The Doobie Brothers @ AMT

The brothers rolled through town on their way to China Grove. As their Harleys were rumbling on down the road, they were rocking’ down the highway and listening to the music. At one point they even had to cross the black water. Along the way they met up with some old friends in Lancaster, PA. The brothers were having fun on this trip. Now these brothers are no ordinary brothers. In fact they are not blood brothers at all. They are the Doobie Brothers.
For bands that have been playing together for 30+ years and should be looking at the road of retirement something keeps them going. These bands are long passing the height of their heyday and their popularity. Gone are the days of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Only one part of that remains, the rock and roll. It is all about the music for them now.
The Doobie Brothers are like the energizer bunny; they keep going and going and going… But they never stayed with one style or genre of musical taste. As band members left and new people joined the group, so the styles changed and grew and evolved. It showed in their performance. The song selection ranged from the very beginning of the band to the current line up’s style.
In the early advent of the band they were rockers and a bar band, popular among many including members of the Hell’s Angels. When new members, such as, Michael McDonald, came into the fold their sound evolved into a more R&B style. When the brothers added a second drum kit, their sound was unified and complete. To this day they still play with two full drum kits and drummers. For many years it was Keith Knudsen and Mike Hossick. Knudsen passed away in 2005, from cancer. After his passing they brought in Ed Toth, who is still with them and keeping pace with Hossick.
The brothers brought all of those sounds and genres with them as they rolled into American Music Theater. With the crashing sounds of the syncopated drum kits spearheaded by Toth and Hossick, as the backbone of their sound, the brothers ripped into, “Take Me in Your Arms,” as a lion tears into his fresh kill. They followed up with “Jesus is Just Alright with Me.” There was no stopping them. They came for one thing and one thing only, to play music and put a smile on every person’s face that was there.
From their first musical riff to their last riff, the Doobies were having fun on stage and it showed, especially on the face of lead guitarist, Patrick Simmons. The smile never left his face. The twinkle of a 20 something year old appeared to glisten in his eye. If you were sitting close enough you could see the enjoyment penetrating through Simmons’ eyes.

Throughout the performance that particular gleam stayed in his eyes. These brothers have been through a lot over the years but that sparkle is still there. That sparkle resonated with the fans as they cheered for their favorites and even when the brothers introduced a new song, “Back to the Château” on their soon to be released new album.
As founding member, Tom Johnson put it, the new album “should be here anytime now” as he stood looking at his watch. While the fans wait for that arrival, they ears received a taste of nostalgia and a trip to memory lane. That lane might a bit dusty for some but with songs like, “Black Water”, “China Grove”, and “Listen to the Music” the road became a bit less dusty. Bass player, Skylark, a member of the band since the 1990’s, handles the vocals of former Doobie brother, Michael McDonald as if they were his own creation. As he sang lead on, “One Step Closer”, if you had never heard the song before you’d think it was his original work. AS the night closed out, the brothers truly had their fans “Rockin’ down the highway” all the way to their front doors.

Reo Speedwagon @ AMT 4/3/09

In a day and age when old rock bands have made their money and have faded out into the sunset on some deserted beach with a cocktail in the hand, it is nice to see some of them come back to the sunrise and play once again. 80’s perennial rock balladeers, Reo Speedwagon is one such band. Long gone are the 40,000 seat capacity stadium filled concerts. Replace now with smaller 2000 seat capacity venues for a more intimate performance.
From start to finish Reo Speedwagon had the audience eating out of the palm of their hands. With power ballads like “Take It on the Run,” and “Can’t Fight The Feeling” the audience ate it up. They were not all about the power ballads though. Lead singer Kevin Cronin commented that there are certain things that should not go together. They are good on their own but not together, as he introduced “Thinkin’ and Drinkin’”. Cronin and the rest of the band mates, especially bassist Bruce Hall and guitarist Dave Amato where constantly moving about on the stage and interacting with each and at times they come to the edge of the stage to wow the crowd with the guitar skills.

