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Review: Sturdy hits serve Lynyrd Skynyrd well
From the local paper here in Springfield, IL.
By NICK ROGERS
A&E EDITOR
Published Monday, April 21, 2008
The train, it rolls on for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Time and tragedy have whittled this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band down to only two original members — guitarist Gary Rossington and keyboardist Billy Powell. Yet on Sunday night at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, these Southern-rock scions showed how sturdy their many hits still are. This is not an act that has to pad its show out with new material no one wants to hear.
Photos
At an overdue Springfield stop, it took just under 90 minutes — 15 of them devoted to “Free Bird” — to motor through a set of instantly recognizable tunes. The sizable audience needed a couple of songs to work itself into a frenzy, but it eventually raised a holy trinity of hell, fists and beer.
Johnny Van Zant, sound-alike brother to late lead singer Ronnie, has been Skynyrd’s frontman for 21 years, and he made the show both a bombastic blast and a reverent remembrance of the rock ‘n’ roll fallen.
With numerous video screens projecting its image, the band kicked off with “Workin’ For MCA,” launched the first of many three-pronged guitar attacks on “I Ain’t the One” and showed that Rossington still could shred as youthfully as ever on “Saturday Night Special.”
“How many die-hard Lynyrd Skynyrd fans are in here?” Van Zant shouted after “What’s Your Name?” the song with which he and the band cranked up the crowd’s intensity.
From “That Smell” on, the concert chugged along almost seamlessly; only a few drumbeats that stumbled into bizarrely slow tempos (“Simple Man” in particular) seemed a little off. A medley of “Whiskey Rock-a-Roller,” “Down South Jukin’ “ and “Double Trouble” bled right into the crowd-swaying “Tuesday’s Gone,” followed by the boozy-bluesy piano tinkle of “Gimme Three Steps” and the roadhouse rush of “Call Me the Breeze.”
Skynyrd naturally saved “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird” for last. Sending fans out of, and atop, their seats, “Alabama” became every bit the jubilant, jumping sing-along it should have been. And the iconic “Free Bird” became an epic tribute to the band’s history, driven by Powell’s keyboard intro and Rossington’s slide guitar. By letting its legends take home its most legendary song, Skynyrd proved it’s still a rock ‘n’ roll force to be reckoned with.
On the off chance Steve Earle’s hair ever came in contact with a flatiron, it might resemble the look of opening act James Otto, who breezed out at just a bit past seven for a tight half-hour set.
Otto’s album “Sunset Man” entered the Billboard chart last week in the top 5, and his single “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” is a country-chart hit. Yet that ambling, mid-tempo song of slow seduction is the least interesting tune this potent mixture of Travis Tritt, Bob Seger and Sam Cooke played.
“Ain’t Gonna Stop” primed the soulful Southern rock pump, the ballad “For You” should be a hit long into summer, and a cover of “Night Moves” captured Seger’s wistful memories. Otto’s only real error was mistakenly touting the presence of Hank Williams Jr., not joining Skynyrd on this stop.
Nick Rogers can be reached at 747-9587. Read his blog, Unpainted Huffhines, at blogs
.sj-r.com/unpaintedhuffhines.
By NICK ROGERS
A&E EDITOR
Published Monday, April 21, 2008
The train, it rolls on for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Time and tragedy have whittled this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band down to only two original members — guitarist Gary Rossington and keyboardist Billy Powell. Yet on Sunday night at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, these Southern-rock scions showed how sturdy their many hits still are. This is not an act that has to pad its show out with new material no one wants to hear.
Photos
At an overdue Springfield stop, it took just under 90 minutes — 15 of them devoted to “Free Bird” — to motor through a set of instantly recognizable tunes. The sizable audience needed a couple of songs to work itself into a frenzy, but it eventually raised a holy trinity of hell, fists and beer.
Johnny Van Zant, sound-alike brother to late lead singer Ronnie, has been Skynyrd’s frontman for 21 years, and he made the show both a bombastic blast and a reverent remembrance of the rock ‘n’ roll fallen.
With numerous video screens projecting its image, the band kicked off with “Workin’ For MCA,” launched the first of many three-pronged guitar attacks on “I Ain’t the One” and showed that Rossington still could shred as youthfully as ever on “Saturday Night Special.”
“How many die-hard Lynyrd Skynyrd fans are in here?” Van Zant shouted after “What’s Your Name?” the song with which he and the band cranked up the crowd’s intensity.
From “That Smell” on, the concert chugged along almost seamlessly; only a few drumbeats that stumbled into bizarrely slow tempos (“Simple Man” in particular) seemed a little off. A medley of “Whiskey Rock-a-Roller,” “Down South Jukin’ “ and “Double Trouble” bled right into the crowd-swaying “Tuesday’s Gone,” followed by the boozy-bluesy piano tinkle of “Gimme Three Steps” and the roadhouse rush of “Call Me the Breeze.”
Skynyrd naturally saved “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird” for last. Sending fans out of, and atop, their seats, “Alabama” became every bit the jubilant, jumping sing-along it should have been. And the iconic “Free Bird” became an epic tribute to the band’s history, driven by Powell’s keyboard intro and Rossington’s slide guitar. By letting its legends take home its most legendary song, Skynyrd proved it’s still a rock ‘n’ roll force to be reckoned with.
On the off chance Steve Earle’s hair ever came in contact with a flatiron, it might resemble the look of opening act James Otto, who breezed out at just a bit past seven for a tight half-hour set.
Otto’s album “Sunset Man” entered the Billboard chart last week in the top 5, and his single “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” is a country-chart hit. Yet that ambling, mid-tempo song of slow seduction is the least interesting tune this potent mixture of Travis Tritt, Bob Seger and Sam Cooke played.
“Ain’t Gonna Stop” primed the soulful Southern rock pump, the ballad “For You” should be a hit long into summer, and a cover of “Night Moves” captured Seger’s wistful memories. Otto’s only real error was mistakenly touting the presence of Hank Williams Jr., not joining Skynyrd on this stop.
Nick Rogers can be reached at 747-9587. Read his blog, Unpainted Huffhines, at blogs
.sj-r.com/unpaintedhuffhines.
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