Bad Company
Chastain Park
Buckhead, GA
June 19, 2009
By Jeb
Wright
Photos by Mark Weiss
Set List:
Honey Child | Rock Steady | Run with the Pack | Burnin’ Sky |
Rock n’ Roll Fantasy | Young Blood | Seagull | Movin’ On |
Electricland | Simple Man | Gone Gone Gone |Feel Like Makin’
Love | Shooting Star | Can’t Get Enough
Encore:
Ready For Love | Bad Company
Classic
Rock Revisited hit the road at 5:00 am to head to St. Louis to
catch a flight to Atlanta, GA for the second show of the
reunited Bad Company summer tour, 2009. The three remaining
members of the band, Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke (Boz
Burrell passed away in 2006) were sharing the stage for ten
dates, the longest they have been on tour together in decades.
Joining the band for the tour is Lynn Sorenson, bass player in
Paul Rodgers’ solo band, and ex-Heart guitarist Howard Leese,
also from Rodgers’ solo band.
The event
was held at Chastain Park, an outdoor venue where patrons can
enjoy a show while dining from a picnic basket of wine and
cheese. The Doobie Brothers were on hand to open the show.
Along for the ride was my good friend Sean Turner. I had
actually made the four-hour drive to Springfield, Missouri the
night before so we could get up at the crack of dawn and make
the trek to St. Louis. It was with much anticipation that we
hit the road. Once we arrived in Atlanta, we fought the
overcrowded airport and made our way to the rental car outpost.
We got the car and got in line…and promptly got cutoff in line
by some rude travelers. We rerouted to another exit booth and
finally we were on our way. A few miles out of the airport,
Sean noticed that we did not start with a full tank of
gasoline. Instead we only had a half tank. We called the
rental car place and they said to come back to the airport. We
turned around, went back and Sean went inside the customer
service area where he found no employees, only confused looking
renters.
Sean backed
out, made his way to an exit booth and explained our plight and
all was taken
care of. We, again, hit the highway and headed towards Buckhead,
Ga and the Ritz Carlton Hotel where we were meeting up with a
dear friend who was going to the concert with us. On a side
note, road tripping to concerts can be exhilarating and fun,
especially when you can meet up with friends. My friend, Cindy,
was waiting for us in the lobby. We went shopping at an upscale
mall across the way from the hotel. Where most malls have
Fords, Chevrolets and, maybe, a Corvette displayed in the mall
area, this mall had Bentley’s.
We hit
several stores and Cindy bought her husband some cooler clothes
as he was not prepared for the intense Georgia heat that would
be beating down upon us at the venue. When we got back, Sean
and I said a temporary goodbye to our friend, as she went
upstairs to spend time with her man before the show. We agreed
to meet up, along with one of Sean’s friends, a woman named
Brynan, and head to the show together. Sean and I went to the
bar where Mick Ralphs was sitting at the bar with Jeff Carlisi
from 38 Special. We ordered drinks and two fifteen-dollar
cheeseburgers. We laughed as there was a deluxe burger on the
menu for sixty bucks. We felt bad enough paying half that for
the two of us to eat. Sean kept bugging me to eat a Wasabi
pea. After much prodding, I tried it. It was not that hot and
I was not impressed. The cheeseburger, however, was amazing. It
had aged sharp cheddar dripping all over it, a slab of thick cut
bacon and a giant hunk of cow. While it was not better than
good sex, it was definitely better than the worst sex I have
had. In fact, this burger was even better than they excellent
burger they have at the Vortex, although the classy scenery of
the Ritz was much different than the skull laden décor of the
Vortex.
Cindy and
Brynan met us in the lobby and we hopped in the rental car and
made our way to
the show. We parked and began the walk to the concert. We
walked and kept walking and continued to walk. Between the
heat, and being a bit portly, the walk nearly killed me. Cindy,
being in the best shape of all, didn’t even notice I was lagging
behind, sweating profusely and near death.
We entered
the venue just as the Doobie Brothers took the stage. Patrick
Simmons and Tom Johnston led the band through a set list of hits
including “Long Train Runnin’.” “Black Water,” “Takin’ It to the
Streets” and, of course, “China Grove.” The band looked and
sounded superb. The Doobies are a tight unit, musically, and
they deliver the tunes with energy. Most bands would not dare
let a group like the Doobie Brothers open up for them, as their
feel good tunes get the crowd singing and dancing from beginning
to end. Bad Company, however, are not most bands.
Bad Co took
the stage after a brief intermission. We spent the break
talking to a drunk guy on the left, who loved Paul Rodgers. He
was his favorite singer. The white haired music storeowner
seemed to have no difficulty in mentioning that in-between each
sip of beer he inhaled. He, also, was very curious about Paul’s
age. He asked me at least ten times how old Paul was. On the
right hand side of me were four drunks enjoying the show, while
others enjoyed the show they were putting on. One woman’s tits
were, literally, falling out of her top, while the other woman,
whose tits were much nicer, managed to keep hers covered up.
