As summer winds down and the kids head back to school, the final installment of The Artpark Tuesday Concert series closed the season with a double dose of classic rock at its finest. The J. Geils Band along with opener Ian Hunter and the Rant Band, ended the season on a high note.
Introduced to the crowd as “three time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees,” The J. Geils Band took the stage, opening up with the instrumental “Sno Cone.” Vocalist, and the man who can groove like few other front men can, Peter Wolf came out as the band went into “Hard Drivin’ Man.” JGB can still deliver a quality blues set after forming in Worcester, Massachusetts over 40 years ago. With original members Magic Dick on harmonica, Danny Klein on bass, Seth Justman on keyboards and Wolf on vocals, they have now surrounded themselves with Nichelle Tillman and Catherine Russell on backup vocals, Tom Arey on drums, and both Kevin Barry and Duke Levine on guitar. Wolf mentioned Barry being from the Western New York area (Olean) and how he would bring up stories of drinking Genesee Cream Ale (longtime local beer) to the guys.
Wolf talked about how the band played the Fillmore East for the 1st time opening up for Black Sabbath. Then they were able to close the place with the Allman Brothers. They dedicated the song “Cruisin’ for Love” to the memories of the playing there. Klein played a beautiful flying V bass that I have never seen before. Even though it was one of the most humid days of the year, Magic Dick came and left with his trademark leather jacket on the entire show. Not many appreciate this but the group was really the 1st known to feature the harmonica as a lead instrument, and Dick was at the forefront of that.
Wolf moved about the entire show but took center stage to sit on a tool to deliver the song “Teresa.” Wolf also enjoyed taking swigs from a wine bottle in between songs also. If you want to see what the J. Geils Band is all about take a look or listen to the songs “Detroit Breakdown” and “House Party” then you will get a pretty good idea how the blues is played and translated by them. The 20 plus song set also included some of their more familiar work like “Centerfold” and “Freeze Frame.”
Opening up the set was 67 years young Ian Hunter. Hunter fronted Mott The Hoople back in the early 1970’s, but has been solo artist for most of his career since that point. Their 50 minute set sounded extremely tight and included songs like “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” “Cleveland Rocks” and of course the anthem “All the Young Dudes.”
Hunter went from wearing a harmonica around his neck while playing an acoustic guitar, to jumping behind the piano, then back to playing his acoustic during his 50-minute set. He didn’t sit still and gave an impressive showing, thus making it one of the more consistent and stronger performances of the 2015 season at Artpark. See you all next year!
J. Geils Band setlist:
Sno -cone
Hard Drivin’ Man
Southside Shuffle
Homework (Otis Rush cover)
Night Time (The Strangeloves cover)
Wait
Sanctuary
Cruisin’ for Love
Just Can’t Wait
Teresa
Serves You Right to Suffer
Pack Fair and Square
Give It to Me
Freeze Frame
Detroit Breakdown
Centerfold
Love Stinks
Lookin’ for a Love (The Valentinos cover)
Whammer Jammer
Houseparty
Encore:
Where Did Our Love Go (The Supremes cover)
Start All Over Again
Intro to Musta Got Lost
Musta Got Lost
Ian Hunter and The Rant Band setlist:
Once Bitten Twice Shy (Ian Hunter song)
Just the Way You Look Tonight
Now Is the Time (Ian Hunter song)
Just Another Night (Ian Hunter song)
Standing in My Light (Ian Hunter song)
All the Way from Memphis (Mott the Hoople cover)
When I’m President
23A, Swan Hill (Ian Hunter song)
Sweet Jane (The Velvet Underground cover)
All the Young Dudes (Mott the Hoople cover)
We would like to thank Maria Hays from Artpark for her assistance in obtaining credentials so BackstageAxxess can review the show.
