Showing posts with label Mass.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mass.. Show all posts

5/15/2014

Concert Review: Justin Hayward In Concert At The Colonial Theater In Pittsfield, Mass.

                                                    http://www.justinhayward.com


Another legend of music graced our paths last night at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Justin Hayward, the voice of the Moody Blues, took the stage and entertained us with his catalog of Moody Blues hits and solo material from the 2013 Spirits of the Western Skyrelease.

Prior to that happening Hayward walked out on stage to introduce Mike Dawes, a young emerging artist that specializes in finger picking the acoustic guitar. Dawes was a one man band with all of his techniques and various sounds and effects. He made his way through 4 songs before coming back to the stage to be part of Hayward’s band. Julie Ragins also joined them on keyboards and backing vocals. The young lady added a nice layer of sound with the keys and her smooth vocals.

Hayward is a spry 68 and he sounds amazing. He is every bit the proper English gentleman on stage and he delighted the capacity crowd with his melodic acoustic guitar playing and surprisingly strong and poignant vocals. When you go to a concert to see someone that got their start in the 60s there is some trepidation as to be expected but as usual when I attend these events I am very pleased with what I hear.

Hayward kicked off the evening with one of the Moody Blues hits “Tuesday Afternoon” and that got the crowd in the right mood. For the first time I witnessed an audience that got to their feet to applaud an artist after every number. It was quite a tribute to Hayward. He has a strong following to this day. He asked the audience if they were at a certain event recently and a large portion of them raised their hands in recognition, followed by hoots and hollers of course. It was a nice thing to see that kind of acknowledgment and well deserved I might add.

I must tip my hat to Mr. Dawes for playing some excellent backing guitar on acoustic and electric and Ms. Ragins for her marvelous keyboard fills, lovely vocals and visually pleasing expressions as each song played.

As Hayward traversed his way through the Moodies hits and solo material his voice got stronger. His in between song conversation with the audience was interesting and informative and it added to the overall intimate ambiance that the Colonial offers at any live concert. Towards the end of the evening as the show continued to gather momentum, Hayward launched into a gorgeous rendering of “Forever Autumn” followed by “Question.” For the encore the night reached its pinnacle with the mega hit “Nights In White Satin” followed by the most excellent “I Know Your Out There Somewhere.”

Justin Hayward is a real showman and he still has the magic touch with his guitar and voice. The songs soothe your soul and make your heart smile. Thank you Mr. Hayward for a special night out and one I shall remember forever.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-Founder Write A Music Review, Prog Rock Music Talk & New Age Music Reviews

May 14, 2014

Set List:
Tuesday Afternoon
It’s Up To You/Lovely
In Your Blue Eyes
The Western Sky
New Horizons?
In The Beginning
One Day, Some Day
The Eastern Sky
What You Resist Persists
Wildest Dreams
Forever Autumn
Question
Encore: Nights in White Satin
I Know Your Out There Somewhere

3/27/2014

Concert Review: Rick Springfield Stripped Down…Well Almost


Rick Springfield In Concert at the Colonial Theater
Pittsfield, Mass.- March 26, 2014


On a frigid and blustery evening Rick Springfield rolled into the Berkshires to entertain us at the beautiful Colonial Theater. Things were about to warm up very shortly though.

Every time I step into that venue I feel immense appreciation for its restoration. It is one of the best decisions Pittsfield has ever made. Bringing in acts like Springfield is one of the many joys of having the theater available to the local audience. People do come from all over for the shows however, last night there were folks from Boston, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

As I was walking into the theater I was seeing a lot women filing in. Could this 80s heartthrob still have the following of females he did back then? Probably not but those girls that followed him back then are now in mid-life and there was a lot of them there screaming and hooting over this legendary pop icon. At this point I was asking myself if I should be attending. That question was answered after Springfield’s first number and consequently throughout his entire performance. I have a newfound respect for his abilities, particularly with the guitar playing.

This was all Rick and his guitars and an Apple laptop, or as he put it, his band in a box. This was not an all-acoustic show as he did pull out the electric six-string on several occasions. As we found out soon enough the addition of the backing tracks accentuated his performance greatly. This was not a bunch of sliced up tracks from previous albums or sampling mind you, it was his recordings especially made for the show. He made sure we were aware of that factor. It did make a difference and filled in some gaps that a full complement of players would have provided. It was an impressive display of talent anyway you look at it and the man can sing just as well as he did when his popularity soared in the early 80s. It is hard to believe he is 66 years old and looks so fit and can still sing so strongly. These things don’t happen by chance; certainly a lot of hard work is involved to maintain a healthy appearance and strong vocals at his age. It worked for him last night. 

As the saying goes, every song has a story behind it somehow and Springfield let us in on how his songs were developed. This part of the show made every song an adventure. After shedding light upon his songs it made you feel you knew him personally and hence there was more emotional attachment involved while listening. The most touching part of the evening was when he told us about his father dying and how it took him three years to find the words to write a song about him. He explained how when his father was dying that he would sit in a blue recliner and watch cricket all day long. Springfield nearly was in tears as he explained the essence of the song “My Father’s Chair.” It was a beautiful thing to watch such heartfelt artistry on display. Of course he would end the night with his mega hit “Jessie’s Girl,” much to the delight of the women (who suddenly became screaming tweens again) in attendance.

There is a lot of audience interaction with his stripped down version of his recorded works and he even has a Q & A session with the audience when he is done playing. The questions where all sent in prior to the show via email and then answered when he finished his last number and took a quick break before coming back out on stage.

Rick Springfield is an accomplished guitar player, vocalist, and story teller and I would highly recommend catching one of his shows if you can.

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck-Founder Write A Music Review

March 27, 2014