Post by jesse on Jun 3, 2008 19:47:16 GMT
"Blackfoot Strikes Again" Blackfoot and Nazareth @ Penns Peak 5/30/08
It took me 17 years after first hearing Blackfoot and establishing them as one of my favorite bands to finally see them in concert. Now, in just over 2 years, I've seen them 3 times. Friday May 30, 2008, I made the trek to Jim Thorpe, PA to the beautiful Penns Peak venue to catch Blackfoot and Nazareth rock the place like it was 1979.
So anyway, first up was Nazareth. Now, the venue wasn't quite as packed as when I saw Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet last fall, but still a pretty respectable crowd for 2 bands that Record companies and Radio stations consider out of fashion. Apparently quite a few of these people were there specifically for Nazareth as I saw a lot of Nazareth T shirts and more than a few people were going nuts when the band finally came on stage.
Ok, I don't know a whole lot about Nazareth, so I did a little fact-checking. This wasn't Nazareth that I saw. This was Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton. Seems like a small difference to the lay person, but the official Nazareth is another band. Manny Charlton was the original guitarist for Nazareth, but owns no right to use the name without a tag line (i.e "Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton" as opposed to simply "Nazareth"). Now that I got that out of the way, the band included Manny Charlton, the 65 year-old original guitar player (who looked suspiciously like the "time-to-make-the-donuts" guy from the old Dunkin Donuts commercials), drummer Rick Ory, bassist Jon Ster and Lead Vocalist, guitarist and frontman (and apparently band leader) Freddy Brecht. So, this was Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton and there is another band out there somewhere called Nazareth with different personel, but probably playing the same songs.
So, out comes Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton and, well, the bassist and frontman look like veterans of the L.A. Hair Metal scene and most of their songs sounded that way too. Like I said, I don't know that much about Nazareth, but I think most of their work came from the 1970's, which either made them ahead of the curve or extremely lame depending upon your point of view. I got a kick out them at first, but the more I heard, the more I noticed some things about them that bothered me. First, being that this was billed as "Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton" and that the spotlight was mostly on Charlton, I woulda thought he'd bring more to the table, guitar-wise, than he did. He certainly knew what he was doing, it's just that what he was doing wasn't all that impressive. Hell, he screwed up the solo in "Love Hurts" and the other famous Nazareth solo, the talk box solo for "Hair Of The Dog", was done by Freddie Brecht. Even before those songs, it was clear that in about an hour and a half, Blackfoot's guitarists were going to play rings around Charlton. I noticed too that it was Brecht, not Charlton, who seemed to be giving most of the cues to the rest of the band for starts, stops and any changes in between. Also, the more they played, the more I realized that they had pretty much the same drum beat for every song. Kind of a plodding thump similar to that of Metallica's "Sad But True". Nothing wrong with that, but it got old after a few songs. As I said before, at their best, they sounded like 80's-era Hair Band leftovers, but at their worst, they sounded like something any 12-year-old with 2 weeks of guitar lessons would come up with. Wasn't exactly bad, but and hour 20 was a bit much of them for me. From the getgo, I WAS impressed with Bretch's pipes and couldn't wait for him to belt out "Love Hurts". I got my wish fairly early as I think it was their 4th or 5th song into the set. And.....well.....it wasn't all that good. In Bretch's defense, I think Charlton started it fast, so Bretch could never hold the notes as long as he should've cuz he had to catch his breath for the next line. But, to me, it sounded like they just wanted to get that song out of the way and move on. I know it is kind of a weenie song and not at all representative of Nazareth's music, but it HAS been a cash cow, their major source of royalties and the main reason most people still give a shit about them. I would think they'd try to give it a little better justice. As noted before, Charlton even screwed up the solo!
Beyond that, they played a set that opened with "Razamanaz" and included the likes of the aforementioned "Love Hurts", "Holiday", "Whiskey Drinkin' Woman", "Down In The Trenches" and Lord knows what else, before ending with "Hair Of The Dog". I thought that would be the end of them, but they came out for an encore, even though few people cheered them on for it. Their encore song was pretty good though. A funky number where Charlton played slide guitar through most of it. Kinda cool and allowed them to go out on a good note IMO, but, hey, I was there for Blackfoot!
