tommy p Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 (edited) History first: A friend of mine turned me on to Go For What You Know around 1979 and we listened to it constantly. Later I went back and got all but his very first album and everything after GFWYK through Hot Shot. I always LIKED Pat, but felt like something was a little off. He was never my favorite guitar player, I didn't care for his voice very much, and the production on his albums was a little weak IMHO. His songwriting could be hit or miss and his lyrics could be a bit "Frehley-esque" as another member here put it. Nonetheless, he just seemed COOL and that meant a lot back then. As many of you will remember, album covers and song titles went a long way to influencing purchases in the pre-internet days. I saw him for the first time as part a 2-day festival lineup in Richmond, VA in 1998. Saturday was Pat Travers/Jackyl/BÖC and Sunday was Rick Derringer/Georgia Satellites/Brother Cane/Cheap Trick. I was really excited that he was still out there doing it even back then, because it seemed like his best days were behind him. I was not prepared for how bad he sucked. His voice sucked, his playing sucked, and he was PISSED about his massive pedal board not working to his liking. He started kicking it all around and yelling at the crew, and his whole part of the show is now just a bad memory for me. I kept thinking "just stop using all that shit!" It muddied up his sound so bad you could hardly tell what he was playing anyway. I think he left the stage early and I remember thinking "well, I never need to see THAT asshole again." 25 years later... PT is scheduled to play at a 220-seat "listening room" 15 minutes from my house. It's been open a few years and has had plenty of artists I'm interested in but I had never gone to a show there. The drummer in my Cheap Trick tribute is a big PT fan so we decided to go to this one. We were seated literally 10 feet from the stage and the sound was amazing. His bass player was David Pastorius (yes, of THAT Pastorius family - apparently a nephew.) and he was just the most humble guy for a person with monster talent you could ever meet. He was standing around out front when we got there and walking around in the crowd for an hour before they played. I don't think anyone in the room knew who he was other than me and my friend. I don't recall the drummer's name but he looked he could be your accountant; he was a great player though. And that was it - trio format. Pat could not have kicked more ass if he'd had an extra leg! His voice was better than on any album I've ever heard, he played great, and his guitar tone was perfect. He was playing a Helix into a Blackstar head and a Marshall cab. Nice selection of songs from throughout his career along with a couple from his new album (which I'm streaming as I type this) and a couple of covers that I think he has released on his albums including Green-Eyed Lady by Sugarloaf. Of course his regular set ended with Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights) and then he came back out for two more songs. He seemed very happy and did nice little song introductions occasionally, and also cracked a few jokes. It was a very engaging and inspiring performance from him and the other two guys in his band. I would highly recommend you go see him if he comes to your area. I will definitely go again if I get the chance. I'm not a "hold the phone up the entire show" kinda guy so here's the only shot I got: Edited June 24, 2023 by tommy p 11 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donner Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 Nice to see him still alive & kickin'! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottcald Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 Back in the 80s I like Travers but didn't really have the appreciation until a band I was in started doing a couple of tunes, if I'm remembering right we did Life in London and Hammerhead. Did he just use the Strat the whole night? Looks like an HSH model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy p Posted June 14, 2023 Author Share Posted June 14, 2023 2 minutes ago, scottcald said: Back in the 80s I like Travers but didn't really have the appreciation until a band I was in started doing a couple of tunes, if I'm remembering right we did Life in London and Hammerhead. Did he just use the Strat the whole night? Looks like an HSH model. Yep, one guitar all night. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy p Posted June 14, 2023 Author Share Posted June 14, 2023 Oh, I just want to add that one of the things he said that really made me like him as a person again... He was telling a story about working in London in the early days and how he then started to have some success in the US. He held up three fingers and said "I had three (takes one finger down)...OK, TWO really great years. I think they were '78 and '79...there were a lot of substances back then." and then launches into Snortin' Whiskey. I thought that was hilarious and showed he's not bitter about his success (or lack thereof). 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardrockracer Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 I don't care how good that Pastorius guy is. I am not paying for a band where members go on stage dressed like jocks. That's why I would not go see Boston. That doofus Scholz with his basketball attire annoyes me. Don't get me wrong. I love Boston and I like Travers but if I want to see sports clothing I am going to a basketball court. If you want my money go dress up like a musician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwhitcomb3 Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Hardrockracer said: I don't care how good that Pastorius guy is. I am not paying for a band where members go on stage dressed like jocks. That's why I would not go see Boston. That doofus Scholz with his basketball attire annoyes me. Don't get me wrong. I love Boston and I like Travers but if I want to see sports clothing I am going to a basketball court. If you want my money go dress up like a musician. I have never given a flying fuck what a musician is wearing. On the other hand, as much as I enjoyed seeing Pat Travers opening for Rainbow MANY years ago, nowadays I couldn't bring myself to see an artist who still sings his signature song about punching out his woman. Edited June 14, 2023 by jwhitcomb3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Scepter Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 23 minutes ago, Hardrockracer said: If you want my money go dress up like a musician. Curious... what does a musician dress like? 