ReVue

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Poco

POCO

The Stiefel Theatre

Salina, KS

Members of Poco sign autographs after the show.

POCO . . .This is a band that has been going strong since 1968. Rusty Young, is the front man, a founding member of the group, and as Jack Sundrud, the bass player of the group remarked, when introducing him, "Rusty is the only person whose been to every sinlge Poco show".

Poco took the stage last and they did not disappoint. The set started with a new song “All Fired Up” which will be on their new CD coming out in late July, early August. Then they broke into all their hits, from “Heart of the Night” and their only number one hit, “Crazy Love.” A second song from their new album “Father’s Day” included additional background vocals by Steve Weinmeister from Firefall. Sundrud had written the song about his father who he remarked was 94 and a half years old. What a great song for the day before Father's Day. I overheard a fan later, in the lobby, tell how he had lost his father this year and the song brought tears to his eyes.

Michael Webb, who played just about every instrument imaginable, sang a song from his solo CD, “Drinkin’ “Bout You” which was absolutely hilarious. Then it was time for another song from the new CD, “Hard Country”, and if crowd reaction makes a hit, this one has number one written all over it. It brought everyone to their feet. Sundrud wrote this one too. It was written about the prairie where he lived in Minnesota when he was growing up. He said Kansas had reminded him of the prairie from his childhood and he had enjoyed the ride from Kansas City to Salina because he got to gaze out at the prairie. Webb began the song playing the accordian and transitioned to electric piano halfway through and did it effortlessly. It was amazing to see him change instruments mid-song, keep up with the tempo and stay on key.

By far one of the funniest songs of the night was "Neil Young Is Not My Brother". Rusty told the audience that people always thought that Neil Young was his brother for some reason. It was a rumor that was rampant. So to address the issue he wrote this song.

I had a chance to interview Rusty Young before the show and found out that Poco actually spawed several other country/rock bands. Founding members Randy Meisner, left to found The Eagles, Jim Messina left to found Loggins and Messina, and Richie Furay, left to found Buffalo Springfield. Young said he thought Poco was the only band that has accomplished this feat.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Pure Prairie League

PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE

The Stiefel Theatre

Salina, KS

PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE . . .When you see a steel guitar on the stage, you know your in for some "real" country music, or in this case, a country/rock mixture. This band straddles that line with a mix that can't be beat.

Pure Prairie League took to the stage for the second hour of The Stiefel Theatre show. The band sang “Let Me Love You Tonight”, “Amie”, “Jazzman”and “Two Lane Highway”. The audience sang along with every song without any encouragement whatsoever. When every song's a hit, that's easy to do. The lyrics are so memorable that if you knew the song in the "70's, you still remember the lyrics today. The band sang one I’d never heard before, but liked instantly, “I’ll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle”. PPL encouraged the audience to sing along on“Falling In and Out of Love”. Then they introduced their new drummer, Scott Thompson, and he sang lead on a couple songs.

All to soon another hour had come to a close and after a standing ovation, the band was off to the lobby for a meet and greet, the hunt for autographs and pictures began anew.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Firefall

FIREFALL

The Stiefel Theatre

Salina, KS

FIREFALL . . .If you were a tween or teen in the 1970's you can't help but remember all the lyrics to all the words of all the songs that Firefall performed during that time. Recently, Firefall was the opening act of a three band show at The Stiefel Theatre.

Firefall started the show with “Livin’ Ain’t Livin’” and after that the hits just kept coming. “Just Remember I Love You” got a huge crowd reaction, as did “Cinderella and “Strange Way”. The crowd was encouraged to sing along with the band on “You Are The Woman”, but sitting in the audience I can say that everyone in my section was singing along with every song. We were all dancing in our seats, too.

The band put everyone instantly at ease and it was almost like we were all in one giant livingroom just hanging our with the band. I think this was partly because of front man Jock Bartley, who is one of the founding members of the group and a Kansas native. Bartley was born in Hutchinson and moved to Salina with his family as a child, eventually making his way to Boulder, Colorado as a teenager. He had an instant connection with the audience due to his Kansas roots. He knows the area and when you can relate to the audience by knowing some of the geography of the area, such as: Kanopolis Reservoir and can name various towns in the area, it goes a long way.

Bartley also related a story about how impressed he was with Eric Clapton's guitar playing. He wrote a special guitar solo section in "Strange Way" to mimic an Eric Clapton rift. The band recorded the song in one take and when they were done the sound tech asked Bartley to come into the recording booth. Eric Clapton had happened by and sat in to listen while Bartley was playing. He said it was a good thing that he hadn't know ahead of time, or he probably wouldn't have been able to play a note.

