this band! And to all the skeptics – FEAR THE FOOT!!! \|/

Saw the band last Friday at the Commodore in Vancouver which holds around 1000. Overall, a good show. Sammy’s voice was pretty good, unlike when I saw him in 91 and 95 with VH in Vancouver when he apologized for his voice. “Smoking” Joe Satriani was excellent as usual. Mike was his usual reliable self (thankfully no 10 minute bass solo). Chad was awesome. Not a Chili Pepper fan so I’m only familiar with a couple of their songs. I was expecting to hear some solo material apart from Scooter and Highway Star (Satch played Blackmore’s solo note for note). Sammy commented about the “BC Bud” as smoke quickly filled the air. A couple months ago a few blocks away Britney Spears walked off the stage at GM Place complaining about the smoke. She would definitely have walked off at the Commodore!
Sammy commented about the first show in Seattle the night before and that tonight was definitely better! He asked the crowd if anyone liked Seattle and several people cheered. Chad then yelled out Seattle sucks! Sammy then mentioned the fire department stopping the show, etc. Chad then said “I meant to say the Seattle fire department sucks!” Not a great way to endear yourself to Seattle fans.
Before they came back for the encore, the crowd started chanting Chi-ckenfoot and when the band came onstage they seemed truly touched and happy! Chad introduced Scooter as the first song Sammy ever wrote. Sammy said the first time he played Vancouver was in 72 or 73. At the end of the show for their final bows, Satch came out with a video camera and started filming the crowd. Sammy said they’ll be back in August.

Not sure about the concert times for other cities but the Vancouver show had a local opening band who came on at 9:20 and played until 9:50pm. Chickenfoot took the stage at 10:15 and played until 11:30pm. Bit of a break then the three song encore and they finished just before midnight. I got inside at 8:45pm so there was a bit of a wait. I wasn’t sure if there was going to be an opening act.
Since the Commodore is a small venue, there was no rush to the stage.

They have the logo everywhere, on guitar,bass, drums, speakers. That’s what I noticed.

See, these reviews are what I’ve been saying all along. Give it a chance and come to grips that these guys are for real. Nothing about them sounds like Halen and never will. These guys are out to prove that it’s all about the music and having a great time. No gimmicks, no promises of this and that. Just straight up rock n roll to play for all of us to hear!

This is what a band should be about and not making you wait and wonder if they are going to do something.

Playing small clubs is the way a band should play to start out and Van Halen did it and so did Sammy when they all started out and it’s good to see this nowadays with bands.

REVIEW – CHICKENFOOT @ THE FILLMORE, SAN FRANCISCO 5/17/2009

The Fillmore is one of my favorite concert venues. As we entered the auditorium we were met by the official greeter and grabbed an apple – a Fillmore tradition. We headed upstairs to the balcony area, had a cocktail and listened to the house band. I thought I heard the opening act start so we moved along the balcony section overlooking the ballroom floor. As I’m standing there someone jabs me in the ribs and says, “Please move, coming thru”. I turned around and it was a security guard ushering in Chad Smith to the Green Room at the end of the balcony section. Chad had a big grin on his face and looked excited to be here. He talked with the fans briefly before heading to the Green Room.

Sammy’s wife and Mike’s daughter and her BF were at the show along with several others, watching from the Green Room balcony.

The show was just over two hours. Some solo acoustic blues guitarist kid from Ireland opened.

SETLIST:

Avendia Revolucion:
This song flat out rocks and featured a second solo, an impressive bass fill by Michael Anthony. I hope Mike’s Bass solo wasn’t only improvised for the show but is also on the album!

Soap on a Rope: Zeppelin-esque tune that reminds me of an upbeat version of “For Your Life”.

Sexy Little Thing:

Oh Yeah:

Runnin’ Out:

Get it Up:
Nice Mike/Sammy duet harmony on each verse.

Down the Drain:
Not as heavy sounding as the clip I heard on the web. Mike picks the opening bass line with his teeth.

Bitten by the Wolf:
This is a Mississippi Blues tune. The opening and closing verse is reminiscent of “Standin’ at the Same Old Crossroads” on Sammy’s ‘I Never Said Goodbye’ album.

Sammy mentioned this song would be on vinyl only – which is a bummer; hopefully it will be available on iTunes. Joe Satriani plays an Ibanez double neck. The song is literally about being bitten by a werewolf in New Orleans and living forever. No insinuation in the lyrics I heard that this song has any reference to Wolfgang Van Halen, as some have suggested.

My Kind Of Girl:
Sammy dedicates this song to the hardest working girls in the world – single moms.

