Great People, Great Music, Great Causes. A good day indeed. I got a facebook reminder for the show. I clicked a couple months back on the "interested" tab. When I signed in on Saturday it popped up and off I went. There was talk of goodness and religion. There were some little items for sale at a table in the lobby, inside there were signed guitars and drumheads (by artists in attendance and not) and an unsigned vintage Rolling Stones poster. The causes discussed and funded varied from orphans, handicapped children, battered women, drugs, & suicide. Heartfelt short acknowledgements were given between the bands and auctions. There were 4 acts in total. An acoustic playing pastor sang a song and gave a quick thought, a young local band Pure Skies, Bobby Messano, and Rick Derringer.
They all played their parts. Rick Derringer has been a long acknowledged picker of mine. I've always appreciated his work with others also, mainly Johnny & Edgar, but dig some of his solo stuff too. The sets were abridged with Bobby and Rick getting decent tunes in. I had strongly hoped for I Didn't Ask To Be Born, Sittin' By The Pool, and Cheap Tequila (the great tune from Johnny Winter's SAAW album), but got none of them. He hit the spots. Bobby had Joey Brennan come out for his set closer Key To The Highway while Carmine Appice joined Rick for Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo.
I left Rick's joke and banter about asking for his drumhead back from the McCoys display at the Rock And Roll HOF s in a lot of peoples lives. I hope he gets the nod while he is with us. I always felt Deep Purple was longly overlooked and Jon Lord was shorted an acknowledgement he also deserved.
I hope to see him get his due and I'll then edit out the "truth in jest" comment he put forth pre Hang On Sloopy. Allow Mr Derringer to state his case
Rick Derringer
Still Alive And Well
Hang On Sloopy
Sometimes
Free Ride
Frankenstein
Star Spangled Banner/I'm An American
Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo
Bobby Messano
Seasons
Water Under The Bridge
Can't Find My Way Home
Guess Life Always Works That Way
Bad Movie/Why Water A Dead Rose
Key To The Highway
Pure Skies
Butterfly
As much as I like Rick, I couldn't get past the first minute of still alive and well or hoochie coo. A lousy band and changing the words has me leaving every time.
The FB info hit said the show started @3pm, I jumped in the car and shot over. I was the 1st to arrive inc the bands. I wound up pitching in and carrying some gear in. I'm a good donkey (Hee Haw). I talked with quite a few including Rick. I also sat in with Rick's meet and greet. He's a sweet Gent who professes his faith proudly. In today's zany world it's a thing to be anti everything. He had mentioned how he changed the lyrics, He mentioned how it might not go over well for some folks including the promoters. He joked how he was a double agent working for the Lord while he played the "Devil's music" which has always been the Rock and Roll moniker. He said it was his assigned duty. He is a really sweet Gent at heart. I edited his comments out of the video to hopefully avoid the negativity that might follow from some of the zany folks that share the marble. He wore the lyric change proudly, perhaps I should have left his explanation and beliefs verbage in tact seeing it is being addressed anyway. I appreciate and respect his stance.
As for his band, they were great. They're talented and full of energy. At times the ladies were getting up to dance in the back as to not block anyone's view. The energy and vibe was transferable and they were a great part of the night. Even some folks held captive by their wheel chairs were bopping and getting some love transferred their way. I don't see the need for the Debbie Downer/Negative Nancy commentary. To knock and disparage people for the sake of knocking is a flaw far too many people have, perhaps you're the second coming of John Bonham and Berry Oakley all rolled up into one and their skill sets don't match your lofty genius if you play at all, but being humble and gracious are far better traits we should all seek to employ.
Here is a clip of the bass and drum solo's from Saturday's show and a little bit of each members background that Rick shared with the crowd. Live Full My Friend.
................................................................
I'll just edit this in.
The best of them can make a starter drum kit sound good. The drum kit was from the church. They had it set up before the bands had even arrived. Bobby Messano had just arrived and we set up his guitars and I took this pic to the empty hall stage. It's funny to see Rick's drummer Kenn Moutenot towering over them.
When Carmine Appice is good enough for Jeff Beck, He's good enough for me.
[Edited on 5/11/2018 by Fretsman]
