There was a lot of
commotion in The Wolf Den as preparations moved forward for Chuck’s evening
performance. He has a new band, new arrangements, and presumably, new opening
night jitters. There was a five year period in which no one had more hits or
sold more records than Three Dog Night. I am told that there are members of the
audience who are more nervous about tonight’s opening than Chuck is … or at
least appears to be.
He steps out calm,
seemingly relaxed and amazingly strong for all his health issues. It’s allergy
season for all, including Chuck tonight, but I am refreshed at the idea that
his allergies are bothering him more than the need for his oxygen glasses
tonight. Oh sure, he needs to take deep breaths of air when he has a vocal
pause, and he doesn’t share as many stories as he has other times; but this can
also be a matter of time allowed for the concert and the preference to include
as many songs as possible.
FAMILY OF MAN opens
the concert as Chuck arrives on stage. This song tied with ‘Black and White’
for me as my fave Three Dog Night piece. The sound balance between Chuck and
the band seems to be off. The band is louder than it needs to be. Chuck’s voice
is powerful … STILL powerful … and The Wolf Den lighting and sound crew are
known for their excellence … but tonight I am feeling an imbalance that is not
corrected at any time. I could pass it off as just my location, but other
friends, in other Den sections, brought it up to me after the show.
‘Out In The Country,’ ‘Shambala’
and ‘Liar’ follow next. Listen to the lyrics of ‘Out In The Country.’ “Before the air I breathe is gone” … I
connect this directly to Chuck’s present life. He cherishes every breath … he has
turned his life around to where it needs to be and values his self-worth within
his friends and family. The song ‘Liar’ is gritty, edgy as Chuck crawls inside
it and spits out his emotions. The band takes over for a heavy rock
instrumental and guitar player Ricky Z prances around Chuck, who is obviously
feeling his music tonight. Chuck comments after, “I thought he was having a
seizure.”
Adding depth and
richness of voice to ‘Never Been To Spain’ and a purity to ‘Pieces Of April,’ words
come rushing through my pen onto my notebook. I look at it now and read, “Only
the strength of the music can keep someone going strong or appearing strong
when the body is weak.”
From a 60’s Hippie Musical
come lyrics that still pound into our present and, if we don’t change, continue
into our future ... ‘Easy To Be Hard.’
‘Chest Fever’ with a
Latin beat and killer keyboard solo gets Chuck clapping for the musicians in
his band. This has always been a strength of his - he claps for his musicians
as they perform. ‘One Man Band,’ ‘The Show Must Go On’ and Paul Williams’
haunting ‘An Old Fashioned Love Song.’
‘The Show Must Go On’
becomes my favorite in tonight’s show. I wasn’t sure at first. The calliope
impression was quirky, slow, off-key, fast, slow again, on key. But as it wound
its way into my mind, I could picture and feel the life of mystery and
unpredictability of carnival life and the singer’s goal to keep it going even
so.
Coming into the last
of the 15 songs: ‘Mama Told Me Not To Come,’ (Glad you did anyway, Chuck), ‘One,’
‘Celebrate’ and, of course, ‘Joy To The World’.
The really cool thing
tonight is that two of my friends passed out green glow sticks to the people
standing in line, waiting to get into the free concert at The Wolf’s Den. So
when Chuck began his tale about “Jeremiah was a bullfrog,” up pops a green glow
throughout the audience. This is made even better in the knowledge that the
“high rollers” who are able to reserve seats, did NOT have them and looked at
us quizzically as if to say, “Hey! Where’s mine?” “How did you get those and I
didn’t?” Chuck was all smiles as he figured out that the “have-nots” had become
the “haves”.
Brilliant, Chris and
Dan! Thank you!
My final comments are
to Chuck’s new band. Chuck is still strong of voice. You guys are gifted
musicians. Do not be afraid to be strong, but remember that you do not need to
compensate for Chuck. You only need to enhance him. Have a wonderful tour.
-- Shelley J.
Sweet-Tufano
As reported here on Sunday, Chuck Negron will once again join The Happy Together Tour when the shows kick off next summer, 2019. Also on the bill: The Turtles (of course!), The Buckinghams, The Cowsills, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and The Classics IV. Watch for tour dates right here ... in Forgotten Hits. (kk)
