Max Weinberg and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - July 21, 2011 - Meijer Gardens

Michelle and I went to the Max Weinbeg and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert at Meijer Gardens Ampitheater - Thanks to John Gonzalez and the Grand Rapids Press for providing the tickets.    The concert was Thursday July 21, 2011.

Max and his 6 supporting musicians opened the show.   For those who may not recall, Max Weinberg has been the drummer for Bruce Springsteen, as well as doing a long stint as band leader on Conan O'Brien's late show (prior to the whole Jay Leno fiasco).    His band consisted of Bill Champlin (formerly of Chicago) on guitar/vocals/organ, Will Champlin (Bill's son) on keyboards/vocals, Carmen Grillo (from Tower of Power) on guitar/vocals, Bobby Watson on bass guitar/vocals, Steve Madaio on trumpet, and Jerry Vivino on Saxophone.    The band covered quite a variety of songs from different eras.   Some highlights included "Heat of the Night" (theme from the TV show), "634-5789", "Turn Your Love Around" (tune Bill wrote for George Benson), and "Can't Be Still" (a Booker T & the MGs song).     Max and his band played for about 45 minutes (or so), and seemed to just be a bunch of guys who loved playing some of their favorite music -  nothing pretentious or flashy.    After their set, Max could be seen along the side stage area meeting fans.

Next up was Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.    BBVD are one of the bands who rose to fame during the "swing" resurgence of the late 1990s.    However, they have managed to dabble in other related styles, while still growing a fanbase.    According to band info, they have been around almost 18 years now, and have had 8 releases (7 studio, 1 live).   Lead singer and guitarist Scotty Morris said they have all original members.   We had last seen the band at The Intersection in downtown Grand Rapids, and was curious how the style would be holding up.     At Meijer Gardens, we saw a band that has grown into a family friendly image, which projects the coolness of swing music along with the fun of Dixieland.    With a 5 piece horn section, the band is able to create the big band sound that much of their music requires.   Scotty has managed to not only keep his vocals smooth and strong, but has also managed to cultivate a confident and appealing "band leader" persona.    I've seen few bands where all members appear to be having just a great time playing - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is one of those rare exceptions.    Their set covered material from throughout their career, however the older material was noticeably more familiar to the crowd.    Some of my favorites from the evening were "Jumpin Jive", "Zig Zaggity Woop Woop", and "Go Daddy-O".     The guys played for around 90 minutes, and it went by quickly.     Much of the crowd had a great time, including children.     Big Bad Voodoo Daddy definitely delivered a fun evening with some great music.   I'd recommend them to just about any fan of fun "make you smile" music.

Overall, I'd give the evening an 8 out of 10

Paul McCartney - Comerica Park - July 24, 2011

I finally got the pleasure of seeing Paul McCartney in person, and thought I'd share my thoughts on the evening.

The concert was held Sunday July 24, 2011 at Detroit's Comerica Park (home of the Detroit Tigers).   After attending a 2009 U2 concert at Soldier Field in Chicago, I had pretty much sworn off these "stadium" concerts with crowds of 40,000 or more.     But, this was Sir Paul - someone who could be considered one of the best songwriters ever.   Not to mention the cultural impact his music has had around the world.   I would bet most people have at least one song Paul either wrote or cowrote - especially with that little band from Liverpool.

My companions included my wife, and our friends Gary and his son Spencer (two friends who frequently go to concerts with us).    Our seats were in the standard ballpark seats, in the lower bowl, along the 3rd base line.    There was seating in the outfield closer to the stage, but no seating in the "in field" area.

We arrived at the ballpark around 7pm local time, and found crowds all over the outter ballpark area.    It turned out to mostly be people just hanging outside before the show (a Beatle tribute band was performing outside one of the bars).  Getting into the park wasn't nearly as slow as I'd expected.    Once we got into the concourse, things became much more congested.    Between crowded merchandise areas and concessions, there were many points where movement came to a standstill.    First thing we did was connect up with my friend Adam Talley, who came over from Lansing.    We met him near the carousel, and exchanged comments about the massive crowd and our mutual excitement for the evening (Adam always has interesting insight into Beatle stuff).    We then went our separate ways (Adam had seats on the field).     Our 4 person group found the way to our seats around 7:30pm, waiting for the scheduled 8pm start.