Learning To Fall:
Sammy said Joe wrote this ballad as a love song with Sammy in mind (wtf?) Sammy mentions that this song almost didn’t make the album because it didn’t fit in with the rest of the up tempo songs.

Turnin’ Left:
Sammy/Mike harmonies on verse similar to ‘Get it Up’ However, where Sammy and Mikes harmony’s worked on ‘Get It Up’, they were unremarkable on this song. Hendrix’s “Manic Depression” fill at the end. This was probably my least favorite song of the night.

Encore:
Chad Smith comes out on stage first and starts hitting the kick drum while standing drinking a bottle of water. The rest of the band walk out and Sammy and Chad get into a water fight. Chad soaks Sammy and while drying off Sammy jokes that he’s quitting the band. Sammy starts to explain that he’s under a lot of pressure …. and gets drowned out by Chad performing a drum sold aimed at quieting Hagar.

After Chad stops playing, Sammy finishes his sentence of being under pressure to perform up to expectations; otherwise he might get kicked out – since he has been kicked out of every other band he has been a member.

Future in the Past:
Sammy tells a story about how the recording sessions literally put recording engineer Andy Johns in the hospital. Chad visited Andy Johns in the hospital, saw Andy in the hospital bed connected to an IV and oxygen looking poorly and commanded him to get better telling him “no one dies during a CF recording session”.

Andy Johns replied that Chickenfoot still needs one more song for the album, which becomes ‘Future in the Past’ written and recorded by the band in one day.

Bad Motor Scooter:
Montrose cover complete with Sammy slide intro. Chad remarks to the audience that this is the first song Sammy ever wrote.

Highway Star:
Deep Purple cover. Sammy displays a chicken head hat at the end of the song.

GEAR:
For the first few songs Mike is playing a Yamaha matte black bass with a white Chickenfoot logo. Satch, a white Ibanez with a Black Chickenfoot logo, which almost had the appearance that they were “striped”, similar to the way Edward Van Halen and Wolfgang Van Halen played similar striped guitars on the last Van Halen tour.

CHAD SMITH:
I didn’t really pay attention to him as a drummer before Chickenfoot but after Sunday’s show, Chad Smith is my new favorite rock drummer! Chad stole the show that night. He is an amazing drummer, and plays like a man possessed. What I noticed watching Chad play live is that because he is tall, he hulks over his drum kit, so the audience gets an intimate view on how he plays, his facial expressions, body language, etc. This is different from other rock drummers that play massive drum kits and all you can see of the drummer from the audience is their head.

Also, Chad has phenomenal stage presence and can connect with the audience. He hammed it up with the crowd every chance he got. The man is 5150 crazy! He probably threw a dozen sticks to the audience. Sammy mentioned that the Red Hot Chili Peppers didn’t give Chad a vocal mic – for good reason.

Chad is alpha male of the group. Joe and Sammy might write the songs but when the music starts, Chad is running the show. I didn’t understand at first his interest in forming Chickenfoot, but clearly Chickenfoot is HIS BAND. My impression is that he has a lot more influence in the musical direction of Chickenfoot than might be expected as being “the drummer” of an average band. While Chad may have been in the shadows in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, in Chickenfoot he shines.

Sammy mentioned that Chickenfoot was a San Francisco band, then looked up at CS and said ‘well at least half of the band is.” Chad jumped off the drum riser onto the stage, put his arm around Michael Anthony and asked if the audience would adopt them.

Sammy introduced Chad as actor Will Ferrell and asked him how his new movie, in which he wears boxers and a wife beater, was coming along. Chad responded that he enjoyed his new role, while pretending to act out the “more cowbell” scene from the SNL Blue Oyster Cult skit.

JOE SATRIANI:
Satch is like a kid on Christmas playing with this band. I was blown away by his virtuosity and stage presence. I came away with the impression that he is very proud of the music they have created together.

Sammy remarked how well Joe plays considering he probably can’t see anything because of the dark glasses he wore and said he was going to start calling him ‘Jose Satriani’.

MICHAEL ANTHONY:
Mike displayed good stage presence, but it appeared to me that he assumed a more passive role as the dutiful bass player than I expected. It seemed he was distracted or perhaps not completely present – Especially odd considering the intimate setting and compared to how I have seen him interact with the crowd with many times with Van Halen.

I noticed that Mike kept looking off stage (stage right) quite a bit and didn’t engage the audience as much as I would have expected. I noticed that several times Chad tried to engage him and Mike ignored him or wasn’t paying attention. Perhaps he didn’t want to get involved in the peacocking between Sammy and Chad.

This all could easily be explained by the fact that this was the third show with a new band that hasn’t had a lot of experience playing together, so perhaps he was focused on playing his best. Or maybe didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes or steal anyone’s thunder. Or maybe he was just having a bad day.

