Rabbit & Pork

London (Excel), 23rd/24th Sept 2006

Web site:

• http://www.drummerlive.co.uk/

Line-up:

• James Birt (Young Drummer of the Year 2006)
• Tony Royster ( DW / Zildjian)
• Nicko McBrain (Premier/Paiste)
• Billy Ward (DW / Zildjian / MBM)
• Aquiles Priestier (Mapex/Paiste)
• Groove Summit with Keith Harris & Zoro (Sabian/MBM)
• Tomas Haake (Sonor/Sabian)
• Benny Greb (Meinl / Sonor / MBM)
• Stanton Moore (Gretsch/Bosphorus)
• Bill Bruford (Tama/Paiste)
• Akira Jimbo (Yamaha/Zildjian)

I chose carefully when to visit Drummer Live 06 as I’ve seen a few of the above before. Two full days is too much anyway. I planned to catch Zoro, Stanton Moore & Bill Bruford.

Ratings:

1. Venue: 6/10 - although large, the Excel building is very clinical; basically it’s a large metal box. Two other events were also taking place. Travelling by car to Docklands is painful. Please find another venue next time!
2. Seating Position: 8/10 - most of the time I was able to find seating at the front
3. Stage & Audio setup: 7/10 - the metallic walls reflected sound badly; very little seperated the stage from the main exhibition floor and thus outside noise intruded onto the stage. The backdrop for the stage was a fluttering curtain which didn’t suit the close-up camera projections.
4. Exhibition hall: 9/10 - excellent, although very, very noisy; plenty of gear to try out first hand and good deals to be had.
5. Zoro: 8/10 - he is the groove master; always played to backing track; rolled out some classics such as Rosanna (Jeff Porcaro shuffle); controlled big sound from a small kit
6. Stanton Moore: 10/10 - one of the most entertaining demonstrations I’ve seen/heard; focused on New Orleans style; played some amazing “dirty” grooves and fills; extremely good at explaining concepts and breaking down what was being played; talked in-depth about playing between swing & straight highlighting the subtle differences in feel of all three approaches; introduced RRLRRLRL pattern and how it could be used around the kit for an amazing range of output; his speed was incredible; all of this having only just flown in from Brazil
7. Bill Bruford: 9/10 - odd meter guru; played some tracks he co-wrote back in the 70s; drumming incredibly advanced for the time; unusual drum kit where all drums are flat and the kit is mirrored around him; it’s impossible for him to play a fill down the toms (due to his kit, not ability); says he plays naturally in 5/4; very funny man too
8. Akira Jimbo: 8/10 - japanese drummer; incredibly talented and unique; mix of accoustic and electronic drums
9. Prize Draw: 0/10 - once again no luck

Notable moments:

1. Getting (”keep music live”) beer mats signed by Zoro, Stanton Moore and Bill Bruford
2. Watching/listening to Russell Gilbrook whack drums in only what can be called a sound-proofed box with a glass front - odd. He’s hard-hitting (well, he’s known for his Animal mascot, so lives up to the Muppet reputation), but on this day, he was particularly aggressive. Out-of-the-blue, he exits the box and shouts at the top his voice “the 26 rudiments are f**cking sh*t… it all boils down to singles and doubles… beep… beep… beep”. He then crawls back into his box. Made me laugh.
3. Thinking to myself, I can’t be all that bad, whilst watching self-deluded “wannabees” thrash out stuff on exhibition hall demo drum kits with no control, style or musical ability. Harsh, but true.

Roll on Drumfest.