Luke Blows the Roof Off the World Famous Baked Potato in L.A

[Rockinreggie]

El Grupo at the Baked Potato
Sunday 18 December 2005 11:35 by Arend
A cut above the rest
If you live in the Los Angeles area & missed El Grupo @ the Baked Potato then it's your own fault! Fans from as far away as Dallas,TX, & Tokyo, Japan were thankful they made the trip to see this extra special Steve Lukather guitar spectactular.
I knew in the first few minutes that this show was going to be a cut above the rest. The lengthy solo on the first number Dismemberment was worth the price of addmission & the first indication that this was going to be a special night. This quartet gets more from a six song set than anyone around. The bands haunting extended intro on Michael Landau's I'm buzzed and the song itself was another special treat. That number takes the crowd to many different places.
Luke dedicated Little wing to Phil Soussan's (Ozzy, Billy Idol, Steve Lukather) father. In an emotional moment Phil came to the stage & hugged Luke at the close of the song. The group's take on the Jeff Beck song Led boots ended the song with a Spanish flavor that was different & very enjoyable. Always a showman & the reason you shouldn't miss ANY Luke performance was his James Brown imitation. With Luke you'll never know what you'll get & you'll get something at every show. Drummer Joey Heredia is a continuous machine behind Luke & another reason this band stands out. El Grupo really is a group project with keyboard player Steve Weingart & bass player Oscar Cartaya each having numerous shining moments.
I had the chance to talk to Luke about several things. I asked how was it having your son watching you shakin' his head in amazement. Luke told me "He's my best friend, it's great. He's got his own thing going. He's great. You should hear him". About the recent nationwide "Mark & Brian" radio show brodcast Luke said "It was loose but it was fun". About the Rockline appearance with Steve Vai Luke said "It was great. I got in trouble for playing the cut from the new album but what else am I supposed to do? Steve Vai has been great to me & is a great friend." I also had a moment to talk to Phil Soussan about his new album release Vibrate. Phil told me how happy he was to have so many Luke connections involved. Luke & his son Trevor are on the new release along with other Luke connections, Jeff Babko, Simon Phillips, David Paich & Steve Porcaro. Once again it was a night of the many faces of Steve Lukather guitar whiz, band member, comedian, friend, showman & loving father.

Set list: Dismemberment, Freedom, I'm buzzed, Birdland, Christmas instumental, Medley, Little wing, Led boots, Silent night.

Check out my pictures http://www.stevelukather.net/Review.aspx?id=58

[Rockindeano]

A buddy of mine told me Lukather was indeed on fire. I asked him if there was a comparison to Neal Schon, and he said, No. They are both great...not good, but great.