No one in the audience was ready for the band's hour to end. When it was announced that Firefall would be in the lobby signing anything you have, you could meet with the band and take pictures; it was like a feeding frenzy. I went out to the lobby for a bit and it was chaotic. Before I knew it, the lights were blinking for the next act taking the stage. There just wasn't enough time.

Needless to say, Firefall would be welcomed back anytime that they want to play. It was a great first hour.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

The "70's Return-3 Bands/3 Hours

I had a chance to attend The Stiefel Theatre's end of the 2011-2012 season show which featured three prominent bands from the '70's. I did a review of the overall show, plus a three-part series on each individual band which will follow over the next several days.

FIREFALL, PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE AND POCO

     The Stiefel Theatre, Salina, KS. played host to not one but three well-known and well-loved country/rock bands from the 70’s on Saturday night which included Firefall, Pure Prairie League, and Poco. Each band played an hour and then the stage was re-set for the next band. After each band played they headed to the lobby for a meet and greet, pictures and autograph session. Merchandise was available for sale and quite a few of the fans brought their vinyl record covers for the bands to sign.

     Firefall started the show with “Livin’ Ain’t Livin’” and after that the hits just kept coming. “Just Remember I Love You” got a huge crowd reaction, as did “Cinderella and “Strange Way”. The crowd was encouraged to sing along with the band on “You Are The Woman”. Jock Bartley, the front man for the group and one of the founding members, is a Kansas native who was born in Hutchinson and moved to Salina with his family as a child, eventually making his way to Boulder, Colorado as a teenager. He had an instant connection with the audience due to his Kansas roots.

     Pure Prairie League took to the stage next. The band sang “Let Me Love You Tonight”, “Amie”, “Jazzman” and “Two Lane Highway”. Also, one I’d never heard before, but liked instantly, “I’ll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle”. The audience sang along on “Falling In and Out of Love”. PPL introduced their new drummer, Scott Thompson, and he sang lead on a couple songs.

     Poco took the stage last and they did not disappoint. The set started with a new song “All Fired Up” which will be on their new CD coming out in late July, early August. Then they broke into all their hits, from “Heart of the Night” and their only number one hit, “Crazy Love.” A second song from their new album “Father’s Day” included additional background vocals by Steve Weinmeister from Firefall. Michael Webb, who played just about every instrument imaginable, sang a song from his solo CD, “Drinkin’ “Bout You” which was absolutely hilarious. Then it was time for another song from the new CD, “Hard Country”, and if crowd reaction makes a hit, this one has number one written all over it. It brought everyone to their feet.

     I had a chance to interview Poco for KJAG Radio before the show and found out that Rusty Young, the lead singer and only original founding member, told me that Poco actually spawed several other country/rock bands. Founding members Randy Meisner, left to found The Eagles, Jim Messina left to found Loggins and Messina, and Richie Furay, left to found Buffalo Springfield. Young said he thought Poco was the only band that has accomplished this feat.

     What a great night. For a brief three hour period on a Saturday night, the 70’s ruled again.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Lori Wright

CHARACTERS

Lori Wright

The Stiefel Theatre

Salina, KS

Malicious Intent

Incessant Chatter

Imminent Takeover

They're Here

Stinging Sensation

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Full Hand

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT
Thursday Night Concert Series

Eric Stein Stage-Oakdale Park

Salina, KS

THE SEASON BEGINS . . .

FULL HAND

Salina, KS

FULL HAND . . .I wasn't familiar with this band before the concert in the park, although I think the park was full of their fans. This is no ordinary cover band. I heard from some of their fans in the park that they sing and play country and rock favorites. Tonight it was primarily country tunes.

     Full Hand is a five person band: Becki Dewitt-White on vocals, Tifanni Saltkill on vocals & guitar, Blake Saltkill on guitar, Cori Thrower on drums, and Tim Cornelius on bass guitar. With occasional cameo appearances by Becki's dad, Roy Dewitt, who joined in on guitar for a couple of songs and Tiffani and Blake's mom who joined in on one song on harmonica.

     Becki Dewitt-White, the lead singer for the group, did a fantastic job on everything she sang. I especially liked the Miranda Lambert songs that she sang, "Baggage" and "White Liar". Becki really shined when she sang these songs. They're in the perfect key for her voice and she can really belt out the lyrics. Becki made the songs her own and not mere imitations. She also sang "Cheater, Cheater" and changed it up with some funny antics as a way to avoid some of the more risque lyrics in the song. It was really funny.

     Some of the other songs that the group performed were "Mary Jane" (Tom Petty), "Where The Green Grass Grows" (Tim McGraw), "Summer of 69" (Bryan Adams) and a new one by Little Big Town entitled "Pontoon".

     This band is one to watch. They kept the audience entertained throughout the evening. If you get a chance to hear them in person, especially at an event such as this, make sure to check them out, they're a great time.