8 - Cryan' Shames - Songs and Stories Show (October – The Arcada Family Theatre at Pheasant Run Resort)
Talk about performing under the most adverse, unexpected and emotional circumstances, original lead singer Tom Doody of The Cryan’ Shames took to the stage alone at The Arcada Family Theatre at Pheasant Run after current Shames head kingpin Jim Pilster had a minor stroke and original guitarist and lead songwriter James Fairs decided not to show up because he didn’t want to play the band’s hit songs in their original arrangements anymore.
Thankfully, Tom had the full support of the regular backing band that today make up The Cryan’ Shames … and let me tell you, they were OUTSTANDING!!! (As part of the Cornerstones of Rock Show, only Doody, Pilster and Fairs typically perform, backed by The Ides of March … so it was a REAL treat to see the full band in action again … and turning in a top-notch, stellar performance in the process. The debate about how to perform the songs featured in their set has been going on for as long as they’ve been part of the Cornerstones reunion … Fairs, who wrote most of their hit material, wants to do re-imagined versions of this music, stating that he’s already done them “the other way” and wants to continue to grow and evolve. As such, some of their best known music is, at times, unrecognizable, and the fans have noticed … and not necessarily in a positive way. Unfortunately this has sometimes put The Cryan’ Shames in the unenviable position of being “the weakest link” in the Cornerstones line-up.
I am happy to report, however, that for this October show, which featured a full 90 minutes of Cryan’ Shames music, EVERYTHING was restored to its original form … and the fans LOVED it … responding again and again with standing ovations. THIS is the way THEY want the music remembered and represented.
From our original review:
It was the best of times ... it was the worst of times ...
In what had to be one of the most difficult performances of his life, Tom Doody ran The Cryan' Shames through their Songs And Stories show at The Arcada Family Theatre at Pheasant Run Resort Friday Night to a packed, sold out house ... but he did so under some extremely taxing circumstances.
Sadly, he was without the support of two other original Shames members as Jim Pilster (Hooke) suffered a stroke and had to be hospitalized 24 hours before show time and Guitarist James Fairs was a no show, apparently too sick to perform.
Tom got choked up a few times at the beginning of the show ... and a few more when relating certain stories and having to mention Jimmy by name. Pilster has been the lifeblood of this band, keeping it alive for the past 40 years. He is also a good friend and we hate to see him suffering right now, having already endured a minor stroke a few months back. (How minor? He was back out on the golf course about six days later!!! Jimmy isn't one to miss his tee time!) Speaking from his hospital bed, his final words of encouragement to Tom Doody just prior to taking the stage were "Just go out there and do a great show." We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back up on that stage several more times down the road.
That being said, the band was in absolute top form Friday Night as they went through their catalog, playing ALL of the songs that made our Forgotten Hits "Most Requested" list a few months back and, with the absence of Fairs, performing them in their original arrangements which, judging by the tremendous response received, is exactly the way the fans want to hear them.
That means we got to hear LP favorites like "Dennis Dupree From Danville,""Cobblestone Road,""Sunshine Psalm" and "We Could Be Happy" ... overlooked singles like "Mr. Unreliable," an excellent up-tempo rendering of "First Train To California" and an absolutely scorching rocker like "Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles David Smith And Jones," a song that absolutely should have been a smash ... especially coming from a type-cast ballads band after releasing hits like "It Could Be We're In Love" and their version of "Up On The Roof," all the more the case since music took a much harder turn in 1968.
They also did some great covers, including "If I Needed Someone," which opened the set and showcased the trademark Shames harmonies, a very cool reggae version of the Cat Stevens / Tremeloes hit "Here Comes My Baby," a beautiful, soulful version of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" and an ovation-worthy reading of the aforementioned "Up On The Roof." Naturally, their first big hit "Sugar And Spice" closed the show to a standing ovation.
In between, Doody proved to be a great story teller, relating behind the scenes memories of how some of these recordings came to be made, dispersing some interesting Cryan' Shames trivia and even answering a few questions from the audience ... all in a very spirited, humorous and entertaining way.
A band this good should be playing all the time ... and it's a cryan' shame that they aren't. Dedicating the show to Jimmy may have helped to spur them on because they truly were outstanding musically ... which is all the more amazing when one considers that they don't perform very often as a unit anymore and only Doody, Pilster and Fairs (when he elects to) participate in the Cornerstones shows.
7 - Wilson Phillips (September – The Genesee Theatre)
I remember being especially intrigued back in 1990 when I first heard that two of Brian Wilson’s daughters (Wendy and Carnie) were teaming up with the daughter of Michelle and John Phillips (Chynna) … and when I heard their first album (which spawned a series of #1 Hits including “Hold On,” “Release Me” and “You’re In Love”), I was hooked.
