Steger Days of Music - Day 4
Sorry for the delay in posting - but I need some R&R (rest & relaxation) from my weekend of R&R (rock & roll).
Day 4 was absolutely amazing, four top notch bands on the schedule beginning at 2:00pm and ending at 9:00pm with a bang (literally - there were fireworks immediately following Kashmir).
The day opened with The Big Boppers full band in the beer tent (all ages attendance). The Big Boppers focused on classic rock & roll from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Mostly those rockers that get people up and moving, but also a couple of classic slow songs for the couples to dance to. The Big Boppers full band incarnation consists of Bopper (and Midnight) staples, John Falston and Frank Anastos on the guitars. Artie Baldacci on drums, and Fran Green on vocals. I should say on phenomenal vocals. Between accomplished guitarists (bass and lead), Anastos and Falstrom, accomplished drummer Baldacci, and the singer with the golden voice - it was an amazing and full sounding set. And, let's not forget, Frank Anastos on lead vocals on some songs and harmonies on others!!! An awesome show, could talk about it for hours, but need to move on - I'm sure there is a word limit to fb posts.
The Time Bandits, a Beatles cover band, followed the Boppers. The Time Bandits stuck to all Beatles this round, with no solo songs, but trust me - they know those as well! They did an awesome job of scanning the Beatles catalog to provide a well-rounded picture of the Beatles music from slow ballads to Helter Skelter, which is basically a heavy metal song, to deep cuts like Leave My Kitten Alone. Vocals were traded between all 3 guitarists (just like the Beatles, but no Ringo songs in this set). The Time Bandits had the crowd singing along and even "head banging" during Helter Skelter. A very tight and accurate sound for sure! Could spend longer talking about them - but two more bands to go.
EPIC - well, I'll do the cliche, was Epic! Epic, and Chicagoland 80s cover band can cover everything from 80s ballads, to power ballads, to flat out rockers! For tonight's show they stuck to the 1980 hard rockers, pulling out 2 Rush songs!! With only a 1 hour set and a Zeppelin Tribute Band up next, they planned the list accordingly to pump the crowd full of energy and get them in the mood to rock out. For 60 straight minutes this band went from song to song to song, without slowing down in between. They opened the show with front man "Lenergy" running into the audience to start things off. And that set the tone for a non-step energy filled 60 minutes, including crowd sing-along favorite Don't Stop Believing!! These guys have mastered the 80s sound, across vocals, guitars, drums, and keyboards. If you went to high school in the 80s - this is a band you must see!!! They play these songs so accurate you'll feel transported back to high school for sure. And, I'll say it again, the energy of this band - all the members - is amazing. It was a HOT and HUMID day under the 5:30 setting sun - and this band rocked it out every single song they played. Non-stop motion on stage!!!
And, finally, Kashmir. The best quote I ever heard about them "If you close your eyes, you think it's Zeppelin. If you open them, you think it's Zeppelin". And that quote is spot on true!!! This band plays the songs so perfectly accurate it is simply amazing! Then, not only do they dress the part, like tribute bands do, but they ARE the part. The mannerisms are so perfect, it was very easy to think it was Zeppelin on stage - VERY EASY. Of course, they weren't always on stage.........."Jimmy Page" traveled out to the audience 2 (maybe 3) times and worked his guitar magic up close and personal with the crowd - going 10-15 rows deep and covering the audience from stage left to stage right. During one trip to the audience, he did the classic bow-played guitar. And the crowd loved it!!! Back to the mannerisms, bass players often get overlooked, but even here - "John Paul Jones" was exactly John Paul Jones. And the drummer, well, nobody can be John Bonham, but he sure was close! And the singer - if I didn't know any better - I'd swear they hired Robert Plant himself - from vocals to stage presence!!! I wish I could remember the intro speech the band gave word for word, but they basically said "Look, we know we aren't Zeppelin and we aren't even trying to be. We are trying to play the songs as they were meant to be played" (or something like that). And they pulled it off from every single aspect - musically and visually!!!
And, I must say, that each one of these 4 bands was SO AWESOME to work with. So easy to work with, fun to be around, extremely professional at all times! Bands like this make my job backstage sooooo much easier, and fun!! (The Ides of March and The Shift from Thursday, also fit into this category)
I had so much fun working with these very professional, very cool, and very fun bands!!!! And even more fun sitting back and enjoying the show!!! I plan to see all of these bands many more times - and hope to work with them again as well!!!
Oh, if that wasn't enough, Day 4 also had a parade prior to the first band, a car show, craft/food vendors, and a carnival!!!
What a successful 4 days!!!!!
