Last week there was a furious concert flurry with Dead & Company for the first of two nights at the Nassau Coliseum, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul with the great Peter Wolf at the Beacon Theatre on Wednesday, Styx at the NYCB Theatre st Westbury, a last minute Friday StubHub bargain with Dwight Yoakam at the NYCB Theatre st Westbury and ending the busy week on Saturday with Paul Anka also in Westbury.
The Dead & Company show featuring John Mayer made for a cool vibe causing the usually “Dead” Nassau Coliseum to come alive again for at least a couple of nights. “Casey Jones” and “St. Stephen” had the mix of young wannabe Deadheads and the “Deadhead sticker on their Cadillac” crowd dancing in their seats and the general admission floor. The band, led by stalwart original members Bob Weir and their long time drumming tandem, is largely a nostalgic throwback these days but quite the professional outfit largely cashing in on the Grateful Dead legacy. The band sounds great and the crowd is largely joyous in various states of intoxication and income brackets . While the Madison Square Garden shows earlier in the week appeared to be a hot ticket, the secondary market for the two Long Island shows took a beating. Just as when the Dead scheduled two nights at Citifield a couple of summers ago, it would seem that, even in New York, there is a limit to how many Dead shows will be supported, in this particular market anyway.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul had canceled the end of their “Summer of Scorcery” tour due to Little Steven having taken ill, leaving just the Beacon Theatre concert, where a DVD was to be filmed, and a Boston date. A giant trailer parked in the rear of the theatre with an enormous Gene Simmons’ like photo of Little Steven affixed to the side, left know doubt that the band is not inclined to sneak in to town. Peter Wolf opened with a too short set snd was the epitome of rock and roll royalty as always. Little Steven is obviously a big Wolf fan as I spied him at a Wolf City Winery gig a couple of years ago watching the show from the VIP seats up top. Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul is an eclectic act with the tremendously overweight Steven up front in bandana and draped in scarves, backed by a large professional band with members embarrassingly dressed as 1970’s movie pimps and an excellent trio of dancing, prancing female soul singers who made the show tolerable. Rumors of a Bruce Springsteen appearance were heightened when a bartender told me that the show would end at 11 no Bruce, or 12 with Bruce. Later on I was told it was happening and that the show would end at 11:15. Peter Wolf joined the band for “Sun City” and the Southside Johnny tunes were cool but, for me, the show was a train wreck. I would’ve left early but from the 3rd row center I hung in there for the Bruce Springsteen appearance that never materialized. This is not an act I would go out of my way to see again.
Styx, Dwight Yoakam, and Paul Anka played the next three nights st the NYCB Theatre at Westbury. Styx snd Yoakum played in the “half round” while Paul Anka made the circular Westbury stage his own, as usual, without the need to rotate as the legendary performer did not need any help working the entire venue and getting up and personal with his mostly mature but exuberant fans.
Styx played its entire latest album before an intermission. A married couple in the first row center in matching Styx shirts sang every word to every song to an album about traveling through space a la Spiders from Mars. I give the band credit for highlighting their new material and the audience was mostly polite before they played the late 1970’s arena hits that still bring in the crowds today. The band looks and sounds great snd come back for an odd second helping show tonight! in Westbury.
I was sitting at home Friday and found six dollar StubHub tickets for Dwight Yoakum so, having nothing else to do that night, I drove down the road on the Wantagh Parkway to see a country legend on the cheap. I sat second row center where the vocals were a little low in the mix with an obviously professional backing band drowning Dwight out just a bit. I did not know many of his tunes but the “Suspicious Minds” encore resonated in my head for a couple of days following the show.
Paul Anka sings a lot of songs you grew up with; both those he recorded for himself and those made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and a host of others The Vegas style show highlighted many aspects of Anka’s 60 year career, from riding on the bus with Buddy Holly to “My Way”. I have seen Paul Anka perform on several occasions and his show is always a great evening of entertainment no matter what you’re musical tastes might lean to.
The road goes on forever
Rock on!
GQ