Drummer Bryan Hitt kept the pace moving with the rest of the band with his drumming skills that bordered on John Bonhemesque styling. As the show progressed Cronin talked about the origins of the band as they started out as a bar band at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill. They gained a following and soon became the most popular bar band in the area and even in Chicago where they started to travel to play.
Cronin talked about writing a song based of off the blues tune “Illinois Shuffle” but as they added new members, mainly Amato and Hall, it became a Illinois shuffle with a little bit of Beantown shuffle mixed with east Texas shuffle. Cronin said, “It’s now the Chicago- meets Beantown-meets East Texas Shuffle, also known as “If You Ever Get Lonely.”
Before going into “Can’t Fight This Feeling” Cronin commented that he never set out to right a particular song, they just come to him, “But if I would ever write a song about the lovely ladies of Lancaster, PA this would be it.” With that comment all of the ladies cheered as pianist Neal Doughty started playing the intro to “Can’t Fight This Felling.” The song started with Doughty on piano and 1 single spot light on him and Cronin at the microphone, hands out to his sides with him being lit by another lone spotlight.
Cronin turned over the lead vocal reigns to Bruce Hall for one song, “We’ll let the hardest work man in show business show you why he is that”, said Cronin about Hall. Hall handled the vocals for “Back on the Road Again” as he had when the song was originally recorded. As Hall played and took the spotlight for a moment or two, Cronin sat back at the piano. After Hall fished the stage lights went dim with the exception on one spotlight on Cronin at the piano. He started the piano intro to “Keep on Loving You” at which point the audience cheered with excitement and approval of the song choice. Cronin stayed at the piano for “Soon As You Are Able.”
For one night power ballads reigned supreme once again.

Jewel @ AMT 2/4/09

In the same vein as when she started performing, singer Jewel Kilcher stood on a stage just her and her guitar and the audience in front of her. She made a short stop at the American Music Theater in Lancaster, PA as part of her solo tour. Jewel started her show with an acapella version of Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Ranbow.” Jewel talked between her songs about her upbringing and performing with her parents; before they divorced; and then later with just she and her dad playing together. She talked about “The Last Dance Rodeo” which she wrote for a Vietnam veteran who would not get the courage to ask a certain red leotard clad lady to dance at a local bar she and her dad were playing.
Other highlights included “Sorry is a Stupid Word,” “Hands,” “The Ballad of Posey and Nick,” and “Stephensville Texas”, a song which was inspired by Bob Dylan, who was a huge influence on her early in Jewel’s career. She actually was able to open for Dylan. During the song “Stephensville Texas” she messed up the songs and the some of the audience members actually shouted out the lyrics to her. Witout missing a beat Jewel finished the song and then asked if they would finish the show for her, which the audience laughed and applauded at the comment.
Near the end of the performance Jewel broke out some of her older hits included on her first release, “Pieces of You.” She sang “Foolish Games,” and the first song she ever wrote, “Who Will Save Your Soul.” She says, “The first time I heard myself on the radio was that song. I sounded like Kermit the frog. It was my most embarrassing moment, which I rode all the way to the bank and the rest is history.” She ended her set with “Who Will Save Your Soul” and left the stage, only to return for a two song encore.
She sang a cover of “Help Me Get through the Night” and then at the request of fans throughout the night she did a “yoddle” song to end the night. The audience left with the jewel sparkle in their eyes.