Just before 8pm, a thunderstorm moved close to the ballpark.   Although the show was listed as "rain or shine", there was concern about close lightning strikes and the various high metal rigging (with spotlight people on some of the rigging).    We checked weather radar on our phones, and saw it was a small storm moving over the area.   It appeared the technical crew were also watching, and the show was delayed.    There was light rain and a few bolts of lightning in the distance, but the storm only came close to the park (never directly overhead).    After almost a 30 minute delay, Paul McCartney finally came out to joyous welcome from the anxious crowd.

Sir Paul and his 4 supporting musicians launched into The Beatles "Hello/Goodbye", with Paul on a version of his legendary Hofner bass.    The band consisted of Paul "Wix" Wickens on keyboards, Rusty Anderson on guitar, Abe Laboriel Jr on drums, and Brian Ray on guitar/bass.  The mix was a little "uneven" from our seats, but it improved over the evening.     Paul and the band all appeared to be in great spirits, and having a good time. 

For almost 3 hours, we were treated to songs from throughout Paul's entire career, with plenty of focus on his Beatle catalog.    Beatles favorites for me were "All My Loving", "Drive My Car", "Hey Jude", "Lady Madonna", and "Eleanor Rigby".     From his Wings/solo catalog, my favorites were "Let 'Em In", "Band On The Run", and "Live and Let Die".    Newer songs like "Dance Tonight" sat fine alongside the older material.   Paul spent probably 40% of the night on bass, but also performed on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, and ukulele.  His voice sounded fine, although he did avoid some of the higher scream parts in "Helter Skelter" and "Hey Jude").     A solo section during the evening with just Paul and an acoustic guitar was very nice, when he played "Blackbird" and "Here Today".

As expected for a stadium show, the stage and lighting were massive, as well as the live video screens.    An LED type background provided very clear and appropriate visuals for the set.    For me, the ambient and atmospheric backgrounds worked better than the historical photo/video clips.    Most of the live camera work was good during the show, but I seem to recall it was "Helter Skelter" which had some constant camera changes which made it annoying (I know it was planned, but still annoying).    The pyro (fire and fireworks) were impressive during "Live and Let Die" (something that isn't easy to accomplish in a stadium show) - even Paul was "coughing" afterward, acknowledging the large amount of smoke left over.

Paul and the band all appeared to be having a great time all night.   He made a couple references to his age/history, and also referenced the influence Motown had on his musical upbringing.   He mentioned taking a tour of the Motown museum, and performed the 1962 Marvin Gaye song "Hitchhike" for us.    Not sure this would have been my Motown song of choice, but it obviously was important to Paul.    To me, it was just nice to have the special moment just for Detroit.

At the start of the evening, I wasn't sure how things would go with the 69 year old.    By the end I was surprised how fast the almost 3 hours went by, and rarely had a moment where I was looking at my watch.    Sure, there were a couple tunes I didn't know, but those didn't slow down the evening.     By the time he reached the final encore of "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End", I was beyond impressed with Paul and his band.    It truly is a special moment to be able to sing along on the "Na-Na" part of "Hey Jude", actually singing with the guy who wrote the song!!   That isn't something you get to do regularly, and is a memory of a lifetime.

I'd rate the show a 9 out of 10 - taking off a star for the headaches of a stadium show, and the somewhat inconsistent sound mix (at least, from our seats).

I'm still not a be fan of these "mega-concerts" at stadiums, but sometimes it is the only option available for seeing legendary performers that still have huge popularity.