Now, Blackfoot was in the same incarnation that I saw last fall. Original bassist Greg Walker, original guitarist Charlie Hargrett, 80's guitarist/ former Axe frontman Bobby Barth taking the place of original frontman Rick Medlocke (who opted out of the reunion in 2005 to stick with the steady paychecks of Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Micheal Sollars with the unenviable task of replacing deceased drummer Jakson "Thunderfoot" Spires on drums and harmony vocals. Not exactly the Blackfoot we were raised on, but certainly closer than the Blackfoot Rick Medlocke ran into the ground in the late 80's and early 90's. In all honestly, I prefer Rick Medlocke as their singer, but Barth does a great job and brings his own identity into the catalog. Having seen them twice before, I know that they give it their all every night and this version is not content to just play their songs and collect a paycheck, they want you to leave with your ass thoroughly kicked.
After foreboding intro music featuring sounds of a train and a medley of song clips from the Blackfoot catalog, Blackfoot lit the stage on fire with a rousing version of "Good Morning". Charlie Hargrett prowled the stage and Greg Walker, in complete Native American clothing, hopped around the stage, both as if they were 25 again. Bobby Barth, looking like a cross between Santa Claus, Charlie Daniels and a Hell's Angels alum didn't move around much, but his fingers ran at lightning speeds up and down the fretboard of his guitar. Drummer Sollars performed on a drum kit similar to that which Spires had played back in their heyday and pounded that thing with excitement and enthusiasm that showed in his ear to ear grin. This is Blackfoot, supposedly, on the backside of the hill, but they looked, sounded and acted every bit like a band in their prime. "Good Morning" gave way to "Wishing Well" and then a great version of "Morning Dew", the last Blackfoot song to make any sort of noise on the charts. After "I Got A Line On You", Barth did some "sit down blues" playing.......as opposed to what he called "Bullshit Blues". REAL blues, he said, you have to sit down to play. This little number lasted a few minutes, then the spotlight shifted to Hargrett, who jammed a bit on his own before riffing into "Baby Blue".
After a significant drum solo, Sollars lit into a very tribal drum beat and we were treated to a song off of Walkers' solo project NDN called "Great Spirit". Man what a song! Walker's vocals were strong and fitting for Blackfoot as was the song, making everyone realize that, even if his name wasn't on many songwriting credits, Walker was a big part of how Blackfoot sounds. After this, Barth went back into the spotlight and did some more blues playing and singing, this time singing a slow bluesy chorus of "Left Turn On A Red Light" before they kicked into the song bigtime. Really a quality version, Charlie playing all his familiar licks and Barth improving and expanding upon what were originally Medlocke's guitar parts.
At this point, Barth announced that we were now at the serious part of the show. He proceeded to dedicate the next song to the late Spires and to all loved ones. The next song was "Sunshine Again", which is an Axe song off of "The Crown" album. NOT a new Blackfoot song as others (including myself on past reviews) have suggested. Still, it fit the setlist perfectly and allowed Barth to really strut his stuff both vocally and guitar wise. From there, Barth announced a new song from their recently-released DVD "Train, Train". This turned out to be "Rollin' And Tumblin" which us older fans know is REALLY a song from their 1982 European-only release "Highway Song-Live" album. This segued into their 1981 hit "Fly Away".
Bringing the set to a close was a killer version of "Highway Song", Blackfoot's answer to "Freebird". Again, Barth began the song by singing the chorus slowly and with only a clean guitar accompanyment before Hargrett picked through the regular into. Truely an awesome version that stands up with the best versions I've ever heard. The band left the stage after a bombastic ending, but the crowd was hearing none of it and went nuts for an encore....which we knew would happen since they hadn't played "Train, Train" yet. After a few short minutes, the late Shorty Medlocke's Classic harmonica intro was piped in through the PA system and the band returned with a high-energy version of their signature tune.
