Bobby McDonald with Apollo Blue at Club Bohemia August 16

Composer of Violet Intent CD rocks out with Apollo Blue trio 

by Joe Viglione

Club Bohemia in Central Square 

  One would think the spacey-psychedelic tones of Bobby McDonald teamed up with Hendrixian devotees - drummer Timothy Offiler, guitarist George Conduris and bassist

Ralph Bousquet of Apollo Blue  there wouldn't be the onslaught of intense raw riffing that this writer encountered when walking down the Cantab stairwell into the dark confines of Club Bohemia on Saturday, August 16, 2014.   At 11:05 pm the multi-dimensional jam was complemented with red, blue and green lights flashing on a metal snake, roller coasting their way along with the music.   

     With the Neil Young tuning it sounded like a "Down by the River" change of pace from the neo-Cream inflections of the previous jam,  The chords morphed into Pink Floyd's 1975 classic, "Welcome to the Machine," 2nd track off of Wish You Were Here.    By 11:13, eight minutes later,  a 60s riff resembling The Remains rendition of Bo Diddley and Willie Dixon's co-write "Diddy Wah Diddy" (the riff not as pronounced on the Remains live video)  the riff growing larger

with George Conduris adding some wah wah, which also increased along with the concentration of power.

 

   McDonald played in a band, Strange Medicine, with Conduris circa 2008 in Hyannis, the Apollo Blue guitarist told me in an interview after the show. The "Dream Pop, Space Rock" as the Violet Intent website notes is chock full of lyrics  
that probe the psyche, as in "the Violet Intent of Fireflies" which reveals  "...AND IT SHOWN IN YOUR EYES/THE LINES OF SORROW AND THOUGH THESE LIGHTS MAY HYPNOTIZE WERE ALL JUST FIGHTING FOR TOMORROW WE ARE JUST LIKE FIREFLIES..."

 

This differs wildly from what Conduris explains Apollo Blue conjures up "we do stuff that's harder (rock,) Blue Cheer's "Babylon," Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses," but noted that with McDonald they do improvisational jams. 

 

Apollo Blue itself formed last September, 2013, with its first show at PA's Lounge in May and then headlining Church on July 19th.   Apollo Blue will return for their own show on September 6th at Club Bohemia, perhaps a first anniversary show. 

 

Go to http://www.club-bohemia.com for more info 

Apollo Blue

 https://www.facebook.com/1apolloblue

Review of Violet Intent

http://joevigtop40.blogspot.com/2014_08_01_archive.html

Bobby McDonald's Violet Intent
8 song CD
http://www.violetintent.com/#!media/ct74