Asia - quick report, now with a pic of Wetton and his Victory

[dadagoboi]

Mick Ralphs reminiscing backstage at Bad Co gig in St Augustine last month: "We auditioned a lot of bass players.  Boz wasn't the best but he was the most fun to go to the pub with."

Maybe it's the same with Brian Johnson.

[gweimer]

Mick Ralphs reminiscing backstage at Bad Co gig in St Augustine last month: "We auditioned a lot of bass players.  Boz wasn't the best but he was the most fun to go to the pub with."

Maybe it's the same with Brian Johnson.

If you've heard interviews with Brian and Angus, you can tell that they get along really well.  Brian is actually a pretty funny guy. Don't forget that Bon Scott gave an indirect recommendation to have Brian replace him, if he ever left the band.  And I don't mind Johnson's voice that much.  It can be grating at times, but he fits the band pretty well.  It's not like Bon Scott was any Geoff Tate, you know.   

[gearHed289]

Wetton uses a thumb pick taped to his.... thumb, due to the carpal tunnel.

I know Brian Johnson is no Bon Scott. Still, he's lasted all these years with them so there must be some demand for hellish screeching. 

[jumbodbassman]

interesting that Carl has finally added a second bass drum decades later than when everyone else had one and after double pedals are common choices.  I have seen him probably 15 times.

[Barklessdog]

Last I read Wetton could barely play due to suffering severe Carpal Tunnel.

[Freuds_Cat]

That description accurately fits our guitar!st. Slows him down but doesn't stop him even though he has it quite bad in both hands.

[uwe]

Here's a pic from the show. I didn't take any that were worth a flip, but someone sent me one via Craigslist at my request. Many thanks to Doyle for the pic!

To all intents and purposes, that looks like Wetton's old Victory which had a black-finned neck. He must have kept it all these years - jeez, it's been a long time since anybody in a currently active pro band has played a Victory. They fell out of favor quickly in the eighties and were even the butt of jokes at Nashville with the Gibson luthiers (nicknamed "The Loser" as opposed to "The Victory").

[Denis]

Although it doesn't show it in this "dead-on-front" view, the neck is a natural finish. When Wetton was singing and not playing bass, a roadie came and took the Victory offstage as he had no guitar stand. It sounded pretty good in any event, and it was cool to see someone in a well known professional band play an old, rather unusual bass. As heavy as they are, they balance pretty darn well, much better than a Ripper, in my opinion. Strange that of all the weird basses Gibson produced, they referred to the Victory as the Loser!

[nofi]

nice clean stage. i love it when real talent shows you don't need a wall of amps .

[uwe]

I think the Victory Artist's gruff active sound has aged better than the RD Artist's more sterile one.

In Nashville, Victories fell out of favor once it dawned that the steel rod stabilized neck was, yes, hugely stable (I've never seen a Vic with a warped neck), but at the cost of the type of lively resonance even a cheapo Grabber had. Victories sound a lttle dead because of it, but at the same time the "dead neck" also gives the bass some added sublow ooomph which make it so useful for heavier music. So a Victory sounds deeper than a P Bass, but not as lively as a good P Bass will.

I guess Gibson luthiers found the (not uncommon, Fender have done it too) idea of stabilizing a neck in addition to the truss rod via steel inlays benath them as artisans. Phil Jones hated the Victory because of that (and the weight it entailed) and the fact that a bolt-on concept just wasn't right for Gibson.

[Denis]

As always, your evaluations are invaluable!

[uwe]

Here is what the man himself says abouth the thumb pick thing:

http://www.bassplayer.com/article/john-wetton-asia/jul-08/86223

"How do you feel about the reunion and Phoenix?

I'm very pleased; there's a camaraderie and spirit among us that wasn't present the first time around. In addition to songs from Phoenix, we're playing our early hits and songs from each of our careers, like [Yes's] "Roundabout," [the Buggles'] "Video Killed the Radio Star," and [Emerson Lake & Palmer's] "Fanfare for the Common Man." A lot of the music for Phoenix was written on tour, so it has all the band's colors. We all feel reborn; I know I do after my heart surgery. Our new song "An Extraordinary Life" is about just that—appreciating where we are right now. We're no longer just some '80s nostalgia band; we're a vital living and writing group. We had fun putting the album together; the only drag was my hand problems.

What's the current status of that?

Still not great, I'm afraid. It has been almost two years since I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. It's a swelling of the casing around the nerves in my hand, causing them to be trapped. I had an operation a few months after diagnosis to relieve the pressure, but it hasn't really helped. I need to have more surgery; I may have originally waited too long to treat it. My doctor said most cases like mine are among cellists because of the angle they hold their right hands at, to bow. For me, it started with a numb, pins-and-needles feeling, and now it can be painful and achy, quite unpleasant. I can't even hold my phone, much less a pick. So we tape a thumb pick on my right thumb, and I can pretty much play only downstrokes. Fortunately, being a lefty who plays right-handed, I'm able to fret the notes with my strong hand. Ultimately, this injury causes the muscles in the hand to wither, so my recommendation, if you discover symptoms, is to seek medical advice immediately."