This would be the THIRD time I had tickets to see them perform live in concert … in the previous two cases, the shows were cancelled at the very last minute … so I never had the chance to do so. Their on-again / off-again partnership has made me think that they would never stay together long enough to perform in concert again.
So even when The Genesee Theatre announced their upcoming gig I was skeptical … and even warned the promoter that this show was likely “iffy” at best. “No,” I was assured, “They are really doing this” … and they did … and I am SO glad that we finally had the chance to see them.
An entertaining night filled with hits and covers (“We only made three albums!” they explained) was nicely augmented by what seemed to be some real, genuine affection for each other. (Let’s face it … they’re all parents with kids of their own by now … going on the road’s gotta be tough … but they made the most of it and put on a very entertaining show.
From my original review:
Third time's the charm!
I've mentioned before how last Friday Night is the THIRD time we've had tickets to see Wilson Phillips live in concert.
The first time, the tour was cut short abruptly and the Chicago date was cancelled.
The second time, the trio actually split up, causing the show to be cancelled (which is why it was a bit difficult to listen to Chynna explain how they'd been together now for 25 years when, in fact, it seems like they've spent more of those 25 years apart than together!)
But this time, they actually made it ... and it was a great show. (Kudos to The Genesee Theatre for bringing their act to Chicago.)
Their onstage chemistry comes across as "real" ... with Carnie always playing the clown and goofy one, trying to keep things fun, moving and real, Chynna as the rail-thin spokesperson trying to maintain some sense of dignity but constantly cracking up at the antics going on around her and Wendy as the down-to-earth den mother ... the glue that holds it all together.
When you see the number of shows that we do, you begin to develop a pretty strong sense of what is "scripted" and what is spontaneous ... in fact, it's been a bit disheartening on many occasions when you come to realize that the heartfelt dialog you've taken in during a special moment of a particular show is, in fact, repeated word-for-word, night after night, in every city, at every performance and delivered the exact same way to make it all feel (and seem) like it was developed especially for you.
The feeling with Wilson Phillips is that, while they follow a show outline, this isn't necessarily the case ... while there is a set agenda, anything that happens between the start and finish of their show is somewhat up for grabs and, as such, much more is genuinely spontaneous, thus making every show somewhat unique and special in its own sense.
Early on, Chynna asked the audience if everything sounded all-right ... a GREAT tact because truthfully, things didn't. The beautiful blend of their voices was being lost in the mix with the instruments too loud. The audience responded as such and a move was made immediately that brought the vocals to the forefront ... an EXCELLENT move from my perspective as my initial fear once the concert was underway was that after waiting all this time to FINALLY see them, I'm not going to get the chance to HEAR them at their very best because of a poor board set up. Thank you, Chynna, for making sure that all of us got to experience the full Wilson Phillips vocal experience.
She also joked about midway thru their set that Wilson Phillips did a lot of covers "because, let's face it, we only had five hits." Funny ... but again, very down to earth (and true!) As such, we were treated to several songs from their "Dedicated" album, which paid homage to their parents John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas and Brian Wilson, the genius behind The Beach Boys. Readings of "California Dreamin'", "Monday, Monday" and a beautiful rendition of "God Only Knows" by Carnie Wilson, dedicated to her "Uncle Carl", followed. (Sadly, two covers that I fully expected to hear were left off the set list ... their great take on "Good Vibrations" from the same album and their rousing version of "Hotel California" that they performed as part of their set many times in years past. I thought for sure they'd be included here or, at the very least, as part of the encore ... but it didn't happen.)
What we got instead was a rockin' version of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down" and a show-stopping segment where they brought up about thirty members of the audience and did a note-for-note perfect performance of ABBA's "Dancing Queen" which was run into "Does Your Mother Know", a medley that brought the house down. (Truth be told, they sounded better on "Dancing Queen" than they did on some of their own hits! It was amazing!)
Along the way, they did the expected hits ("Release Me,""Impulsive,""You're In Love,""The Dream Is Still Alive" and "You Won't See Me Cry," all Top 30 Hits racked up between 1990 and 1992. (Let me just say, in the spirit of complete honesty and disclosure, that when Wilson Phillips were hot, I was a MAJOR fan and bought everything they did ... I loved them ... but in all honestly, their music hasn't aged well. Don't get me wrong ... they've still got MAJOR singing and performing chops ... but the material itself just doesn't seem as strong some 25 years later. This is intended not to take anything away from the show we saw ... they were great ... but is commentary on this music itself, some 25 years later.) They also responded with audience requests by singing a line or two of Wendy and Carnie's hit "Hey Santa" and hinted that they'd squeeze their version of Elton John's "Daniel" into their encore (but it never happened.)