🤔 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 I unfortunately had never heard of Pat Travers back in 2005 and I was late to the show. I only caught the last 2 of his songs. I remember that the guy next to me was saying that Pat Travers is one of the all-time hard rockers and I regret that I missed most of his set. https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/ray-manzarek-robby-krieger-john-kay-steppenwolf-the-yardbirds-vanilla-fudge-original-members-pat-travers-band Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGale Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 Spandex, face paint, and wig is my preferred accouterments ensemble. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Scepter Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 I saw Pat Travers BITD with Pat Thrall "monster guitar player!" Fun times! 🤣 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alantig Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 We saw Pat's show Sunday night. I'm not huge on his catalog, but I like Pat a lot. This was the first time I've seen him play a full set - previously I'd seen him at Experience PRS and at Rick Derringer's 50th anniversary show. But I was blown away. One big surprise for me was when he intro'd "Snortin' Whiskey" - my immediate thought was that it was pretty early in the set for that one. Then came "Boom Boom" and I thought it was early for both of them, and then he said, "Thank you" and introduced the band and they walked off, and that's when I realized they'd been onstage almost 90 minutes. The show flew by. We had an absolute blast. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchee Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Dave Scepter said: Curious... what does a musician dress like? 🤔 Ask Brent. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottcald Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 11 minutes ago, crunchee said: Ask Brent. Hey he said musician not cordless drill buffer buffoon. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchee Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 1 minute ago, scottcald said: Hey he said musician not cordless drill buffer buffoon. Sorry...I'm still trying to get rid of the image of a 300 lb. guy squished into a Ace Frehley costume meant for somebody weighing 150 lbs. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biz Prof Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 1 minute ago, crunchee said: Sorry...I'm still trying to get rid of the image of a 300 lb. guy squished into a Ace Frehley costume meant for somebody weighing 150 lbs. I always suspected that Brent spent more time "buffing" things in his basement than he did playing guitar or doing any form of manual labor. In fact, buffing is not really the type of exercise regimen conducive to wearing spandex and leather stage costumes. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottcald Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 3 minutes ago, crunchee said: Sorry...I'm still trying to get rid of the image of a 300 lb. guy squished into a Ace Frehley costume meant for somebody weighing 150 lbs. Yikes, thankfully, I seem to have missed out on that......curiosity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamerhead Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 Back to the less-grotesque topic: The first time I saw Pat Travers he was opening for Rush (Farewell to Kings tour) - Jan 29, 1978 (the middle act was Jay Ferguson. Remember him? Spirit/Jo Jo Gunne?). Never heard of PT before that night but holy hell! For a 3-piece they made a big sound. Not 'Rush' big, but enough to make it unforgettable. This was before 'Go for What You Know' and 'Crash and Burn'. He was hungry! I believe Mars Cowling played bass and Tommy Aldridge was on drums. That was a good night. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 25 minutes ago, hamerhead said: I believe Mars Cowling played bass and Tommy Aldridge was on drums. No Pat Thrall? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamerhead Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 Nope - pre-Mr. Thrall trio. It couldn't have been too much later that he joined, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singlehum Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 4 hours ago, crunchee said: Ask Brent. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathman Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 6 hours ago, Dave Scepter said: Curious... what does a musician dress like? 🤔 No shorts? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathman Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 4 hours ago, scottcald said: Hey he said musician not cordless drill buffer buffoon. Fuck, why can't I like this more than once!!!!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 1 hour ago, singlehum said: Oh, cripes! I am full of words, but I cannot choose the appropriate ones for this image… Oh, WAIT!!: ”Circus comes to town You play the lead clown..” - “Leper Messiah” 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy p Posted June 15, 2023 Author Share Posted June 15, 2023 2 hours ago, singlehum said: Is that Larry "Bud" Melman? 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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