Mike’s playing and vocals were top notch and as always, he is the consummate professional. It was really great to see him again live!

SAMMY HAGAR:
Sammy still has the pipes and moves he had twenty years ago in Van Halen. The cat is what, 62? And he is still goin’ strong. It’s always a treat to watch the Red Rocker at work.

THE SOUND:
I heard Sammy and Chad fine throughout the night. Mike was mixed low, Joe was mixed even lower and it was difficult to pick out the intricacies of his technique.

CONCLUSION:
Chickenfoot is the real deal. They played inspired and tight for a band that hasn’t had the benefit of playing together very much. I got the impression the band really enjoyed playing together and I think the personalities in the band mesh well. I really believe Chickenfoot is something special and more than a side project for the band members. I wouldn’t be suprised if Chickenfoot records several albums together.

Forget all your notions of “The Other Half” or the Sammy and the Wabos; this is an entirely different type of gig. Put aside all your Sammy and Mike hate and check these guys out. If you don’t like these guys live, you don’t like Rock music.

T.O Mike: Hey, it depends on the crowd and city; I was VIP in LA and on the edge of the 2 ft high (.7M) stage (!!), but everywhere I looked, everyone was on the best behavior – can you believe it?? Partly, because everyone was gasping for air at Satriani in particular, the incredibly TIGHT performance in general. Get there as early as you can though, word of mouth will have some camping out – and “Highway Star” was mind-blowing like others said.

One more comment about the Vancouver show. On the ticket stub, the ticket cost is $40 and then a $10 convenience charge and a $1.50 additional charge so the total cost was $51.50!

Actually ran into MA and Satch last night (21st) at O’Hare and had a chance to actually speak with them and have a conversation. Both were incredibly cool and seemed jacked about the music. When I walked up to MA I said, “I want to thank you for the 25 years of great music with VH and I’m looking forward to 25 more with CF” and he loved it. Said it was the first time someone said “MA with Chickenfoot” and he brought Satch over and told him the story.

Love the music and VERY bummed I don’t have tickets to the show tonight. MA assured me they will be back in Chicago soon and will play a bigger place.

Really pleased to know there’s not any VH on the setlist – a very bold move and, my friends, fortune favors the bold.

Toronto show about 8-9 hours away. Came down with the flu Friday night and stayed in bed for most of Saturday. Back in business today thank goodness and ready for CF to bring me back to 100%!!!

SET LIST and My Opinions!!!

SET LIST:

Avenida Revolution (Great)
Soap On A Rope (Great)
Sexy Little Thing (Great)
Oh Yeah! (Great)
Runnin’ Out (V.Good)
Get It Up (V.Good)
Down The Drain (Great)
Bitten By The Wolf (V.Good)
My Kinda Girl (V.Good)
Learning To Fall (Good)
Turnin’ Left (Great intro/V.Good)

ENCORE

Future In The Past (Great intro/V.Good)
Bad Motor Scooter (Sounded great extended solos by Sat & SH)
Highway Star (Turned way up, heavier version – GREAT!)

REVIEW – CHICKENFOOT @ THE FILLMORE, SAN FRANCISCO 5/17/2009

Sorry, but although these guys were great and performed well, the sound was not very clear. They were way too loud, I suspect partly due to Chad’s heavy handed playing and tenacity. Everyone had their sh** turned up so loud I could barely distinguish Joe’s guitar solos – imagine that?
Sammy vocals came across really well however, and he was excellent. It was a great show but too loud for real clarity and seperation. I was also surprised they didn’t do any extended jams, what with Satch and all those incredible musicians, they should have stretched some tunes. I really thought they would ‘jam’ more than they did.

Just saw the chickenfoot show at the Mohegan sun arena in CT. on august 20 and let me tell you if you get a chance to see them you better not miss out. Its by far the best kick ass in your face rock show of the year but with all that talent wrapped up in 1 band what do you expect.the show was as energetic as any show ive been to and the sound was better than listening to the cd itself incredible

Chickenfoot is far more than the sum of it’s member’s! ! ! These artist’s are a force to be rekoned with individually as it is but putting the four of them together was and is the best idea in the history of rock n roll. The chemistry was oozing off the stage like the fog in a can. It blasted out of the speakers like a hydrogen bomb! What an experience! ! ! I’ve been around! I was a teenager when I saw Montrose for the first time. I was 20 when I saw Van Halen for the first time. The next 30 years were full of concert experiences including ACDC and Michael Jackson! ! ! I saw Chickenfoot at Lake Tahoe at 50 and must admit they are second best to none! ! !