“The skies were filled with dragon flies…sunlight was on their wings” (lyric from a Jim Post recording I heard back in the early 70’s….the name of the song escapes me)…but that lyric is a perfect introduction to this post.
We staked out our piece of Festival Park just before Starship came on stage, unfolding our tube chairs and laying in our supplies of water and snacks from the vending booths (what a spread huh???) The weather was perfect for an outdoor concert and I was entertained by the hundreds of dragon files buzzing like miniature helicopters above the crowd.
Startship was really good. I remember seeing the original Jefferson Starship in concert back in the summer of 1976. The music took me back to a simpler and more naive time in my life. Although lead female vocal Stephanie Calvert, was not a substitute for the legendary Grace Slick, she did a great job with her powerful vocals and showmanship. I really enjoyed the performance and after hearing Blues Traveler, thought it was Starship that deserved to be on the main stage.
Although I personally enjoyed the music of last years Buckingham’s to Blues Traveler, I have to admit. Blues Traveler did draw a crowd. The attendance at this years FireFoxFest for Saturday night out did last years and there were more young people there this year. I was initially excited to see Blues Traveler because I really really liked the 4 or 5 songs I knew of theirs from recordings I had heard, however I thought they delivered a 3rd rate live performance and maybe it was the acoustics but most of it sounded like alot of disharmonic noise to me and their performance lacked excitement.
I am just going to throw this out there and perhaps most won’t agree with me but maybe next year, the organizers of this event could look at Smashmouth, a group with multigenerational appeal and great showmen.
Also, the performance of the Elgin Children’s Choir was definitely missing from this years event….I was a bit disappointed in Saturdays entertainment once Starship left the stage, but the organizers of the event should be proud. Although my taste is more in tune with the 2007 Fest, this years was fun and successful and a good time was had by all.
(Just one more suggestion though…..double the port a potties)
And WHAT A PERFECT NIGHT HUH????
Filed under: Festivals | Tagged: blues traveler, elgin, festival park, foxfirefest, starship
Nice buzz. Blues Traveler was awesome. They did a great show and sounded great.