mgray
11-08-2005, 04:25 PM
Hey guys, I just saw the Portland clinic last night, (November 7th) and it completely blew me away. I drove up about 3 hours from Mass. to see it, but I would have driven much farther if I had to.
Johnny Raab was incredible, to start the show off. He played on three different ekits, and showed some of the various things he has been working on. Not only is he a sick drummer, he is also very funny...he was cracking jokes the whole time and had the audience in stitches. He just made everything look so easy, and he really made me want one of those roland kits so much more than I did before the show.
Virgil started off with a new composition that will be on his new solo album, which he said will be out early next year hopefully. Then, a blistering solo. The sky tom rolls, the paradiddle/fiveadiddle layers, the alien crossovers, the blazing doubles, he had it all, and he played it seamlessly. My jaw was to the floor most of the night. It's true, if you haven't seen Virg in clinic before, you're missing out. I felt like there was just so much more energy in there than I could have expected. He took a couple of questions from the audience, and I asked him, "How fast do you have your doubles up to now, Virgil?" He said that they are at about 230 now, and he can put bursts of 240 in there....and I was front row....he plays them LOUD. Amazing. He said that he'd play a song for us that showcased the doubles, and I asked him if it was Dogboots, and he said yeah, but a "new and improved version, a little faster than the original"...with a laugh from the crowd :D and it was blazing fast. This new Dogboots is also going to be on his new album. He closed with another piece from his sessions with Joel Hoekstra. After, we got to talk with him for a little bit, and he's such a nice guy. To top the night off, I won a Sabian 20" crash from the raffle prizes, and had Virg sign it, obviously :cool: Makes me wish Virgil could do something like this once a week in my town or something haha :) cheers.
Johnny Raab was incredible, to start the show off. He played on three different ekits, and showed some of the various things he has been working on. Not only is he a sick drummer, he is also very funny...he was cracking jokes the whole time and had the audience in stitches. He just made everything look so easy, and he really made me want one of those roland kits so much more than I did before the show.
Virgil started off with a new composition that will be on his new solo album, which he said will be out early next year hopefully. Then, a blistering solo. The sky tom rolls, the paradiddle/fiveadiddle layers, the alien crossovers, the blazing doubles, he had it all, and he played it seamlessly. My jaw was to the floor most of the night. It's true, if you haven't seen Virg in clinic before, you're missing out. I felt like there was just so much more energy in there than I could have expected. He took a couple of questions from the audience, and I asked him, "How fast do you have your doubles up to now, Virgil?" He said that they are at about 230 now, and he can put bursts of 240 in there....and I was front row....he plays them LOUD. Amazing. He said that he'd play a song for us that showcased the doubles, and I asked him if it was Dogboots, and he said yeah, but a "new and improved version, a little faster than the original"...with a laugh from the crowd :D and it was blazing fast. This new Dogboots is also going to be on his new album. He closed with another piece from his sessions with Joel Hoekstra. After, we got to talk with him for a little bit, and he's such a nice guy. To top the night off, I won a Sabian 20" crash from the raffle prizes, and had Virg sign it, obviously :cool: Makes me wish Virgil could do something like this once a week in my town or something haha :) cheers.