Peter, Paul and Mary @ AMT 5/3/09

“The secret, is getting arrested together,” says Peter Yarrow, as he explains why he, Mary Travers and Paul Stookey have stayed together as the folk trio, Peter, Paul, and Mary. Yarrow further explains “the folk group that sings together, gets arrested together, cries together, stays together, for 50 years.”
As they were giving a performance at the American Music Theater in Lancaster, PA, another American icon, which had great influence on PPM, was being celebrated. Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday celebration was being held at the same time. PPM made several mentions of Seeger throughout their performance as especially when they performed “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.”
Fans were treated and surprised along the way. As the current rose, PPM was greeted to a standing ovation while the three, remained seated around their microphones. Travers is now in a wheelchair and on oxygen due to her leukemia. Peter and Paul have decided to remain seated also for her benefit.
Travers’ body maybe physically weakening, but her voice is as tenacious as ever. The raw poignancy of her voice came through on songs such has “If I had a Hammer” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Political in their message still to this day and in their music as when they first started out. They held back nothing. The songs they sang as they marched with Dr. King in 1963 have the same meaning still today. “The political scene has not changed, just the faces,” said Stookey.
Politics and ideology aside, attendees to the show were treated to many of their classics, including “Puff the Magic Dragon.” Near the end of the song, the audience was out singing PPM, which prompted PPM to stop singing and let the audience continue on with the song. Other ear candy included, “Where Have All of the Flowers Gone”, “Leaving on a Jet plane,” “Don’t Laugh at Me,” “Have You Been to Jail for Justice, “ and “Light One Candle” ended the first half of the show. Through out their set PPM bantered back and forth with each other and more importantly with the audience to keep them entertained.
After a brief 20 minute intermission, Yarrow returned to the stage to perform two solo songs, which included “Jimmy Crack Corn” and “Day is Done”, “a song of fear, anxiety, and in the end optimism by the next generation, which is what we need today” said Yarrow as he introduced the song. After his two-song solo, Yarrow introduced his band mate and more importantly friend of almost 50 years, Paul Stookey.
Stookey took the stage and performed a song that “was written long before Obama, but is now a celebration of Obama”. The song, “In These Times.” He ended his set with “One Light, Many Candles.” Stookey proceeded to introduce the inspiration of the group, Mary Travers. Peter Yarrow wheel Mary out on stage to a sea of cheers and whistles of admiration and respect from the audience. Once again Travers was seen wiping the tears from her eyes. Peter promptly took his seat. Stookey and Yarrow played (without singing) as Travers sang, “Sometimes I feel Like a Motherless Child” and “The Water is Wide.” She talked at length about those who had come before us to pave the way for what has happened recently in our nation’s ability to overcome racism (though we have along ways to go she added) to be able to elect an African American as president. The second half set was shorter then the first have but just as entertaining. The second half featured “Leaving on a Jet Plane”, which Mary missed some of the lyrics and tried to sing the chorus before it was time, which prompted to raise her hands in the air in an oye ve moment. They also sang “The Kid” and “If I had a Hammer” which once again the audience out sang PPM. After “If I Had a Hammer” another standing ovation at which point Peter and Paul stood and acknowledged to crowd. The final standing ovation came at the end of the show closing signature, “Blowin’ in the Wind”. Travers ended the song with her trademark saying, “the answer is still peace, justice, and equality and all of us working together for these things together” as the tears were glistening on her cheeks. Her body maybe failing her, but Travers’ voice is strong as the day she first sang with Peter and Paul.

Michael Bolton at AMT 08-27-07

1990’s blued eyed soul singer, Michael Bolton crooned and swooned his way back into the heart of his fans during a performance at the American Music Theater in Lancaster on Monday Aug.27. Bolton broke up his performance look through his career thus far. Opening with songs from his “Timeless… The Classics” album, Bolton sat on a stood with acoustic guitar in hand playing thorough “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” and “When You Love Someone”.
As Bolton introduced the songs from his “Vintage” album, he commented that these songs have outlived their composers. “The compositions are by composed who are now decomposing”, he said. During the “Vintage” album set, Bolton left the stage near the end of the “It’s Summertime” only to return to the stage shortly later in a tuxedo outfit without the tie.
Bolton rolled into his versions of songs made famous by the late Frank Sinatra. “I’ve got to dress the part,” said as the backing band started into “For Once in MY life.” Always engaging the crowd and encouraging them to sing along or even take over singing the songs themselves. Bolton crooned his way through “Fly Me to the Moon”, “A Summer Wind”, Cole Porter’s “That Life”, and a song which he says he was hesitant about including on his “Bolton Swings Sinatra” CD because it is a song that defines a city. “I decided what the heck if people in Dallas can enjoy this song then it deserves to be on the CD. Dallas was the first place he performed, “Start Spreading the News”. After these songs Bolton left the stage to change closes.
While he off stage left, the band played an instrumental song. When he returned to the stage in a shirt and blue jeans, he entered through a side door in the venue and walked through the crowd and started into the Percy Sledge classic, “When a Man Loves a Woman”. The crowd absolutely enjoyed that highlight moment. Camera flash bulbs were going off left and right as he walked through the aisle back to the stage to finish his performance.
Bolton proceeded to go into his classic hits, “How Can We Be Lovers”, “Time, Love, and Tenderness”. As he left the stage to end his performance audience members were on their feet clapping and cheering more, with shouts of “I love you Michael” rang out throughout the audience. Michael Bolton returned to the stage for one more song. “This was the 1st song I wrote for another person. This was when I could stop worrying about my rent check bouncing. As they say the rest is now history.” Bolton ended his performance with that song, “How Am I Suppose to Live without You” to the delight of the concertgoers.

