Andy McKee and Don Ross have just released their duet album this year called “the thing that came from somewhere”. Featuring on this album are five familiar tunes from their solo careers such as Andy’s Rylynn and Don’s Tight Trite Night. These songs performed together are so fantastic, and even though their guitar playing is similar they both add an extra element to each duet track. Andy McKee made his mark on the music world, when he released a few songs on the website “you tube”. Candy Rat records picked up Andy and signed him. With Candy Rat records now behind Andy he released his first album called Art of Motion.
Don Ross was watching Andy develop from a far, and when he judged a finger guitar competition with Andy McKee coming in second place, he knew he had to get in contact with Andy straight away. With Andy actually playing a few of Don’s tunes, Don realized that playing together could be a great thing. As it so turned out they have become very good friends and now are touring with their new album.
The Thekla tonight had a different atmosphere, arriving early I found that the people were very relaxed and not yet infused with alcohol. Tonight’s concert was to my surprise not sold out, with just one hundred and forty tickets purchased. Speaking to a huge fan of Andy McKee before the show was interesting as he said the best way to see these guys was up close and personal. The Thekla started to fill and as Andy and Don came out onto the stage the crowd were very humble to there presence. As they opened their first track the crowd looked like someone had just zapped them with a stun gun. The sound was so superb and straight away you could tell the acoustics were excellent.
Into the first solo Andy broke his G-string and launched it into the crowd apologizing for the immediate delay. Don then joked while Andy was replacing his string by stating that someone could probably get fifty pence for the string on Ebay. Don then took over and performed his solo with his amazing percussion hits powering through the speakers. When finished he realized that the crowd were getting ready for a long night. As Don turned to introduce Andy McKee he plucked his guitar and also broke his G string, with the crowd in hysterics Don announced that it must be G string night tonight! Andy also laughing now came to the microphone and said that thats some karma for you! The night now became a comedy fest with Don Ross also now making cartoon Daffy Duck impressions at the end of every song, which was very impressive and had the crowd in laughter throughout the performance.
When the guitar hero’s arrived back on stage from the interval the crowd was ready. There were a few fans shouting out requests which surprised Andy and Don, because they were not expecting Bristol to know any of their music. With Andy McKee playing his most viewed you tube track Africa performed by the rock band Toto, gave the crowd a reason to shout. Before playing this track McKee asked if anyone enjoyed eighties music, a few hands rose and some screams came from the balcony. Straight away I knew what was coming, with a hit on the bottom of the guitar it was the song Africa for sure. As Africa started to unravel the audience recognized the tune and a slight hum of the lyrics came from the Thekla, straight away Andy returned a smile.
The Crowd were in their element as the Guitarists pumped out most of their duet album including an awesome performance of Ebon Coast, a track that has such a unique sound and pushes both guitar players to out perform each other. Andy and Don were very pleased with the crowd and even said that this does not feel like a Tuesday crowd, more of a Thursday! The jokes kept coming and when the encore arrived you could tell that the crowd didn’t want this concert to end. The feeling was mutual when Don announced that they wanted to give an extra song for the encore because of how great this audience was.
closing the night was an after signing of merchandise and meeting with Don Ross and Andy McKee. They were very pleased to meet all the Bristol fans and they really hoped that Bristol enjoyed the show. Whilst waiting to see them the fans all around me were very relaxed and respectful of everyone else, with no bumping jumping and pushing there way to the front the crowd actually were very reserved and calm waiting to see the stars of tonight. The main question burning in my mind was why Toto? I wanted to know if Toto was an inspiration. Being a fan of Toto made me so excited to see what Andy McKee really thought of them. Meeting Don Ross was a great experience and you could tell he was really enjoying speaking to the fans a couple from London were so excited on speaking with Don that they jumped on him when they got to the front of the stage! Speaking with Andy was such a great experience, and I had to ask if Toto was an inspiration to him as a musican and how he came about playng Africa.
“Oh yeah, Toto are for me one of the greatest rock bands, and an inspiration for sure. I am glad that you enjoy my improvisations. When I posted Africa, I actually received an email from each member of Toto all saying how much they enjoyed my version of Africa, I was blown away it was great”
Andy McKee
This concert was filled with humor, brilliant music and a great interaction between the crowd and the artists. Don and Andy are brilliant musicians, and are rocking the stage together on their duet tour, it would be a mistake not to catch these guys live. They really are Guitar Geniuses.
