First up ... ROCK AND REMEMBER, LIVE ... from The Civic Theater in Akron, Ohio ... courtesy of FH Reader Tom Apathy ... who not only offers a great concert review but also sent us some incredible pictures that he took at the show! (kk)
Hi Kent -
A great show Friday night at the Civic Theater in Akron, Ohio. Rock N Remember Live! The Civic has been renovated in recent years and looks amazing and sounds fantastic.
Starting out the evening were The Reflections, with original member Tony Micale providing the lead vocals on several songs (including a nice cover of "Cara Mia") and their million seller "Just Like Romeo and Juliet". Tight vocals and a great start to a fun evening.
Next up was Gary US Bonds, a real fave of mine. Gary sounded fantastic and joked about trying to remember the day he gained all this weight! He started the set with "New Orleans" and then went into a medley of "Twist Twist Senora", "School Is Out" and "Dear Lady Twist". He then talked about Springsteen (Bruce loves my music, but won't share his money, and I'm broke) and did an awesome job on "This Little Girl". Gary wrapped up his set with a rousing "Quarter To Three".
Following a booming set by Gary was Peaches and Herb. Herb sounded and looked good with Peaches #3. Peaches sounded a little hoarse (a cold perhaps?) A much mellower set, which seemed to slow down the show a bit. They went through the earlier hits such as "For Your Love" and "I Pledge My Love", followed by their later hits "Shake Your Groove Thing" and "Reunited". Great to see Herb, but a very laid back set.
The final act before intermission was The Happenings. Led by original lead singer Bob Miranda, a fun and hit filled set starting with a cover of the Spiral Staircases' "More Today Than Yesterday" and then the hits "I Got Rhythm", "Go Away Little Girl" and "See You In September". I was disappointed that they did not do my fave, "My Mammy".
After the short intermission, the stage was set up for Felix Cavaliere and his Rascals. Felix looked and sounded great doing all the hits ... "Mustang Sally", "Groovin", "Beautiful Morning", "People Got To Be Free", "I've Been Lonely Too Long", "A Girl Like You" and wrapped up with "Good Lovin", where all the artists came back on the stage.
Great venue, great acts, great night.
Tom Apathy
Great stuff, Tom! You seem to get some very interesting show packages passing through your area ... what a GREAT line-up. (The only one on this whole list that I've ever seen live is Felix Cavaliere, who we've seen several times now ... but it sure would be great to bring a couple of these package tours into the Chicagoland area. I would LOVE to see The Happenings, The Reflections, Peaches and Herb and Gary "US" Bonds share the stage together. (Hoping some of our venue bookers are paying attention today!!!)
