Two of the biggest acts of the '60's shared the stage at The Arcada Theatre Friday Night ...
Jay and the Americans (with three of the original Americans ... Marty Sanders, Sanady Deanne and Howie Kane ... and Jay #3, John Reincke, a long-time local favorite on the Chicago bar scene while he was fronting The Meteors ... and now celebrating his tenth year as lead vocalist) ... these guys had 13 Top 50 Hits between 1962 and 1970 ...
And Felix Cavaliere's Rascals ... the original Rascals line-up had 16 Top 50 Hits between 1966 and 1970 ...
Between them, that's a WHOLE lotta star power to pack on to one stage!
(One of The Americans commented that the last time these two artists shared the same stage was 53 years ago in New York City ... host Ron Onesti joked that they should try to do a show like this at least once every 53 years!)
Both artists covered the majority of their hits during their extended, full sets ...
And both also incorporated a number of hit medleys featuring other popular songs from this era, perhaps the most exciting and creative period in pop music history. (The surprise performance of the night? Jay and the Americans performing the Crazy Elephant hit "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'"!!! I didn't quite get that one ... unless it's because The Rascals were going to do "Good Lovin'"!!! lol)
Other concert highlights included outstanding versions of "Cara Mia", "She Cried", "Sunday And Me", "Crying" and "Come A Little Bit Closer" by Jay and the Americans ...
And "A Beautiful Morning", "People Got To Be Free", "Groovin'" and "Come On Up" by Felix Cavaliere, as well as "How Can I Be Sure" and "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" performed by a couple of the other Rascals band members, both of which received a rousing round of applause. It was, without question, the best show I've seen Felix do in recent years ... and he seemed to be having a great time up there performing all these hits and medleys again.
We got to spend a few minutes together before the show, where Arcada House Photographer Lou Bilotti snapped this shot (and all of the others featured here today) and Felix autographed this photo for Frannie.
He told a fellow backstage visitor that it was very unlikely that he and the other original Rascals would ever reunite again for more shows ... I'm SO glad we got to see them all perform together when they hit Chicago a few years ago. (We also have an EXCELLENT DVD of their show in New York City ... they really should consider releasing this on home video so that others who never got the opportunity to see them can also experience the joy of seeing this very special show. Package it together with a second DVD of classic original TV performances by The Rascals from back in the day and I think you'd have a guaranteed best seller on your hands!)
Ironically former Rascals bandmate Gene Cornish is coming to The Arcada Theatre later this month (on October 22nd, to be exact) as part of The Platinum Rock All-Stars, also featuring Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge, Geoff Downes of Asia and Yes, Phil Naro (who has worked with Peter Criss, Brian May and Julian Lennon), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Blue Oyster Cult) and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thai of Guns 'n' Roses. Tickets are available thru the Arcada online box office ... www.oshows.com.