Their dates were drunk, and at one point, the gentlemen standing
directly next to me, spilled a full glass of scotch and water
right into his lap. Rock n’ Rollers may be getting older but
they are certainly not getting more graceful.
When the
band took the stage, all eyes were upon them and the entire
crowd cheered loudly. The band played a daring set list,
including many songs that had not been played live in some
time. “Honey Child,” a soulful number, showcases Rodgers vocal
ability and the rest of the bands’ ability to lay down a bitchin’
groove. “Run with the Pack” was a crowd favorite that saw all
in attendance singing along with the chorus. With each song Bad
Co seemed to come more alive. “Rock n’ Roll Fantasy” was the
first time the crowd were moved to stand and dance.
Unfortunately, “Young Blood” calmed everyone down. While this
is a classic boogie rock number, it just seems a bit goofy for
such a talented band to play. “Oh Atlanta” should have been
slipped in this songs place to pay homage to the crowd. Next up
was the emotional “Seagull” performed on only an acoustic guitar
by Rodgers. This is a highlight of
any Paul Rodgers show, but I must admit, it works better towards
the end of the set instead of in the middle.
The crowd
was amazed at the inclusion of “Electricland,” which had never
before been performed live by Bad Company until this tour. This
is a very underrated song in the band’s arsenal and is great
live. Rodgers should keep this one around for his solo set.
Another huge surprise was “Gone Gone Gone” being put in the
list. The band played the excellent tune from Desolation
Angels as a tip of the hat to Boz Burrell, Bad Co’s original
bassist, who is, sadly, no longer with us. The band closed the
main set with a one, two, three punch that few bands can rival.
“Feel Like Makin’ Love” followed by “Shooting Star” followed by
“Can’t Get Enough.” The enormous energy radiating from the
stage infected the audience as everyone was dancing and
singing. Bad Company took the stage for a two-song encore that
featured “Ready For Love” and “Bad Company.”
At the end
of the day, there were not a lot of bells and whistles to the
show. The light show was far from dazzling and very little
showboating was seen on stage. Instead of getting all show biz,
the crowd in Buckhead got a show filled with incredible music.
The decision to focus on the music was the right one as Bad
Company sounded excellent. Rodgers was simply amazing, vocally
and as the emcee for the band. Mick Ralphs performed amicably.
When he struggled, Leese was there as his safety net. Drummer
Kirke was solid throughout the night, although he was set back a
bit on the stage and remained in the shadows until he came out
to take a bow. One can only hope that this is not the end of
the road for the band. It would be nice to see this version of
Bad Company make the rounds at least one more time before each
member returns to his solo career.
After the
show, I went backstage and ran into Howard Leese. Howard
invited me to the band room, where we sat and talked about the
performance. Howard was happy, overall, with the show, but
asked Bad Company’s manager, Chris Crawford to get the sound guy
so he could discuss a few issues he had, most notably not being
able to hear himself on the acoustic 12-string at the intro to
“Feel Like Makin’ Love.” Howard heard the man out and accepted
his excuse but both agreed this should not happen again. Howard
is a cool cat; not a rock star type at all. He offered me a
drink and went to make himself a Screwdriver when he noticed his
vodka was no longer in the band room. Crawford insisted that no
one was allowed in this room during the performance and even had
the room under guard. Suddenly, the two men looked at each
other and said, “The other guitar player!” With that, the
manager was on his way to Ralphs’ dressing room. We all had a
good laugh and then went to the Meet and Greet. Paul, Mick and
Simon took photos and signed autographs before retreating to the
van and returning to the hotel.
I talked
with each band member and shared a lot of laughs, snapped
pictures and even ran into some music biz people, such as famed
publicist Jeff Albright. Eventually, we gathered ourselves
together and walked back to the car, finding a much shorter
route than we took to get to the show. We ended the evening at
the aforementioned joint called The Vortex, which is
decorated
completely in skeletons. We ate a cheeseburger and people
watched the rest of the evening.
Two cheeseburgers, a little
exercise and a Bad Company concert proved to be an excellent way
to spend a day in Atlanta. Now, all I need is a trip to the
famous Varsity for a cheese dog and a deep fried peach pie, and
I can go home with a smile on my face.
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT PHOTOGRAPHER MARK
WEISS
CLICK HERE TO VISIT BAD COMPANY'S OFFICIAL
WEB SITE
CLICK HERE TO VISIT PAUL
RODGERS
OFFICIAL WEB SITE
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE VORTEX BAR &
GRILL
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE VARSITY --
WHAT'LL YA HAVE