Naturally they saved their biggest and best known hit for last, once again with Chynna explaining "You'll have to hold on for 'Hold On'," which became their only encore. (The use of this track in the hit film "Bridesmaids" did a lot to boost a Wilson Phillips revival and the entire theater was up on its feet for this one.) And deservedly so ... they executed a letter-perfect version that left the crowd wanting more.
Opening for Wilson Phillips was Two Hit Wonder band The Rembrandts, who did their whole show with just the duo of Danny Wilde and Phil Solem playing a couple of acoustic guitars with no band back-up. This made things sound a little thin on some of their opening, lesser-known tracks ... but they more than made up for it with their big finish of "Just The Way It Is, Baby" (#14, 1991) and "I'll Be There For You" (the theme from the hit television series, "Friends"), which again had the whole audience up on their feet and singing along.
A couple of Forgotten Hits Readers who won tickets to the show also chimed in with their thoughts on the show ...
That was fucking incredible! Their harmonies were perfect! And "Dancing Queen" ... I mean, I knew it would be good but this was SO much better than I ever expected! Thank you SO much for the tickets!
Bob Burns
It was great to see you and Frannie at the Genesee Theatre Friday night. Wow! I had forgotten how great Wilson Phillips sounded ... and still does. It must be in the genes. The Rembrandts gave us some great harmonies, too. We were impressed by the theatre as well. All in all, a great night.
Ed Erxleben
(photos courtesy of Andy Argyrakis)
6 - Tommy James / The Association (Genesee Theatre - March)
This was a great double bill and both acts were in top form on this particular night. (Sure, we've seen them both several times before … and my experience has been that while Tommy James ALWAYS puts on a top-notch show, The Association either have it that night … or they don't. A group THIS reliant on harmony … it literally defines their sound … has to be spot on in order to be effective … and when they're not, it's downright painful to listen to!)
Well, I am happy to report that The Association were hitting all the right notes, which made this great night of ‘60’s music and memories.
From my original concert review:
I found The Association to be in excellent voice Saturday Night ... probably the best I've heard them in years ... and they kept the audience amused with entertaining stories throughout their set.
This was Tommy's first appearance at The Genesee ... and the place was PACKED! Tommy opened his show with a story about the first time he ever came to Waukegan back in 1965 ... he was still going by his real name, Tommy Jackson, at the time, and the name of his band was The Coachmen. They played a small club that no longer exists (in fact, he says, he drove by its old location on his way to The Genesee and found it to be an empty parking lot!) and this trip, for his show on Saturday Night was the first time he's been back since.
What a shame. Tommy ALWAYS packs 'em in and Saturday Night was no exception. Tommy is a top-notch showman and the audience had a ball. The energy was at an all-time high and I heard nothing but accolades from audience members after his performance.
5 - Burton Cummings - Arcada Theatre (April)
Burton Cummings has made our Top Concerts List EVERY year since we started running these year-end reviews. I still maintain that it is impossible to see a bad Burton Cummings show. He puts everything he's got into every performance and takes the audience for a ride they'll never forget.
From my original concert review:
Fact: It is IMPOSSIBLE not to have a good time at a Burton Cummings concert.
Before he even takes the stage, the band starts the opening notes of "No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature" and they've already sucked you in.
The catalog is SO deep ... and the songs are SO well known ... so much a part of your own DNA ... and Burton sounds every bit as good on vocals as he did the day he first recorded of them (many of which were waxed right here in Chicago back in the late '60's and early '70's) ... you just can't help yourself from being swept away into the moment.
And I'll tell you what ... Burton was having FUN Saturday Night ... it was clear to all on hand that he was having a GREAT time up there ... and that energy came back full force from the crowd ... we loved it.
I have never seen him so animated (and I have seen him at least twenty times!) The night was magic ... Burton was entertaining as hell, telling his stories and corny jokes and getting in a dig here and there about the "REAL" Guess Who and his former song-writing partner, Randy Bachman. The evening flew by. Cummings puts his all into these performances (there's always a secret pool going on as to how many songs he can sing before he is just drenched in sweat ... I've never seen him make it past three ... which I think was the winning number Saturday Night!)
Great time ... Great performer ... a CAN'T MISS concert event every time he hits town ... so check your calendar and see when he's next headed out your way ... you DEFINITELY want to catch this show!