All in all, Blackfoot put on a killer show. I'm still getting used to Barth singing all the Medlocke parts. It's not his voice I have trouble getting used to, but rather the inflections of his voice that are tough for me. He sings the songs differently than on record, so someone like me, who knows all the songs inside and out, really has a hard time singing along to, well.....anything. Now, I AM open-minded about it and, having seen them twice now with Barth, I'm getting used to it and starting to appreciate Barth bringing out new dimensions to these songs by the way he sings them. Pretty much a high-energy show from start to finish. As expected, Hargrett's and Barth's guitar playing shit all over Manny Charlton's earlier and it remains a mystery to me why these guys aren't more popular.
After the show I hung around to meet the band. Barth was the first one out and I was the first one in line. I brought my CD copy of Barth's solo album "Two Hearts, One Beat" for him to sign, not really sure how his reaction to it would be. I even handed it to him saying that I didn't know if it would bring back memories for him or make him cringe. He said it made him cringe. He said that it was a dark time for him and he didn't even recall recording it. I told him that even though it was quite a departure for him and not what I expected, I still enjoyed it for the most part. He looked through the booklet and wound up signing the front. I think (hope) in the end he took the gesture for what it was: showing that I was a longtime fan of HIS, and that I didn't just jump on board his fan base when he joined (actually re-joined) Blackfoot. Greg Walker came out next and I told him how great "Great Spirit" sounded and I reminded him that I told him 2 years ago at a show that I thought HE should sing some lead parts. He didn't remember that conversation, but I told him I'm taking credit for adding the song to the setlist anyway. He laughed and said that they might do another song in which he sang lead. Didn't let me in on if it was another NDN song, a new song or an older 'Foot song. I forgot to ask them when we can expect a new Blackfoot album with all new material. I'm looking forward to one though as this version of the band kicks some serious ass! Blackfoot strikes again!
Setlist:
Good Morning
Wishing Well
Morning Dew
I Got A Line On You
Bobby's Sitdown Blues Thing
Baby Blue
Fox Chase
Drum Solo
Great Spirit
Left Turn On A Red Light
Sunshine Again
Rollin' And Tumblin'
Fly Away
Highway Song
Encore: Train, Train
It took me 17 years after first hearing Blackfoot and establishing them as one of my favorite bands to finally see them in concert. Now, in just over 2 years, I've seen them 3 times. Friday May 30, 2008, I made the trek to Jim Thorpe, PA to the beautiful Penns Peak venue to catch Blackfoot and Nazareth rock the place like it was 1979.
So anyway, first up was Nazareth. Now, the venue wasn't quite as packed as when I saw Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet last fall, but still a pretty respectable crowd for 2 bands that Record companies and Radio stations consider out of fashion. Apparently quite a few of these people were there specifically for Nazareth as I saw a lot of Nazareth T shirts and more than a few people were going nuts when the band finally came on stage.
Ok, I don't know a whole lot about Nazareth, so I did a little fact-checking. This wasn't Nazareth that I saw. This was Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton. Seems like a small difference to the lay person, but the official Nazareth is another band. Manny Charlton was the original guitarist for Nazareth, but owns no right to use the name without a tag line (i.e "Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton" as opposed to simply "Nazareth"). Now that I got that out of the way, the band included Manny Charlton, the 65 year-old original guitar player (who looked suspiciously like the "time-to-make-the-donuts" guy from the old Dunkin Donuts commercials), drummer Rick Ory, bassist Jon Ster and Lead Vocalist, guitarist and frontman (and apparently band leader) Freddy Brecht. So, this was Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton and there is another band out there somewhere called Nazareth with different personel, but probably playing the same songs.
