Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Rock and Roll Fantasy





Paul Rodgers, October 9, Shelton, WA

No wonder he's called “The Voice.” At 60, Paul Rodgers shows no signs that his haunting, powerful voice is in any way diminished.

Interesting that he started out as a bass player (wouldn’t you know it). With that sensitivity, he co-wrote All Right Now with Free bassist Andy Fraser in 1970. Twenty years later ASCAP recognized it for receiving over one million radio plays in the U.S. alone.

Mr. Rodgers has a powerful stage presence, and unlike some of the performers I’ve seen recently, he really connected with the audience. He talked to us (in his deep British accent), responded to us, and invited us all to come up front to the stage. It was a great experience being right up in the first two rows within reach of the band. Shooting Star was wonderful, as was Rock and Roll Fantasy. I loved hearing some of the more obscure stuff from one of his early bands, The Firm, like Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Paul has ties to many of our Seattle musicians. One of my favorite local bassists, Lynn Sorenson, again demonstrated his rock star playing prowess as well as his formidable charisma. And it was great fun seeing Jeff Kathan, who just a week ago had played at Salmon Days, pounding the drums on stage with these other superstars.

[A brief mention here about a phenomenon happening in Washington State: the Casinos. Because of Native American rights, there is now a proliferation of huge, new—and beautiful—casino/hotels popping up all over the state. Little Creek Casino in Shelton, about an hour from Seattle, is a great example. It's a strange thing, like stepping back in time, when smoking and drinking was allowed (if not encouraged) everywhere. But, lucky for us, there is a whole new circuit where our favorite rock musicians can gig.]

It was a fantastic night. To top it all off, Paul Rodgers is a nice guy. As he wished us good night, he said, “Take care, and be kind to each other.”

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