Friday October 8th, 2010 - St. Charles, IL It’s been a long time coming, but I finally got to see the band Kansas perform live. Why it took this long, I have no idea. I’ve always liked them, but haven’t had a chance to catch them live until tonight. They were sure worth the wait. WOW, what a spectacular show. My taste in music has always been odd for a white boy from Milwaukee. As a kid, most of my friends liked the mainstream rock bands of the day like Zeppelin or Pink Floyd, but I never liked those. I was listening to Parliament/Funkadelic, James Brown, Cameo, Rick James and even heavy gospel music by people like Walter Hawkins and Andrae Crouch. I have no idea why I liked that stuff, but I did. I didn’t care what anybody else thought, it was what I liked. And, for whatever reason, I liked Kansas too. I first discovered them via one their album covers of all things. It was ‘Leftoverture’, and I saw it at a record store. I happen to be left handed, and that cover caught my eye. I don’t remember exactly how or when I got it, but I eventually did and it just hit me. I liked every song on the album but it was nothing like anything else I liked at the time. They were different, and they still are. As I got older, I learned to appreciate a lot of the music my peer group liked as kids. I’m now a big fan of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and even Journey who I absolutely couldn’t stand back then. I still can’t stand Pink Floyd or KISS, even though I’d probably go see each of them for the showmanship value of it. As far as their music goes though, it’s total tripe. Kansas always stood out to me on a musical level, even though I know nothing about it. I know it’s intricate and unique and I never get sick of listening to it when I get in a mood to hear it. I can’t count all the times I’ve popped in a cassette or CD on a brutal drive to or from some hell hole comedy gig and it’s helped make it shorter. Their music soothes me. My all time favorite song is ‘Hold On’ off the Audio Visions album. That song gets my juices pumping. The lyrics “it’s closer than you think, and you’re standing on the brink” always inspire me and I never get sick of hearing them. They still speak to me even now. I’m a fan of quality entertainment of all kinds, mostly because I know how difficult it is to pull off. The odds are stacked against anyone from creating a product that stands out in any creative field, and those who achieve it have my utmost respect. People come and go, trends come and go, windows of opportunity come and go, and those who hit it are rare. George Clinton sure did it with Parliament/Funkadelic. He oversaw the creation of what turned out to be one of the most unique acts ever, and they still have rabid fans years later because the product is pure. It took years to create, and the musicians all respect the craft. Kansas is the same way. They’re still out there touring, cranking out consistently solid shows for old fans and new. They are by no means an oldies act, even though I’m sure the majority of people my age would assume that. Those guys are practitioners of their craft. My friend Rick Piccolo used to be a drummer and is now chasing his comedy dream by getting on stage and performing regularly. He did it years ago, then like a lot of people he stopped and let life happen. I see more and more of those people coming back to comedy later in life, and there’s nothing at all wrong with it. Rick has always been a comedy fan. He came to me a couple of years ago and wanted to get back in the game. I always try to help anyone I can, especially when they’re sincere about learning. It’s just a good move to help someone whenever possible, at least I think so. That karma bank can use some coins. Rick mentioned he used to work for a drum company and had crossed paths with quite a few big time acts, one of them being Phil Ehart, the drummer from Kansas. I happened to mention to Rick how much I liked Kansas, and he told me he’d get me in to see them live and meet them backstage. I didn’t doubt he could do it, but it took forever to line it all up. We’d talked about it a few other times, but either I was on the road or Rick was busy or who knows what else? Tonight happened to work out, and it was worth the wait. We had seats front and center only a few rows back in a beautifully restored theatre located in St. Charles, IL called The Acrada. Rick brought two other friends and everyone had a blast. I knew I’d enjoy the show, but the band exceeded my expectations after the first two or three songs. The musicianship and showmanship of all those years came to the stage front and center and never left until we were all standing after the encore. That was a real show from start to finish, and I enjoyed every note. I knew all the songs, and it was a real treat. Halfway through their set they played ‘Hold On’ and it took the show to an even higher level, at least with me. The other people there were into it as well, and the band could do no wrong with any of us. We were there to be entertained, and they knew how to do it. I thought everyone was red hot, and the whole show sounded exquisite - but did it? I’m a musical idiot, and probably couldn’t tell if something was wrong unless the actual stage was on fire. To me, everything sounded dead on razor sharp and perfect. But I wonder. I know how I can get after my shows, and when I find something I don’t like it tends to ruin what I think of the entire show. Many nights I’ve had people lining up to tell me how funny I was, but I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear from sheer embarrassment of how I’d stunk up the stage and wasted everyone‘s time. I have to believe I‘m not alone. After the show, Rick got us backstage to meet Phil Ehart. They’re good friends, but what do you say to a guy who just lit it up like that for two hours? I felt really uncomfortable in that situation but I thanked him for all the great music and said how much fun I had, and I totally did. We didn’t stay long, and when I thanked Rick he said it was no big deal at all. But it was. What a thrill to finally see those guys live after being a fan for so long. I had never seen their set before, but they’d done it thousands of times. They could’ve phoned a show in, but they didn’t. It was magnificent, and a lesson for me to always give my best.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment