There are some artist’s whose sobriety doesn’t translate into better musicianship, and with his quirky, self-deprecating odes to excess like “Life’s Been Good,” with its famous lyrics about partying until 4:00 a.m. and being unable to find the door, one might assume a sober Joe Walsh isn’t that fun to watch. One would be wrong.
Joe Walsh began his set at Seneca Allegany Casino with “Welcome to the Club,” a deep cut from his “So What?” album. It was clear from the moment that Walsh appeared onstage that he is healthy and clean, and playing guitar at a level expected of an iconic performer.
Even though Walsh has not been a prolific songwriter in the two decades, he has a large catalog to draw from, including songs from stints in the James Gang and The Eagles. He touched on both of those eras, cranking out three James Gang songs, “The Bomber,” “Funk #49” and “Walk Away” along with a couple of Eagles songs, “Life in the Fast Lane,” and “In the City.” (“All Night Long” was on the setlist as an encore but likely eliminated due to time constraints)
Walsh also broke out with some gems from his solo albums, including “Life of Illusion” and “The Confessor.” Both versions were faithful to the original with some added flavor thanks to Joe’s touring ensemble, which included a second guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, two drummers, a percussionist and three background singers.
The background singers stepped to the forefront when Walsh and his band performed Bob Dylan’s “I Shall be Released,” as a moving tribute to the late Levon Helm, with Walsh’s background singers handling lead vocal duties.
The dual drummers added some extra panache to the sound. They had a chance to shine on “Funk #49,” during which they had a drum “solo.”
There were many highlights, but the most impressive song of the evening was “Turn to Stone.” It may not be one of Walsh’s biggest hits, but the version they played on Saturday took an excellent song and made it even better.
On “Life in the Fast Lane,” Walsh handled vocal duties, and although I confess I have seen and heard him sing it before I thought he had a tough time with the vocals that Don Henley originally sang. He has made some subtle adjustments in his approach to singing it and thus it sounded fantastic. In fact Joe’s voice sounded great all night long! (pun intended)
The only minor complaint I have is that he only played one song from his new album, “Analog Man,” that being the title cut. There are at least three songs from the album that would have fit nicely in the set, and it would have given fans a chance to hear some great new material. Of course that is the challenge at a casino show, balancing the fan favorites with the new stuff.
The show closed with “Rocky Mountain Way,” and it gave Joe a chance to show off his talk box skills. I had seen Peter Frampton four days earlier so it was cool to think that I witnessed to two artists most closely associated with the device in the same week.
Set List:
Welcome to the Club
Life of Illusion
Walk Away (James Gang cover)
The Confessor
Analog Man
I Shall be Released
The Bomber/Closet Queen/Bolero/Cast Your Fate to the WInd (James Gang cover)
Turn to Stone
In the City (Eagles cover)
Personal Manager (Albert King cover)
Funk #49 (James Gang cover)
Life’s Been Good
Life in the Fast Lane (Eagles cover)
Encore:
Rocky Mountain Way
All Photos by Gus Griesinger
We would like to thank Rebecca Novak from 42West and Tony Astran from the Seneca Niagara Casino for allowing BackstageAxxess.com to review the show.
