A Look Back: June 30

By Mike Stampalia.

40 years ago: Commodores / Spyro Gyra / Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble / Dave Brubeck Quartet / Woody Herman All-Stars with Harry “Sweets” Edison, Al Cohn, Carl Fontana, John Bunch, George Duvivier, Jake Hanna & Buddy tate / Dr. John / Jackie Mcean/Rene McLean Sextet / The Johnny Otis Show / Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison / David Sidman & Speak of the Sun / Hilton Ruiz Trio / Bill Kennedy Quartet / Rashid Al Akbar Quartet / The Jim Cullum Jazz Band @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center

In a ridiculously stacked lineup of talent, Stevie Ray Vaughan delivered a legendary set that eclipsed them all. 

 

30 years ago: Barenaked Ladies / Billy Bragg / Mae Moore @ The Egg

If you went to the Barenaked Ladies concert on Friday and you weren’t hungry after you left, then you were dead. Never have five men talked and sung about so much food in so little time.

First of all, they were playing in the Egg, second of all they had a barbecue onstage (tossing out dogs and all), and third of all every other word out of their collective mouths was about food. Here are a few noshables they covered: apples, chocolate dollars, pie, Carvel ice cream, sandwiches, cut-up vegetables, macaroni & cheese, date bars, iced tea and on and on.

But at least if they made you hungry, they sure fed you plenty of good songs; hearty, filling pop tunes marked by stellar ensemble playing, tight harmonies, and a melodic sense every bit as as expansive and on target as their sense of humor. And tasty too!

– Michael Eck for the Times Union

 

20 years ago: Mary Wilson / Tammy Fletcher and the Disciples @ Alive at Five

“I don’t pretend to be Diana up here singing,” she said without a trace of bitterness, “but it’s my legacy, too.” Actually, Wilson injected more sass and soul into the parade of Supremes hits – from the opening “Love Child” to the ultimate sing-along, “Someday We’ll Be Together” – than Ross ever did. Wilson, it turns out, is more Tina Turner than Diana Ross.

– Greg Haymes for the Times Union

 

10 years ago: Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga @ Tanglewood

If Bennett’s bread-and-butter is his delivery, it’s there that Gaga is still a work-in-progress. Her voice is so strong and sometimes tends to overpower the material. It worked on a performance of a stellar, Bossa Nova-infused version of Cher’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” and a powerhouse rendition of “La Vie En Rose” that was a real highlight of the evening. Sometimes, as on “Lush Life,” she seemed more equipped for singing show tunes than standards, but she’s improved considerably on her performances from the “Cheek to Cheek” album and excepting the nipple-baring fishnets, she was pretty understated and restrained compared to the common perception.

– Jim Shahen Jr. for the Times Union

10 years ago: David Crosby @ The Egg (Hart Theatre)

The main problem was that as idiosyncratic as his songs are – full of odd time signatures, strange guitar tunings and unconventional chord structures – they all began to sound the same after two hours – haunting, languid, slow-to-midtempo songs without the benefit of much dynamic variety.

– Greg Haymes for Nippertown

 

1 year ago: “Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival” @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center

At the main stage, a much anticipated appearance by Icelandic Chinese singer Laufey was greeted by screaming young fans wearing bows in their hair. A member of Gen. Z, she built her fanbase on TikTok and generates fan excitement not usually seen at jazz shows and usually reserved for pop music. Several fans were seen with tears in their eyes.

– Rudy Lu for Mirth Films

 

1 year ago: “Solid Sound Festival” @ MASS MoCA

One highlight was a reunion of New Haven band Miracle Legion, which mined its own moody jangle-rock in the ’80s and showed that deep-voiced singer Mark Mulcahy (with graying Santa-sized beard and hair) remains an enigmatic presence. He randomly flicked water into the audience and in one song, clucked like a chicken. “I’m ready to go,” he sang in “Country Boy,” one of a few where Sansone joined on backup vocals or crisp acoustic guitar.

– Paul Robicheau for the Arts Fuse

 

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