Here is another picture from our seats:

According to Paul's website, here is the setlist from Sunday nights Detroit show:

Hello Goodbye

Juniors Farm
All My Loving
Jet
Drive My Car
Sing The Changes
Hitchhike
The Night Before
Let Me Roll It
Paperback Writer
The Long and Winding Road
1985
Let 'Em In
Maybe I'm Amazed
I've Just Seen A Face
I Will
Blackbird
Here Today
Dance Tonight
Mrs. Vanderbilt
Eleanor Rigby
Something
Band on the Run
Ob-la-di Ob-la-da
Back In The USSR
I Got A Feeling
A Day In The Life/Give Peace A Chance
Let It Be
Live And Let Die
Hey Jude

Encore:

Lady Madonna

Day Tripper
Get Back

2nd Encore set:

Yesterday

Helter Skelter

Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End

Cornerstone 2011 - My Report from Thursday/Friday

On Thursday June 30, my wife and I attended the Cornerstone Festival 2011. This particular day featured a "Jesus Rally" with multiple bands from late 70s/early 80s Christian music. The Cornerstone Festival is a week long music festival held in Marietta, IL (near Bushnell), however we were not able to make the whole week.

When we first arrived on site, we made our way to the merchandise tents. In one particular area, there was a "meet and greet" setup, with many of the bands participating. Below are some of the photos I got:

Me with Randy Stonehill (CCM legend)

Me with Phil Keaggy (guitar wizard)

Me with Bob Hartman (founder of Petra)

Me with Bob Hardy (vocalist for Servant)

While waiting to meet Phil Keaggy, my wife got dizzy from the heat and had to go find some shade.   I caught up with her after meeting Phil, and helped her get some ice and cold water (it was hard keeping any water cold in 100+ degree heat index weather).     After she spent a few minutes at the first aid trailer, she was back to her normal self.

We worked our way over to mainstage around 3pm, only to find Classic Petra was still working on their sound check.    This pushed the schedule back almost an hour.    I later found out that the stage managers ended up asking each band to cut at least one song from their set, to help recoup the lost time.

Servant kicked things off around 4pm.    The lineup of the band features all but 2 original members (they had a new lead guitar and drummer).    While many of us expected a set featuring material from their early releases, we were treated to material mostly from their later career.   Opening with "Power" from the "Swimming In A Human Ocean" release, and continuing with much from "Light Maneuvers" ("War Dance" and "Poolside Logic" for example).    They had a rough start with sound issues, but after about 3 songs things started to settle down and they got into a groove.   Considering they had not performed in almost 20 years, it went better than expected.

Next up was Barry McGuire.   Unfortunately my pictures of Barry are mostly shadows, due to the sun setting behind the stage.    Barry is an old "hippie" era guy, who had hung out with just about everybody (Mamas and the Papas, Frank Zappa, etc).   Barry just came out with an acoustic guitar.   He kept our attention with his stories of the past and his catchy songs.    A fun set and a great testimony.

Next we had Daniel Amos.  Again, my pictures are shadows.   Daniel Amos started up with a few cuts from their "Doppelganger" release, and settled into some older material.    This band has been playing music since the mid 70s, and continue to maintain a solid alternative/folk sound.    Lead vocalist Terry Taylor sounded a little weak, but the rumor mill was saying he was quite tired.

Next up was Randy Stonehill.   Randy is always a treat on stage.   Energetic and funny.    Randy came out with just his acoustic guitar (typical for him), and played tunes from all across his career.   Actually he played more newer stuff, but still included some late 70s/early 80s material.   Randy sounded fantastic, and showed you don't need a full band to be completely entertaining.  

Next was E Band.    I had not heard of this band before the festival, but the story goes that this was Greg Volz band before he joined Petra.   E Band had originally written the song "Coloring Song", which eventually became Petra's first hit in around 1979.    These guys had not played together in almost 40 years.   I had low expectations.   Oddly enough, the band sounded great on just about every song EXCEPT "Coloring Song".    Their bass player had a hard time with that song, and it showed.    But, the rest of their set was better than expected, and the material was almost progressive - certainly late 60s/early 70s hippie jam stuff.    Not too bad.

