Featured Live Music Artist of the Week - Jim Peterik & World Stage

TBT – January 2000, Norris Cultural Arts Center, St. Charles, IL

Going back over 15 years for this one – but still an easy one to write as it is still one of my favorite concerts of all time. 

Going into the concert, I knew very little of World Stage, which made sense, as this was the debut concert, which supported Jim Peterik’s World Stage debut CD.  I was a huge fan of Jim Peterik at that time (and still am, nothing has changed) and considered him my all-time favorite songwriter (and still do, actually).  Anyhow, because I was a Jim Peterik fan (and a Survivor fan), I bought tickets to the show not knowing what to expect.  And what I got in return was AMAZING!!

The Norris Cultural Arts Center, as the name would sort of imply, was a low-key intimate concert venue, and we had awesome seats (within the first 7 rows, if I recall correctly) – and that was perfect!!!  Excellent venue, excellent seats.

The show opened with, at the time, little known Leslie Hunt.  Leslie came out and performed an entirely solo opening act on piano.  No other instruments, just her voice and a piano.  And, WOW, she captivated the audience with beautiful melodies, stunning piano playing, and a wonderful voice.  It was then that we all knew this was going to be a magical evening!  (Many years later, Leslie would go on to be a Top 20 finalist on American Idol, by the way!)

Backup a bit, The World Stage concept was created by Jim Peterik as a way to combine some of the best musicians singing original songs (mostly) written specifically with that person’s talent in mind.  Most of the songs are duets.  A great concept, since the songs are written with specific artists in mind, the songs really showcase what makes those artists great.  This promised to be a star-studded show!

Now, I admit, 15 years later, 100s of concerts later, 1000s of CDs later, there is going to be some confusion over the exact lineup that played that January 2000 night.  I bought the CD that night, and not all of the CD musicians were at the live event – so it is possible that I might remember someone being there and they were not – or vise versa, they were but I forgot.

At any rate, the show was a constant rotation of legendary music stars, The Ides of March band (Peterik’s first band), and some very amazing local talent.  The songs all varied in style, specific to the performers, but were arranged in a perfectly cohesive manner.  Everything flowed together perfectly, both on stage AND, most importantly, musically.  The variety of performers was arranged perfectly as well as local stars intermixed with legends – as newly written songs mixed with a couple of classics and so forth.  This is not to be confused with an “All-Star Band” type concept, where every star gets up and performs 1 or 2 of their most famous songs.  This was where legends and locals and Peterik got up and performed new songs, new melodies, new sounds, and new harmonies (with a couple of famous songs that just could not be left out).

As I recall, the legends that appeared that night were Jim Peterik (of course), The Ides Of March Band, Don Barnes of .38 Special, Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger, Kevin Shalfant of The Storm, and Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, and Henry Paul of Blackhawk, who I recall playing this like “small guitar” that I still don’t know the name of.   The amazing new local talent that performed was David Carl, Cathy Richardson, and Marzette Griffith.  If I recall, Dennis DeYoung, who performed on the CD was scheduled to appear, but had a medical issue preventing his appearance.  In his place, this local talent, David Carl, pulled off Dennis DeYoung style vocals perfectly!  And I don’t mean “exactly”, I mean perfectly, it was DDY’s style, but David Carl style – if that makes sense.  He didn’t imitate, he understood, and he did the songs justice.  For the most part Jim Peterik was either providing harmonies, part of the duet, or just on guitar.  This show was about the very-talented ensemble.  Song varied from ballads to full on rockers to even some new unique rhythms and styles!  It seemed EVERY song ended with a standing ovation.  For many of the audience, if not most of the audience, we were all hearing these for the very first time – and we were all captivated and blown away.  Seriously, every song ended with a Standing O. 

In case you were wondering, I keep mentioning that two “famous” songs were included.  Well, naturally they were Vehicle and Eye Of The Tiger.  Would it even be a Jim Peterik show without those two rock classics??? 

The legends that were on the CD, but not at the show, by the way, were Dennis DeYoung, Johnny Van Zandt, Buddy Guy (guitar on Vehicle), and Rick Nielson & Bun E Carlos.  However, their songs were still performed by the magnificent local talent that Jim had assembled.

A Cultural Arts Center was actually the perfect venue for a debut of this nature.  Truly a live tribute to the magnificence that is music!!!

As you can see – it was a night to be remembered, as I still recall the concert 15 years later (even though I do not have setlist order memorized).

Peterik has proven time and time again that he can write and perform, and 15 years ago he also proved that he can spot up-and-coming talent, and produce a one-of-a-kind all-star event!!