Summer Concert Wrap-Up—

Fewer Major Shows, But Classic Performers Still Packed A Punch

By John Voket

This summer seemed to offer the lightest schedule of shows in recent years, and major acts on anticipated mega-tours like The Rolling Stones and U2 did not develop. While The Newtown Bee previously covered a number of the best shows that hit regional stages this summer, several that were attended were not included in our coverage to date.

So as concertgoers turn their attention to the indoor shows of fall and winter, we’ll take a last look at a few of the unsung performances that drew cheering fans to various venues in the area during late summer.

 

The Rock & Blues Fest

August 12, Westchester County Center

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Proving that you are never too old to rock and roll, a posse of truly classic artists blew the roof off the Westchester County Center on August 12. This vintage meeting hall and convention center about 40 minutes from Newtown began hosting concerts again this year after being dark for some time.

In its heyday, the Center hosted all the greats including Hendrix and The Who, and this summer the venue hosted a diverse collection of acts from the Beach Boys reunion show, to Boston, and Aretha Franklin.

But on this hot August night, a show billed as “The Rock & Blues Fest” hosted The Johnny Winter Band, The Edgar Winter Band, Rick Derringer, Leslie West of Mountain, and Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown.

It was a treat to see these acts, all of which contributed significantly to rock radio during the late 1960s and 70s still willing and able to put it all out there for fans, some of whom were attending with adult children toting grandchildren. According to an advance, among them the musicians have captured four Grammy Awards, ten Grammy nominations, produced 14 Billboard-charting songs, 18 Billboard-charting albums, ten Gold albums, and four Platinum albums.

While the show clocked in at almost three hours, the varied performers shuffling on and off made the time fly. Simmonds was a good opener, combining some great jamming with capable vocals on a handful of songs before welcoming West, who rolled out in his motorized wheelchair.

West, who is a diabetic, lost a leg last year to the disease. But to his credit, the situation has not significantly affected his playing as he blasted the audience with a long, loud guitar intro fading into an abbreviated take on Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready.”

He followed with an equally blistering “Nantucket Sleigh Ride,” and got everyone up and singing along to his trademark rocker, “Mississippi Queen.”

Rick Derringer was next, opening with “Still Alive and Well” before taking the crowd back in time to his first big hit with The McCoys, “Hang On Sloopy.” He showed his true colors with a rendition of “Real American,” and closed out his set with a rollicking “Rock & Roll Hootchie Koo.”

Edgar Winter arrived next, stealing the show by displaying his proficiency on keyboards, percussion, drums and saxophone. Among the highlights of his too brief set was a rendition of the traditional blues classic “Tobacco Road,” and the unmistakable classic rock instrumental “Frankenstein.”

Johnny Winter closed the show, also offering some great blues guitar work. But even when he was joined by Derringer and his brother, Johnny Winter could not raise to the energy level of his “little brother.”

Among the well received numbers during the Rock & Blues Fest’s final set were Winter’s opening cover of “Johnny B Goode,” “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl,” and his high speed take on Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited.”

Blues Traveler

August 24

Klein Auditorium

BRIDGEPORT — It doesn’t seem like Blues Traveler should fall into the category of “Classic Rock,” but the harmonica and guitar-fueled band from Princeton, N.J., first began turning heads and packing concert venues a quarter-century ago. And since its first few shows back in 1987, John Popper and his cohorts — Chan Kinchla, brother Tad Kinchla, Brendan Hill and Ben Wilson — have remained loyal to their jam band roots.

Their August show at Bridgeport’s Klein was a tribute to their longevity and loyalty to one another, as so many other bands that have come along with a few charting singles since have jettisoned some or most of their original members.

Despite a combination of technical problems with his monitoring system, and the fact that he was given throat scorching ginger tea which nearly disabled his voice, frontman Popper recovered quickly leading the band through a two-hour-plus showcase of hits, obscure Blues Traveler album cuts, a few choice covers and a good dose of new material from their latest offering, Suzie Cracks the Whip.

Among the varied samples from its catalog, Blues Traveler performed “Alone,” “Sweet talking Hippie,” as well as the popular up-tempo “But Anyway” and “Run Around.” Highpoints from the new album included a hard rocking “Devil in the Details,” and the well sung ballad “Cara Let The Moon” featuring Popper and Wilson alone on stage.

