David Pajo

theatreanchor

Saw Gang of Four in London tonight. Though he was playing Andy Gill’s parts, Pajo completely stole the show. Incredible playing. Terrific sound. Defining more with less. 

I suspect I’m probably only talking to two other people here. 

Anyway. 

That’s all. 

distressed

Must admit I didn't know Pajo was in Gang of Four.

Grangousier

It's an interesting situation - until his death, Gang of Four was essentially Andy Gill (Gang of One), but I think currently it's Jon King, Hugo Burnham, Sara Lee (so the original drummer and the replacement bass player) and David Pajo (Gang of Three Plus One). I saw a video last year about the revival, where he was obviously really committed to the bit. 

theatreanchor

@Grangousier Yes, that’s the lineup. I believe Sara joined in ‘81. 

Grangousier

Yes - for Songs of the Free and Hard (which aren't as highly prized as the first couple of albums, but I like them a lot). 

The only time I ever saw them was their (initial) farewell concert at Hammersmith Palais, so there were guest appearances by Dave Allen and Hugo (or as people kept shouting "Yerger!") Fantastic band. Seeing them do He'd Send In the Army on Whistle Test was a major lightbulb moment for me regarding what you could do with a guitar. 

theatreanchor

@Grangousier Those first two records are absolutely where it’s at for me.

theatreanchor

Does anybody know what amp he’s using here?

https://youtu.be/WaRHdiH96HY

theatreanchor

Appears to be a Dr Z of some kind. 

https://youtu.be/JhIuYbKkWg8

https://youtu.be/Mds3Np5rXFA

wesker123

distressed said:

Must admit I didn't know Pajo was in Gang of Four.

Me neither. Pajo great in Slint and Tortoise.

SPECTRUM001

I was just going to start a thread and saw yours @theatreanchor.

Yep, went to Bristol last night and was astonished. I love Gang Of Four and seen them when Andy was alive, so intrigued as to what these shows would be like. 

Oh my word ! A friend of mine was in the support band and told me to strap in for an experience, and he wasn’t wrong (he also said that Pajo built the Strat for the tour. Noting that Gill played on the bridge pickup with full tone, it has just the one pickup, a kill switch and no tone pot). Dare I (sacrilegiously) say; this gig was better than when I saw them previously ??!!

Whilst Dave Allen is (obviously) amazing, I found  Sara Lee’s bass to be more fluid and drove the groove. Hugo and Jon can’t put a foot wrong, but Pajo - wow. His mastery of sound and staccato playing was mesmerising. He looked brilliant and true to the ethos, and burst into a ripping heavyweight Johnny B Goode when noodling. Plus a cover of Roxette - with 2023 soundscaped nod to Wilko.

Interesting thoughts of ‘ who is the best player you have ever seen ?’. Happy to have been to many of my heroes (Gilmour, McGeogh, Will Sergeant, Hugh Cornwell and loads of others). 

But wow (again) - I honestly thought Pajo nailed dexterity with homage to Gill and the songs all, in effortless cool.

I am absolutely blown away.

oh_pollo

Pajo's "Whatever, mortal" which he recorded as Papa M is one of my all time faves. Didn't know he was playing with Gang of Four though.

theatreanchor

SPECTRUM001 said:

I was just going to start a thread and saw yours @theatreanchor.

Yep, went to Bristol last night and was astonished. I love Gang Of Four and seen them when Andy was alive, so intrigued as to what these shows would be like. 

Oh my word ! A friend of mine was in the support band and told me to strap in for an experience, and he wasn’t wrong (he also said that Pajo built the Strat for the tour. Noting that Gill played on the bridge pickup with full tone, it has just the one pickup, a kill switch and no tone pot). Dare I (sacrilegiously) say; this gig was better than when I saw them previously ??!!

Whilst Dave Allen is (obviously) amazing, I found  Sara Lee’s bass to be more fluid and drove the groove. Hugo and Jon can’t put a foot wrong, but Pajo - wow. His mastery of sound and staccato playing was mesmerising. He looked brilliant and true to the ethos, and burst into a ripping heavyweight Johnny B Goode when noodling. Plus a cover of Roxette - with 2023 soundscaped nod to Wilko.

Interesting thoughts of ‘ who is the best player you have ever seen ?’. Happy to have been to many of my heroes (Gilmour, McGeogh, Will Sergeant, Hugh Cornwell and loads of others). 

But wow (again) - I honestly thought Pajo nailed dexterity with homage to Gill and the songs all, in effortless cool.

I am absolutely blown away.

Sounds like you got some cool stuff that we didn’t but I’m totally on board. I genuinely don’t have many guitar hero moments - but Go4, 2023, is absolutely one of them. One of the best things I’ve seen. The rest of the band were great too, but watching as a guitarist - Pajo was so great. Amazing.  

euan

David Pajo is one of my favourite musicians and I’ve been lucky to see him perform solo three times, the last to about fifteen people. It was a fascinating performance where he was relaxed chatting to the crowd as much telling stories as playing the guitar.  

Creed_Clicks

If you're on Instagram, Mr Pajo is worth a follow. Posts a few mod videos etc from time to time.

jonnyburgo

oh_pollo said:

Pajo's "Whatever, mortal" which he recorded as Papa M is one of my all time faves. Didn't know he was playing with Gang of Four though.

I agree, that my favourite Papa M record. Played it to death like 20 yrs ago or whenever it came out, still revisit from time to time.