We've heard from several of you that you really enjoy Shelley Sweet-Tufano's concert reviews ... in fact, Scott Shannon was even kind enough to drop her a line telling her so!!! ... so today we've got another one for you.
This time around, she focuses on Chuck Negron ... who is also one of our concert favorites. Enjoy! (kk)
It's Mohegan Sun
time again! In the Wolf Den is Chuck Negron!
The last time I saw Chuck at
Mohegan, Floyd Sneed played, too. Floyd has had some recent personal losses in
family, as well as losing former Three Dog Night bandmate Jimmy Greenspoon ... so Chuck's drummer, Frank Reina,
will be appearing tonight. It was a thrill to see Floyd, but our 60's artists
only choose the best ... so Frank is tops.
I find myself enamored with lyrics
at this show. Starting out with 'Family of Man', I hear: "deciding the fate of
the family of man." I danced to this song, sang along with this song, but
tonight THESE words pop out. You know what? Music can decide and / or explain
the fate of the family of man. That thought assures I will NOT be listening to
rap music. If that is the fate of the family of man ... I don't want to know.
Chuck gives tribute to Jimmy verbally and vocally. 'Shambala', 'Liar', 'One Man
Band' and Paul Williams' contribution 'Just An Old Fashioned Love Song'. Chuck
is recovering from a bout of laryngitis which, if I hadn't been told he
experienced, I would never have known. He must be tired out just from that,
aside from the close four concert schedule he is finishing up. His joke about "I'm
always glad to be here at Harrod's", pays tribute to road and jet lag.
Back to
my lyrical status: "Coming down in three-part harmony". Words from 'Just An Old
Fashioned Love Song'. Wow ... really?? What perfect words for Three Dog Night
with their three lead singers.
'Pieces of April' gives us the words "I keep
them in a memory bouquet". I started thinking about all MY memory bouquets.
What about yours? Can you reflect and bring them up to the surface again?
"I
want to let go of this mic stand, but I'll fall right over." hahaha. These are
not lyrics, just Chuck being humorous and tired ... and still giving a great
performance. As he introduces this next song, he says it's so old, it's from
Roosevelt's New Deal. Not quite. More like Johnson's Folly and the
counter-culture with 'Easy To Be Hard' from 'Hair'.
"OK. I'm gonna take a quick
nap." As his head hits the mic, he starts to chuckle. Oh look! CHUCKLE!
Perfect word choice. I can understand the need for a quick snooze as we now go
into 'Eli's Coming' with a different beginning arrangement by Howard and Danny.
It would be qualified in the 'advanced' class of music; very intricate and
involved. Chuck often says, "Eli must have been VERY bad to get this warning."
I am thinking that Eli never stood a chance of sneaking up on anyone or anything
if this song preceded him everywhere he went. Can you imagine having this song
blaring out every time you went out a door? Poor Eli! Such bad karma!
'Never
Been to Spain', 'Celebrate', 'Mama Told Me Not to Come' (which also hit the
R&B charts when it was released) and 'One' roll out. One of Rob Grill's
favorite lines was "Open up the window and let some air into this room," which
is a tribute to 'Mama' and the wisdom she tried to impart.
The final lyrical
discussion in this review is from 'One'. "Two can be as bad as one." Oh yes
indeed. Sometimes being a One is a much better choice than being a lonely Two.
I am sure that almost everyone reading this can relate on some level. Hmmm, the
power of the poem! The lyrics of the song!
There is nothing I can really say
about our final song: our friend Jeremiah. I mean he WAS a bullfrog. Of
course he was just a "straight shootin' son of a gun", which could make him more
of a danger than Eli. I don't think Jeremiah was afraid to say it as it is, or
was.
Chuck and musical team -- it was great and I want to applaud you, Chuck, for
your patience in the autograph line. Mark and I could not stop rolling our eyes
as the fans could not use their cell phones correctly to take pictures, kept you
posing with Grandma ... then Grandpa ... then one with Grandma AND Grandpa. Oh
how about the whole family? etc, etc, etc. I confess that when the man ahead of
me pulled out four things for Chuck to sign, I laughed and said, "Oh let me go home
and get MY album! It shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours. I'll hurry back!"
The look Chuck gave me made me crack up in hysterics. I could barely get out
the words, "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. You've been SO patient."
Please
remember that a good audience and fan is JUST as important as a good performer.
Finally, a thank you to my friends whose reserved seats from Chuck and Amy got
bungled by the very young / new Wolf Den seating staff. I pulled them into line
with me to get them inside and then they got their seats straightened out; at
which time they pulled me into their reserved section. You didn't have to, but
thank you!
-- Shelley J
Sweet-Tufano