Covers of Sublime’s “What I Got,” Radiohead’s “Creep,” and the band’s encore of Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” also gave casual fans something to remember as they headed for the door just before midnight.

The J. Geils Band

September 16

Mohegan Sun Arena

MASHANTUCKET — It was an interesting summer for The J. Geils Band, as several founding and longstanding members of hit the road without the band’s namesake guitarist along for a cross-country house party that hit the stage at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, September 16.

About a month before the Connecticut appearance, The Boston Globe reported that John (J) Geils Jr. filed a lawsuit accusing bandmates Peter Wolf, Seth Justman, Magic Dick and Danny Klein of trademark infringement and deceptive business practices. The suit claims that Geils owns the “J. Geils Band” trademark, and the band sought “to misappropriate and steal” the name from Geils by touring without him, even though he signed away those exclusive rights in 1982.

But The J. Geils Band of 2012 worked just fine, turning in a high energy midweek show with no evidence of any bad feelings about the ongoing legal wrangling going on off stage.

Actually, Geils absence seems to have reinvigorated the rest of the group, which is now turning in the caliber of performances that made them a “must-see” two decades earlier. The band’s selection of horn and harp-driven party anthems included their most popular video hits “Freeze Frame” and “Centerfold,” which were performed with spot-on perfection among the two-dozen electrifying numbers that lit up the audience.

From the machine-gun opener “Sno-Cone,” through to the enduring cover of “Land of 1,000 Dances” that closed the show nearly 2½ hours later, the crowd got nothing short of opening night quality, despite the fact that the tour was just a few stops from wrapping up.

Besides the exceptionally articulated harp work from Magic Dick (Richard Salwitz), each member played to their strength, with Justman revving up his Hammond B3 organ or alternately pounding out the piano accompaniments.

Klein was beaming with his trademark Cheshire Cat grin throughout as he held down the bottom end, and Wolf continues to amaze with a persona unequalled except maybe by Bruce Springsteen, with an ability to mesmerize a crowd while swinging and shuffling around the stage like a crooning raconteur.

A double-barreled guitar onslaught was delivered courtesy of Wolf’s friend and guitarist Duke Levine, who was joined by a more low-key but equally talented Kevin Barry. Drummer Tom Arey was no slouch either, keeping up with the rapid-fire material that seemed to run one into the next with no end in sight.

And just when you thought the J. Geils Band couldn’t pack another note into its roof rocking showcase, the Uptown Horns appeared laying down a blanket of brass to boost the appeal of more than half the numbers on the setlist.

Other highpoints of the evening included “Night Time,” “Sanctuary” (which also highlighted backup singers Andricka Hall and Catherine Russell), “Give It To Me,” “Whammer Jammer,” and the obscure “Start All Over Again.”

Earth Wind & Fire

September 20

Palace Theater

STAMFORD — On the last full day of the summer, Earth Wind & Fire proved that the classic funk and pop movement of the 70s and early 80s can still pack a punch, and fill a lot of concert seats. This was the case as the nearly sold-out Palace Theater in Stamford hosted the iconic troupe of musicians, which included three co-founding members.

Those core artists who first hit the scene 41 years ago — singer/percussionist Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson and bassist Verdine White — now lead a troupe of talented musicians who are a treat for the eyes and ears.

Tapping lush, sometimes six and seven-part harmonies, pumping horn arrangements, slamming rhythms and a thick catalog of top charting hits, Earth Wind & Fire was a joy to behold as they opened the Stamford set with the infectious “Boogie Wonderland,” “Sing A Song” and “Shining Star.”

Besides his stratospheric falsetto, which remains in crystal-shattering top form, Bailey cooled the crowd down for just a few moments with a little lesson about band founder Maurice White and his African kalimba.

The band’s fat horn section returned on “Keep Your Head to the Sky,” as Bailey’s soaring vocals and sweeping gestures energized the audience with his very dramatic, old-school showmanship.

The hits kept coming with the driving Beatles cover of “Got To Get You Into My Life,” “Reasons” and “Fantasy,” each seemiong to outpace the intensity of the previous number, while “After the Love Is Gone” showcased the band’s ability to make their ballads equally engaging.