Living Colour 1321 I’ve seen literally thousands of shows since the first time I saw Living Colour at the Cotton Club in Atlanta over two decades ago. It still is in my all-time top 25 musical experiences…ever. So, it was with more than a small amount of angst and trepidation that I approached their concert at The Loft (Atlanta) on 9/14/09. I am older. They are older. There was a pretty good shot that neither side could keep up with the stamina and exuberance of youthful days gone by. The venue was packed and there was an eclectic mix of people in the room. Die-hard fans like myself, and a whole bevy of “the 20 somethings” lingering about waiting to see Living Colour for the first time. It is a rare feat indeed for a band to draw fans out from three different generations. But, we were all there; waiting to see if the guys that were known for their high-performance, braid slinging, head banging, rock-your-face-off concerts still had the goods. The band took the stage with no big announcement. As a matter of fact, they just kind of meandered onstage and it took a second for the crowd to react…then it was pandemonium! Just four dudes getting ready to play…pretty cool. From the first few lines of “Desperate People”, we all knew that we were in for a real treat. Vernon Glover’s guitar licks are enough to blow ones’ mind. Literally. The man is seriously on the same level with Hendrix. Doug Wimbish is the master of bass, and delivered each note with booming clarity. You know when DW is thumping the strings. William Calhoun is hands down one of the best drummers on the planet. His mastery of mixing a traditional kit along with the Kong Wavedrum and Mandala drum is truly a testament to the outrageous number of genres he has mastered. He absolutely stupefied the crowd with a 10+ long minute drum solo. Corey Glover was the one to watch for me. Instrumental skills can be honed and perfected with time. Vocals are a different matter. So many singers, with some tenure behind them, find it almost impossible to hit the high notes of yore. Glover delivered the new material, along with the staple songs from albums past, with absolute clarity and pitch. There wasn’t an off-key note all night. The overall vibe was electric, and the whole crowd was digging on the new music from their just-released CD, “ The Chair in the Doorway”, which they played in its entirety. They threw down a powerhouse 21 song set that was truly amazing in its delivery and execution. The Loft is not an easy venue to play acoustically; wide open with concrete floors. Major kudos to the sound technician’s because it was deliciously ear-pleasing. The lighting effects are really cool too; mixing in funky images and lots of retro-color patterns that cast a surreal ambiance around the venue. If you are lucky enough to catch Living Colour live in your town, then consider yourself blessed by the Music Gods! If not, pick up their new CD, “The Chair in the Doorway”, which dropped on Tuesday at any record store on the planet. The remainder of their U.S. Tour is as follows (then they are off to Europe): September 18 | Emo's | Austin, TX September 19 | Granada Theatre | Dallas, TX
 September 20 | Warehouse Live | Houston, TX
 September 23 | Canes Bar and Grill | San Diego, CA
 September 24 | The Key Club | West Hollywood, CA
 September 25 | Regency Grand Ballroom | San Francicso, CA
 September 26 | Berbatis Pan | Portland, OR September 27 | Studio Seven | Seattle, WA
 September 30 | Fine Line Music Cafe | Minneapolis, MN
 October 2 | The Magic Bag | Detroit, MI
 October 3 | Lee's Palace | Toronto, Ontario
 October 4 | Double Door | Chicago, IL October 5 | The Grog Shop | Cleveland, OH
 October 30 | Highline Ballroom | New York, NY A BIG THANKS to Michele Meow and Ange Alex for taking the amazing photographs of the band (live and outside in beautiful Atlanta)! Also, thanks to Harold Sellers who shot the video footage of my interview with William Calhoun (on SPINearth.tv). Living Colour band members and their crew/management (especially Kevin, Ean & Dennis)...ya'll are the best! ;-) * Just in case you were wondering...I held my own too! 79 2009-09-17T23:47:07Z 2 0 Rock/Indie/Alt 2872 33.7545 -84.3897 Atlanta, GA , USA 2009-09-18T16:18:00Z 3 live-show-review-living-colour-rocks-atlanta published Live show review, tour,Atlanta, Georgia,The Loft, Center Stage,Living Colour,A Chair in the Doorway, new cd,Vivid,Cult of Personality,cd review,new album,album review,Corey Glover,Vernon Reid,Doug Wimbish,William Calhoun 2009-09-18T17:36:20Z The Loft/Center Stage 1634