Ken Andrews at the Troubadour

My mini tour of Ken Andrews concluded as the "Never Say Never" tour sadly came to a close in dynamic fashion at the Troubadour. I was still in disbelief that Tim Dow from Year of The Rabbit came out to drum during "Lie Down" and was thinking that it would be hard to recreate that magic for this show. I am so glad I was wrong.



First Wave Hello opened with another solid set that features songs of their upcoming EP release and latest album "The Lord & It's Penguin". I noticed Jacob Turnbloom (Guitars/Vocals) had ditched his pedals and had a shiny new Boss GT-8 that is similar to Ken Andrews Boss GT-3. I didn't notice any tonal differences but I imagine it would be difficult for him to tweak his tone on the fly. They played another lightening quick set but I will keep checking their concert calendar to see a full set from them.
 


Charlotte Martin gave a spirited performance in San Diego, but I was slightly annoyed with some of the talkers in the back of the Belly Up. At the Troubadour show, the crowd was very respectful and Charlotte had a very strong contingent of fans in front of her keyboard setup. I was intrigued when I saw that Charlotte had a Ground Control Pro Midi switcher for all her Keyboard patches. I have seen the Ground Control used for guitar setups but never for keyboards. She played selections from her latest offering "Reproductions" and knocked "Civilized" out of the park with an assist from Ken Andrews and First Wave Hello. She had another surprise for the crowd as she brought out her friend Beth Katte for additional vocals on "Veins".
 
Charlotte Martin setlist for the Troubadour (10/21/07)
"Angel"
"Limits Of Our Love" 
"Cut The Cord"
"I Am Stretched On Your Grave"
"Civilized"
"Something Like A Hero"
"Cherry-Coloured Funk"
"Revival"
"Keep Me In Your Pocket"
"Veins"
"Obstacle 1"







Kellii Scott from Failure

The Troubadour was a perfect setting for the finale of the Ken Andrews and Charlotte Martin "Never Say Never" Tour. The Troubadour felt extra cozy on this particular night as if it was a family reunion. Ken Andrews played another solid set that had a few surprises. During the Year of the Rabbit portion in his set, Ken added the cover of the Stone Roses "I Wanna Be Adored" that was originally on the Hunted EP by Year of The Rabbit. The opening bass line of "I Wanna Be Adored" is classic and can haunt your memory for days. During the Failure portion of the set, I think Ken and Jacob tuned their guitars down by 1 and 1/2 steps to C sharp to get the low sharp riffs on "Sergeat Politeness" and "Dirty Blue Balloons". The encore is when things went from amazing to mind blowing when they played an ear splitting version of "Stuck On You". This was topped by a spine tingling version of "The Nurse Who Loved Me" that had Ken bring out Kellii Scott who used to be the drummer for Failure. Kellii and Adam both pounded the drums on seperate kits and you could feel the electricity in the air. I still am shaking my head thinking I have been fortunate enough to catch four Ken Andrews shows this year. I hope he tours again soon.


Ken Andrews Setlist for the Troubadour (10/21/07)
"Allergic"
"Does Anybody Know"
"Secret Things"
"Up Or Down"
"In Your Way"
"Lie Down"
"I Wanna Be Adored"
"Absent Stars"
"Soluble Words"
"Something"
"Magnified"
"Sergeant Politeness"
"Dirty Blue Balloons"
"Stuck On You"
"The Nurse Who Loved Me" with Charlotte Martin and Kellii Scott from Failure on Drums!