So, out comes Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton and, well, the bassist and frontman look like veterans of the L.A. Hair Metal scene and most of their songs sounded that way too. Like I said, I don't know that much about Nazareth, but I think most of their work came from the 1970's, which either made them ahead of the curve or extremely lame depending upon your point of view. I got a kick out them at first, but the more I heard, the more I noticed some things about them that bothered me. First, being that this was billed as "Nazareth featuring Manny Charlton" and that the spotlight was mostly on Charlton, I woulda thought he'd bring more to the table, guitar-wise, than he did. He certainly knew what he was doing, it's just that what he was doing wasn't all that impressive. Hell, he screwed up the solo in "Love Hurts" and the other famous Nazareth solo, the talk box solo for "Hair Of The Dog", was done by Freddie Brecht. Even before those songs, it was clear that in about an hour and a half, Blackfoot's guitarists were going to play rings around Charlton. I noticed too that it was Brecht, not Charlton, who seemed to be giving most of the cues to the rest of the band for starts, stops and any changes in between. Also, the more they played, the more I realized that they had pretty much the same drum beat for every song. Kind of a plodding thump similar to that of Metallica's "Sad But True". Nothing wrong with that, but it got old after a few songs. As I said before, at their best, they sounded like 80's-era Hair Band leftovers, but at their worst, they sounded like something any 12-year-old with 2 weeks of guitar lessons would come up with. Wasn't exactly bad, but and hour 20 was a bit much of them for me. From the getgo, I WAS impressed with Bretch's pipes and couldn't wait for him to belt out "Love Hurts". I got my wish fairly early as I think it was their 4th or 5th song into the set. And.....well.....it wasn't all that good. In Bretch's defense, I think Charlton started it fast, so Bretch could never hold the notes as long as he should've cuz he had to catch his breath for the next line. But, to me, it sounded like they just wanted to get that song out of the way and move on. I know it is kind of a weenie song and not at all representative of Nazareth's music, but it HAS been a cash cow, their major source of royalties and the main reason most people still give a shit about them. I would think they'd try to give it a little better justice. As noted before, Charlton even screwed up the solo!
Beyond that, they played a set that opened with "Razamanaz" and included the likes of the aforementioned "Love Hurts", "Holiday", "Whiskey Drinkin' Woman", "Down In The Trenches" and Lord knows what else, before ending with "Hair Of The Dog". I thought that would be the end of them, but they came out for an encore, even though few people cheered them on for it. Their encore song was pretty good though. A funky number where Charlton played slide guitar through most of it. Kinda cool and allowed them to go out on a good note IMO, but, hey, I was there for Blackfoot!
Now, Blackfoot was in the same incarnation that I saw last fall. Original bassist Greg Walker, original guitarist Charlie Hargrett, 80's guitarist/ former Axe frontman Bobby Barth taking the place of original frontman Rick Medlocke (who opted out of the reunion in 2005 to stick with the steady paychecks of Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Micheal Sollars with the unenviable task of replacing deceased drummer Jakson "Thunderfoot" Spires on drums and harmony vocals. Not exactly the Blackfoot we were raised on, but certainly closer than the Blackfoot Rick Medlocke ran into the ground in the late 80's and early 90's. In all honestly, I prefer Rick Medlocke as their singer, but Barth does a great job and brings his own identity into the catalog. Having seen them twice before, I know that they give it their all every night and this version is not content to just play their songs and collect a paycheck, they want you to leave with your ass thoroughly kicked.
After foreboding intro music featuring sounds of a train and a medley of song clips from the Blackfoot catalog, Blackfoot lit the stage on fire with a rousing version of "Good Morning". Charlie Hargrett prowled the stage and Greg Walker, in complete Native American clothing, hopped around the stage, both as if they were 25 again. Bobby Barth, looking like a cross between Santa Claus, Charlie Daniels and a Hell's Angels alum didn't move around much, but his fingers ran at lightning speeds up and down the fretboard of his guitar. Drummer Sollars performed on a drum kit similar to that which Spires had played back in their heyday and pounded that thing with excitement and enthusiasm that showed in his ear to ear grin. This is Blackfoot, supposedly, on the backside of the hill, but they looked, sounded and acted every bit like a band in their prime. "Good Morning" gave way to "Wishing Well" and then a great version of "Morning Dew", the last Blackfoot song to make any sort of noise on the charts. After "I Got A Line On You", Barth did some "sit down blues" playing.......as opposed to what he called "Bullshit Blues". REAL blues, he said, you have to sit down to play. This little number lasted a few minutes, then the spotlight shifted to Hargrett, who jammed a bit on his own before riffing into "Baby Blue".
