A Look Back: July 29
Written by Mike Stampalia on July 29, 2025
By Mike Stampalia.
40 years ago: Foreigner / Joe Walsh @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Poor Joe Walsh. He harbored none of this pretentiousness and acted as if he had just stepped out of Lake George on a Saturday. Foreigner was at least a pleasant change from Walsh’s mumbling and sloppy slide guitar riffs. He even managed to make “Life in the Fast Lane,” the Eagles’ autobiography, and “Funk #49” sound terrible.
– Jeff Plude for the Post-Star
50 years ago: Judy Collins / Livingston Taylor @ Tanglewood
The encore, “Amazing Grace,” which she sang a cappela, seemed very appropriate. If the angels are still singing up there in heaven, they must sound something like Judy Collins.
– Jay McInerney for the Berkshire Eagle
30 years ago: Matthew Sweet / Blue Mountain @ Saratoga Winners
Sweet, obviously bothered by all the onstage haggling he had to do (at one point looking for a monitor man who wasn’t even at his post), just sort of forged ahead, but without the passion that a great rock ‘n’ roll show requires.
Only occasional flashes jumped through the general tedium, sparking excited applause here and there in place of polite clapping. But the sold-out, packed-in herd thinned out considerably as the set dragged on.
– Michael Eck for the Times Union
20 years ago: 3 Doors Down / Staind / Breaking Benjamin / No Address @ Pepsi Arena
Certainly one of the best bands out there, Staind checked in with a killer set of low-self-esteem anthems. “So Far Away” sounded huge, as did the slow simmer of “It’s Been Awhile.” Staind’s new single, “Right Here,” was a relentless rumble that showed off Aaron Lewis’s aching voice, while the spare “Outside” just tore the crowd up – it obviously being more than one person’s favorite song while in high school.
– David Malachowsky for the Times Union
20 years ago: Crosby, Stills and Nash @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Stills also contributed a new song, “Feed the People,” a reggae-tinged anthem that proved too daunting for his corrupted voice.
He fared better later on a gruff rendition of Booker T. Washington-Otis Redding’s soul staple, “Old Man Trouble” which garnered a rousing round of applause from long-time admireres.
– Mike Curtin for the Post-Star
Late in the set, sweat-soaked from neck to navel, Trucks seemed to realize he hadn’t totally killed us for about 10 minutes. He hadn’t even soloed in “I Pity the Fool” that Tedeschi just owned, with big voice, bigger guitar and blues face. So he cut WAY loose in “The Storm,” a tempest of speed and skill, a cascade of ideas beautifully made real, and loud.
– Michael Hochanadel for Nippertown
Visit onstagealbany.com to keep up with Capital District concert reviews, both old and new.
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