Performance photos at : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.975099149178422.1073741849.304654299556247&type=3
Sorry for the delay in posting - but I need some R&R (rest & relaxation) from my weekend of R&R (rock & roll).
Day 4 was absolutely amazing, four top notch bands on the schedule beginning at 2:00pm and ending at 9:00pm with a bang (literally - there were fireworks immediately following Kashmir).
The day opened with The Big Boppers full band in the beer tent (all ages attendance). The Big Boppers focused on classic rock & roll from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Mostly those rockers that get people up and moving, but also a couple of classic slow songs for the couples to dance to. The Big Boppers full band incarnation consists of Bopper (and Midnight) staples, John Falston and Frank Anastos on the guitars. Artie Baldacci on drums, and Fran Green on vocals. I should say on phenomenal vocals. Between accomplished guitarists (bass and lead), Anastos and Falstrom, accomplished drummer Baldacci, and the singer with the golden voice - it was an amazing and full sounding set. And, let's not forget, Frank Anastos on lead vocals on some songs and harmonies on others!!! An awesome show, could talk about it for hours, but need to move on - I'm sure there is a word limit to fb posts.
The Time Bandits, a Beatles cover band, followed the Boppers. The Time Bandits stuck to all Beatles this round, with no solo songs, but trust me - they know those as well! They did an awesome job of scanning the Beatles catalog to provide a well-rounded picture of the Beatles music from slow ballads to Helter Skelter, which is basically a heavy metal song, to deep cuts like Leave My Kitten Alone. Vocals were traded between all 3 guitarists (just like the Beatles, but no Ringo songs in this set). The Time Bandits had the crowd singing along and even "head banging" during Helter Skelter. A very tight and accurate sound for sure! Could spend longer talking about them - but two more bands to go.
EPIC - well, I'll do the cliche, was Epic! Epic, and Chicagoland 80s cover band can cover everything from 80s ballads, to power ballads, to flat out rockers! For tonight's show they stuck to the 1980 hard rockers, pulling out 2 Rush songs!! With only a 1 hour set and a Zeppelin Tribute Band up next, they planned the list accordingly to pump the crowd full of energy and get them in the mood to rock out. For 60 straight minutes this band went from song to song to song, without slowing down in between. They opened the show with front man "Lenergy" running into the audience to start things off. And that set the tone for a non-step energy filled 60 minutes, including crowd sing-along favorite Don't Stop Believing!! These guys have mastered the 80s sound, across vocals, guitars, drums, and keyboards. If you went to high school in the 80s - this is a band you must see!!! They play these songs so accurate you'll feel transported back to high school for sure. And, I'll say it again, the energy of this band - all the members - is amazing. It was a HOT and HUMID day under the 5:30 setting sun - and this band rocked it out every single song they played. Non-stop motion on stage!!!
And, finally, Kashmir. The best quote I ever heard about them "If you close your eyes, you think it's Zeppelin. If you open them, you think it's Zeppelin". And that quote is spot on true!!! This band plays the songs so perfectly accurate it is simply amazing! Then, not only do they dress the part, like tribute bands do, but they ARE the part. The mannerisms are so perfect, it was very easy to think it was Zeppelin on stage - VERY EASY. Of course, they weren't always on stage.........."Jimmy Page" traveled out to the audience 2 (maybe 3) times and worked his guitar magic up close and personal with the crowd - going 10-15 rows deep and covering the audience from stage left to stage right. During one trip to the audience, he did the classic bow-played guitar. And the crowd loved it!!! Back to the mannerisms, bass players often get overlooked, but even here - "John Paul Jones" was exactly John Paul Jones. And the drummer, well, nobody can be John Bonham, but he sure was close! And the singer - if I didn't know any better - I'd swear they hired Robert Plant himself - from vocals to stage presence!!! I wish I could remember the intro speech the band gave word for word, but they basically said "Look, we know we aren't Zeppelin and we aren't even trying to be. We are trying to play the songs as they were meant to be played" (or something like that). And they pulled it off from every single aspect - musically and visually!!!
And, I must say, that each one of these 4 bands was SO AWESOME to work with. So easy to work with, fun to be around, extremely professional at all times! Bands like this make my job backstage sooooo much easier, and fun!! (The Ides of March and The Shift from Thursday, also fit into this category)
I had so much fun working with these very professional, very cool, and very fun bands!!!! And even more fun sitting back and enjoying the show!!! I plan to see all of these bands many more times - and hope to work with them again as well!!!
Oh, if that wasn't enough, Day 4 also had a parade prior to the first band, a car show, craft/food vendors, and a carnival!!!
What a successful 4 days!!!!!
Performance photos at : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.975099149178422.1073741849.304654299556247&type=3
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