Next was Resurrection Band.   Like Petra, Servant, and DeGarmo & Key, Resurrection Band were constantly touring in the late 70s/early 80s.   In fact, Resurrection Band members are part of the organization that founded Cornerstone Festival in 1984.   The band features the lineup from their later career, but still has a majority of the group that founded the band in the mid 70s.    Playing a mix of material from throughout their career, vocalist Wendi Kaiser and husband/guitarist/vocalist Glenn Kaiser still sound great.    They did cut their set short, out of a desire to leave more time for Phil Keaggy and Classic Petra.    Considering Resurrection Band has been doing a few reunion shows over the past couple years, most of us had already heard much of the material recently.     There was also a story that the band had done an extended rehearsal in one of the other tents on Wednesday night, and many on the grounds had seen that.

Next up was Phil Keaggy, but he chose to bring his Glass Harp bandmates.   So, this actually became a Glass Harp set.    Although Phil is certainly a master on guitar and has a long solo catalog, Glass Harp was his first successful band and was popular back in the late 60s/early 70s.    The band has done their fair share of reunion shows over the years, but it sounded like many at the fest had not seen an actual Glass Harp set.   The band is just a trio (bass/vocals, guitar/vocals, drums), and played an hour set of jam based gospel rock.    Some blues, some improv, and some great melodies.   I liked it, but my wife wasn't that into it.

The final act for the night was Classic Petra.    This is the lineup of the band that was around in the 1983-1985 timeframe (or so).    Bob Hartman, Greg Volz, Mark Kelly, Louie Weaver, and John Lawry.   Having reunited over the last couple years, that band has already been recreating their 1984 stage setup around the world (most recently in Australia).    They have a new DVD featuring a concert from last year, as well as a documentary.   For Cornerstone, they used the festival's own main stage and backline gear.   Although not as tight as I had hoped, they did seem to be having fun and enjoying some of the updated arrangements.   However, there was a problem getting the song "Clean" started.    Greg Volz told the audience it was what he called "a trainwreck".   It appeared that Bob Hartman was off by a couple frets, putting him in a different key for the song.   Keyboardist John Lawry had to stop the song, and Mark Kelly, John, and Bob Hartman had a quick huddle to work it out.   Once they were ready to resume, Greg said they had to now start the song over just to show us they could play it correctly - all went well.    Overall, I liked their set, but it did lack the "polish" they probably have with their own gear.

Overall, the "Jesus Rally" day was a fun return to the days of early Christian rock bands.    The music was a bit dated and didn't have the same punch of a P.O.D. or Anberlin, but I also remembered many of these classic songs from my high school days.     I do think I learned more scripture and bible stories from Petra, Servant, and Randy Stonehill, as opposed to what I hear from more recent bands.   

We did come back on Friday for some music, and caught sets from Brian "Head" Welch (previously from the band Korn), and P.O.D.      While both these bands had much heavier music, their desire to reach out to the lost and hurting seemed just as passionate as the "Jesus Rally" bands from Thursday.    Even though the musical styles were different, the message of Christ was the same.     That was very cool.    Here's a couple pictures of Brian "Head" Welch and P.O.D.    Enjoy

Oh, and as an added bonus, my wife got to meet the fairly known character actor Doug Jones.   Doug was doing a meet & greet and Q&A session at the movie tent.   Doug may be best known as 'Abe Sapien'  from the "Hellboy" movies, as well as the "Silver Surfer" from the "Fantastic Four" movie.    He has been in a ton of stuff over his 25 years in film.    He also was sharing some of his Christian perspective on working in Hollywood, which Michelle enjoyed quite a bit.   Here is a picture with her and Doug:

Final note:  On the way out Friday night, we caught a couple songs from harpist Timbre.   This was some very nice ambient/new age type solo harp music, that sounded great.   She has a couple CDs and does some singing, as well as added instrumentation.   If you are looking for something soft and almost classical in style, check her out.