This is, bar none, the finest performance of this great rock song you'll find on the web. It's Donnie Iris performing his 1981 hit, "Ah, Leah", and it's a must-watch. Well, what are you waiting for?! Check it out!
RANDOM THOUGHTS... According to the screen shot at the end of this video, this was aired on WQED (Pittsburgh) in 2002. The band he's playing with are the house band from that local TV station, and let me tell you, these guys (and gal) kick some serious ass in this one! I mean, they knock it out of the park. Every single member of that band are spot-on, technically precise, and provide a note-perfect rendition of this song. The grinding distortion of the guitars and Donnie Iris' amazing vocal performance just sound way better than the original album version. Iris' pipes are definitely still intact, he really nails it here, it's awesome to watch. That must have been an amazing feeling to be there in the TV studio that day. Encore! ... Did I mention that I love the grinding distortion on the lead guitar in this video? Oh man, it's like a chainsaw! It's great! These guys might look buttoned-down but don't let that fool you, they're playing the hell out of their instruments. They're kinda like Max Weinberg that way. Weinberg wears a 3-piece suit with cuff links, and meanwhile his arms are going crazy, going from crash cymbal to snare to tom to another crash cymbal in one fluid motion at lightning speed. Anyway, back to the guitar tone. Just listen to it during the verses (0:36) and also when the axe-man stomps on a box and launches into a searing note-for-note rendition of the original solo (2:06). Perfect vibrato on the long sustained notes in the guitar solo, too. Top notch. Top notch. ... Donnie Iris' legendary vocal performance is even more amazing when you consider he was battling that damn microphone stand the entire time! Man, they've got that thing adjusted for someone about a foot taller than Donnie! Who was on before him? Leslie West?! First, Iris tries holding it at a 75 degree angle (0:51), with the base of the mic stand about 3 feet in front of him. Then he decides to leave the mic stand flat on the floor while he moves up to the second level (1:51) next to the bass player, only to have the stand vibrate away away from him when he lets go of it (2:24). Finally, he just says screw it and grips it with both hands, Axl Rose-style (2:49), before he belts it out in the final chorus. And I'm not joking when I say he nails it! You can tell he's really into it, probably psyched to be playing with a backing band this good. He even busts out some inspired air guitar (3:13)! Amazing performance by the great Donnie Iris. ... I seriously could go on for a long time about how good the band is here. The bass sounds great, the rhythm guitarist/ backup singer (the guy who introduced Donnie Iris) is on his game both instrumentally and vocally, the drummer hits every single bass drum kick and tom shot in the right place and executes an excellent big fill at the end, the keyboardist is great both on the keys and with backup vocals, the gorgeous woman sounds fantastic, and even the guy behind the lead guitarist bobbing his head meaningfully (0:30, and much like I'm doing right now) is spot-on. These guys rock! If WQED has other sets like this one, I would probably pay for the channel. This is better than anything you'll find on MTV. Rock on, Pittsburgh!
.
Donnie Iris - Ah, Leah
RANDOM THOUGHTS... According to the screen shot at the end of this video, this was aired on WQED (Pittsburgh) in 2002. The band he's playing with are the house band from that local TV station, and let me tell you, these guys (and gal) kick some serious ass in this one! I mean, they knock it out of the park. Every single member of that band are spot-on, technically precise, and provide a note-perfect rendition of this song. The grinding distortion of the guitars and Donnie Iris' amazing vocal performance just sound way better than the original album version. Iris' pipes are definitely still intact, he really nails it here, it's awesome to watch. That must have been an amazing feeling to be there in the TV studio that day. Encore! ... Did I mention that I love the grinding distortion on the lead guitar in this video? Oh man, it's like a chainsaw! It's great! These guys might look buttoned-down but don't let that fool you, they're playing the hell out of their instruments. They're kinda like Max Weinberg that way. Weinberg wears a 3-piece suit with cuff links, and meanwhile his arms are going crazy, going from crash cymbal to snare to tom to another crash cymbal in one fluid motion at lightning speed. Anyway, back to the guitar tone. Just listen to it during the verses (0:36) and also when the axe-man stomps on a box and launches into a searing note-for-note rendition of the original solo (2:06). Perfect vibrato on the long sustained notes in the guitar solo, too. Top notch. Top notch. ... Donnie Iris' legendary vocal performance is even more amazing when you consider he was battling that damn microphone stand the entire time! Man, they've got that thing adjusted for someone about a foot taller than Donnie! Who was on before him? Leslie West?! First, Iris tries holding it at a 75 degree angle (0:51), with the base of the mic stand about 3 feet in front of him. Then he decides to leave the mic stand flat on the floor while he moves up to the second level (1:51) next to the bass player, only to have the stand vibrate away away from him when he lets go of it (2:24). Finally, he just says screw it and grips it with both hands, Axl Rose-style (2:49), before he belts it out in the final chorus. And I'm not joking when I say he nails it! You can tell he's really into it, probably psyched to be playing with a backing band this good. He even busts out some inspired air guitar (3:13)! Amazing performance by the great Donnie Iris. ... I seriously could go on for a long time about how good the band is here. The bass sounds great, the rhythm guitarist/ backup singer (the guy who introduced Donnie Iris) is on his game both instrumentally and vocally, the drummer hits every single bass drum kick and tom shot in the right place and executes an excellent big fill at the end, the keyboardist is great both on the keys and with backup vocals, the gorgeous woman sounds fantastic, and even the guy behind the lead guitarist bobbing his head meaningfully (0:30, and much like I'm doing right now) is spot-on. These guys rock! If WQED has other sets like this one, I would probably pay for the channel. This is better than anything you'll find on MTV. Rock on, Pittsburgh!
.
This is incredible! Outstanding.
ReplyDelete