English rocker John Waite graced the stage for the very first time during the Batavia Downs concert series. Waite has been known for fronting bands The Babys and Bad English. He has also known for having a successful solo career which spanned a number one single in “Missing You” back in 1984. Waite’s band included Shane Fontayne on lead guitar, Alan Childs on drums and Tim Hogan on bass.
Taking the stage at 8:30pm, Waite strapped his 6th string electric guitar on and went back to the 70’s with his first band The Babys. They played one of that band’s biggest songs in “Midnight Rendezvous.” The 1st time I was ever introduced to Waite was when he was solo artist and made an appearance on MTV with his song “Change.” It still remains one of my favorite songs in the Waite catalog. Being a huge KISS fan, I was shocked to see Waite dig deep into KISS lore and play “Tears,” which Peter Criss sang on his 1982 solo album ‘Let Me Rock You.’ The song had moderate success for Waite back in 1984 as well, as it cracked the top 40 at that time. Waite went back and forth singing acapella and playing the rhythm guitar during the entire performance. A few Bad English songs followed including the smash hit “When I See You Smile.” A few songs later, the emotional and heartfelt “Bleubird Cafe was delivered. For some reason, most of the fans were sitting during Waite’s performance. Of course, when the first few chords of “Missing You” were played, that brought them out of their seats. Through the entire set, the most important thing to notice is that Waite still has not lost anything vocally. Waite still shows the range and power after 50 years in the business. The band closed the set on a high note as they did the Led Zeppelin classic “Whole Lotta Love.”
Outside of a few technical issues, I thought Waite and his band performed a solid show. Personally, I would have loved to see Waite tackle the Bad English song “Forget Me Not,” but you can’t have everything. As stated earlier, Waite’s voice is still in tip top shape and his band are as solid as musicians as you will find.
Setlist:
Midnight Rendezvous (The Babys song)
Change
Tears (Peter Criss cover)
When I See You Smile (Bad English song)
Best of What I Got (Bad English song)
Everytime I Think of You
If You Ever Get Lonely
Isn’t It Time (The Babys song)
Act of Love
In Dreams
Bluebird Cafe
Head First (The Babys song)
Missing You
Back on My Feet Again (The Babys song)
Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)
We would like to thank Ryan Hasenauer from Batavia Downs for the credentials to review the show.