Recap: 2 Nights of Groovin’ Classic Rock at Cohoes Music Hall -By: Rob Smittix -Photography By: Stephanie J Bartik

Cohoes Music Hall was the place to be on both Thursday Dec. 8th and Friday Dec. 9th. Who isn’t classic rock fan? And who wouldn’t want to see a couple of back to back Groovin’ performances? Well if you missed it you’ll have to wait until next time but I (Rob Smittix) was honored to host these two amazing shows and I highly recommend Classic Rock Productions Groovin’ tribute concerts to anyone that would like to travel back in time and experience these musical legends in their prime.

Thursday night started off with Grace Slick (Molly O’Hara) who sent us down the rabbit hole with a few Jefferson Airplane favorites. Molly later returned to the stage and played saxophone for several of the night’s acts. When Mick Jagger (Tommy Love) took to the stage we really began to feel the authenticity of this show. Besides Tommy Love is by far the area’s resident Mick Jagger. An interesting factoid of the night was that this would’ve been Jim Morrison’s 79th birthday, so what better way to headline the night than for Gary Weinlein to evoke his spirit. It truly was an amazing night of music that the audience could sing and dance along to.

Friday night brought us a new batch of Classic Rock Legends. Carlos Santana (Pat Ginnelly) came out swinging with the hits bringing us renditions of songs that reminded us of the Woodstock era,  followed by Linda Ronstadt (Fran O’Neil) who not only has the look but she certainly has the pipes as well. Cohoes native Kris Coleman (Eric Burdon), according to what I heard from the audience was definitely a crowd favorite that night and understandably so, he crushed it!

After intermission Tom Petty (Scott Garling) took to the stage and did a great job being the man himself. When he got off stage I pulled him aside to ask “how did God bless you with Tom Petty’s voice and his hair as well?” It’s like it was meant to be. Ann Wilson (Fran O’Neil) joined in for Petty’s last song “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” which as you are aware is usually Stevie Nicks but Stevie was not available this time. The music of Ann Wilson had everyone on their feet and to bring the night’s headliner onto the stage Robert Plant (Tommy Love) joined in for a unique rendition of Stairway to Heaven.

This was Groovin’s 13th year. This show has been at many different local venues over the years but has also become a staple at The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. We look forward to next year! Stay Tuned!