After a significant drum solo, Sollars lit into a very tribal drum beat and we were treated to a song off of Walkers' solo project NDN called "Great Spirit". Man what a song! Walker's vocals were strong and fitting for Blackfoot as was the song, making everyone realize that, even if his name wasn't on many songwriting credits, Walker was a big part of how Blackfoot sounds. After this, Barth went back into the spotlight and did some more blues playing and singing, this time singing a slow bluesy chorus of "Left Turn On A Red Light" before they kicked into the song bigtime. Really a quality version, Charlie playing all his familiar licks and Barth improving and expanding upon what were originally Medlocke's guitar parts.
At this point, Barth announced that we were now at the serious part of the show. He proceeded to dedicate the next song to the late Spires and to all loved ones. The next song was "Sunshine Again", which is an Axe song off of "The Crown" album. NOT a new Blackfoot song as others (including myself on past reviews) have suggested. Still, it fit the setlist perfectly and allowed Barth to really strut his stuff both vocally and guitar wise. From there, Barth announced a new song from their recently-released DVD "Train, Train". This turned out to be "Rollin' And Tumblin" which us older fans know is REALLY a song from their 1982 European-only release "Highway Song-Live" album. This segued into their 1981 hit "Fly Away".
Bringing the set to a close was a killer version of "Highway Song", Blackfoot's answer to "Freebird". Again, Barth began the song by singing the chorus slowly and with only a clean guitar accompanyment before Hargrett picked through the regular into. Truely an awesome version that stands up with the best versions I've ever heard. The band left the stage after a bombastic ending, but the crowd was hearing none of it and went nuts for an encore....which we knew would happen since they hadn't played "Train, Train" yet. After a few short minutes, the late Shorty Medlocke's Classic harmonica intro was piped in through the PA system and the band returned with a high-energy version of their signature tune.
All in all, Blackfoot put on a killer show. I'm still getting used to Barth singing all the Medlocke parts. It's not his voice I have trouble getting used to, but rather the inflections of his voice that are tough for me. He sings the songs differently than on record, so someone like me, who knows all the songs inside and out, really has a hard time singing along to, well.....anything. Now, I AM open-minded about it and, having seen them twice now with Barth, I'm getting used to it and starting to appreciate Barth bringing out new dimensions to these songs by the way he sings them. Pretty much a high-energy show from start to finish. As expected, Hargrett's and Barth's guitar playing shit all over Manny Charlton's earlier and it remains a mystery to me why these guys aren't more popular.
After the show I hung around to meet the band. Barth was the first one out and I was the first one in line. I brought my CD copy of Barth's solo album "Two Hearts, One Beat" for him to sign, not really sure how his reaction to it would be. I even handed it to him saying that I didn't know if it would bring back memories for him or make him cringe. He said it made him cringe. He said that it was a dark time for him and he didn't even recall recording it. I told him that even though it was quite a departure for him and not what I expected, I still enjoyed it for the most part. He looked through the booklet and wound up signing the front. I think (hope) in the end he took the gesture for what it was: showing that I was a longtime fan of HIS, and that I didn't just jump on board his fan base when he joined (actually re-joined) Blackfoot. Greg Walker came out next and I told him how great "Great Spirit" sounded and I reminded him that I told him 2 years ago at a show that I thought HE should sing some lead parts. He didn't remember that conversation, but I told him I'm taking credit for adding the song to the setlist anyway. He laughed and said that they might do another song in which he sang lead. Didn't let me in on if it was another NDN song, a new song or an older 'Foot song. I forgot to ask them when we can expect a new Blackfoot album with all new material. I'm looking forward to one though as this version of the band kicks some serious ass! Blackfoot strikes again!
Setlist:
Good Morning
Wishing Well
Morning Dew
I Got A Line On You
Bobby's Sitdown Blues Thing
Baby Blue
Fox Chase
Drum Solo
Great Spirit
Left Turn On A Red Light
Sunshine Again
Rollin' And Tumblin'
Fly Away
Highway Song
Encore: Train, Train
. I will say this, their current singer blows away the guy on the other video. (Original singer?)