The Beach Boys at AMT February 15, 2007

Young and old and everything in between came together to kick off their sandals, feel the sand between their toes and listen to the surf as Southern California’s favorite sons, the Beach Boys performed for 2 nights at the American Music Theater in Lancaster. Due to the inclement weather, the Valentine’s Day show was canceled. For those who braved the cold weather the next evening were treated to the warmth of the sun and a bit of nostalgia of sand, surf, cars, and of course, girls. You cannot have beach boys without those California girls. The current touring lineup of the Beach Boys shows little resemblance to the original Beach Boys, which featured the Wilson brothers, Brian, Dennis, and Carl, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Bruce Johnston joined in 1965 and is still a member of the band. Brian Wilson and Al Jardine are currently performing on solo tours and working on other musical projects. Carl and Dennis Wilson have since passed away. For those fans who want to see the original Beach Boys, sorry to say that will not happen. At this moment in time there is little hope of an onstage reunion between Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Brian Wilson. Love is the only original Beach Boy in the current line up. What fans will receive with today’s Beach Boys are some of their hits plus an extended oldies act which features many of the backing band members on lead vocals instead of Love or Johnston. Fans who do not care about who is or is not touring with the band anymore will be treated to all of the songs they grew up listening to on the radio.
Mike Love’s onstage persona of a “young” California boy still exists to this day even though he is well into his mid 60’s... He waves his hands and arms with the flow of the imaginary surf during “California Girls” and “Surfer Girl”. He is at the top of his performance when it came to the Beach Boys’ car songs. Once those old hotrods have been hotwired one more time, Love and the band are off and burning rubber in 5th gear. Unfortunately it took almost half of their show to reach that point.
As expected they opened with their anthem, “California Girls” and moved directly into “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”. “When I Grow Up to Be a Man” was a surprising addition to their line up for this show. After playing 9 songs straight, Mike Love took the opportunity to introduce the band members, Mike Kowalski on the drums, John Cowsill, Bruce Johnston, and Tim Bonhamme all on the keyboards, Randall Kirsch and Scott Totten both on electric guitar, Chris Farmer on bass, and Christian Love, Mike’s son, on acoustic guitar.
A few highlights shown through an otherwise auto pilot performance. The highlights came when Christian Love sang lead on “Getcha Back”. His vocals were reminiscence of a young Carl Wilson as Carl would sing lead on “Long Promise Road”. The beautiful acapella version of “Their Hearts Were Full of Spring”. This song featured the vocal harmonization of Randall Kirsch, Scott Totten, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, and Chris Farmer. It was the first resemblance that night that the true Beach Boysesque harmonies to come alive. The most obvious highlight was the car songs. The band came alive and out of their autopilot mode to become hotwired themselves.
Christian and Mike Love tag teamed the vocals on “Good Vibrations”. To end their set list they pulled out their surfing songs, “Surfin’ Safari” and “Surfin’ USA”. As the guitar riffs began to ring out for “Surfin’ USA a giant American flag was unfurraled at the back of the stage. What is more American then a Beach Boys concert?
Though Mike Love has received a bad rap over the years and has been portrayed as the “villain” of the group, he keeps The Beach Boys out in front of the fans and continues to give then what they want to hear day in and day out almost 300 shows a year.
As for now the surf is not rising and the surf boards are losing wax so it is time for these Beach Boys to catch a wave to a new surfing spot, but don’t worry they will be catching a wave back here soon.

Rock and Roll Legends Concert Reviews

As a freelance photographer and writer I have been fortunate enough to have reviewed performances of musicians who have been around for awhile. This blog is designed as another outlet for me to be able to share these reviews with you, the fans of these bands. I will also include photos that I have been allowed to take during the performance. Along with reviewing conerts I will also review first run productions of some of the shows that are playing in my area. I hope you enjoy and keep checking out the blog as I will be adding several reviews in the next coming days. These reviews wil include, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Reo Speedwagon, Brian WIlson, The Beach Boys, Al Jardine to name a few. Also I will be posting photographs form other performances that I reviewed back in 1999-2005. I hope you enjoy. My goal with these posts are to give you, the read an honest look at the performance, good or bad. Enjoy.


Scott
A Rock and Roll Fan