My heartfelt thanks to Gary Duarte for his hospitality and friendship. And thanks to Evin Mulron for coming along. If it weren't for Gary's invitation and Evin's "yes," I wouldn't have seen this outstanding concert which rates right up there at the top with the best I've ever seen. As (the original) webmaster for the Foghat site, I knew about the SummerDaze tour about a year ago. After tracking it that long, the anticipation was building. Then came the big let-down when I discovered that it would not be coming to the Pacific Northwest. Foghat, Pat Travers, Steppenwolf, and Blue Oyster Cult are four of my favorite bands. Any one of them could easily be a concert headliner. There's no way I'm going to say that one band was better than the other because they were all excellent.
With a good crowd on hand, it was still daylight when Pat Travers came on stage. This was my first time seeing Pat play live. With only 3 people in his band, they had a big sound. His set lasted approx. 35 minutes. "Ice Queen" from his latest CD was sounding good. "Snortin' Whiskey & Drinkin' Cocaine" got the crowd's interest, as people were still coming in. "Boom Boom Out Go The Lights" really got the crowd warmed up. Pat put on a great show ... I only wish that he would have played longer.
It was just starting to get dark when Foghat came on stage. They jumped right into "I Just Want To Make Love To You" which was a big crowd pleaser. By now, the crowd was in a serious boogie mood as they cranked out "Drivin' Wheel," "Love Ain't Nothing But Trouble" and "Sweet Home Chicago." When they started in with "Fool For The City," even some of the ushers were dancing in the aisles. "Slow Ride" capped off the set which lasted approx. 45 minutes. The guys sounded great and the crowd was really into it. Rod continues to impress people with his expertise on slide. My only complaint was about the sound mixer ... Rod's guitar didn't stand out like I thought it should. And that could have been due to where I was sitting. Dave interacts with the crowd as only Dave can. Tony looked and sounded great as he was right out front when their set began. Roger is better than ever on drums. Again ... I only wish they would have played longer. This was my 5th time seeing the re-united
Foghat with ALL the original members. They get better every time I see them.
There was very good organization with the stage crews which kept slack-time to a minimum between bands ... the best I'd ever seen. Daylight was gone which gave maximim effect for the light show as Blue Oyster Cult came on stage. This was my second time in about 15 years seeing these guys play, and believe it or not, they were 10 times better this time around. The main reason I like this band is because of Buck Dharma, the lead guitarist. This guy is truly amazing and definitely one of the best. He played a wild looking custom guitar that looked as though the top of it had been cut off. I have no idea how the strings were adjusted. Their first song was "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll." I was happy to see them playing some of their earlier stuff. Their 50 minute set included "Burnin' For You," "Don't Fear The Reaper," and "Godzilla." Unfortunately, I had to listen to the last half of the set backstage so I could visit with Foghat before they left. There's a lot going on
backstage when 4 bands are performing the same night. Blue Oyster Cult's music has kind of a metal edge to it and didn't fit in as well as the others which are all blues-based. Nonetheless, it was a pleasure to see them play again. It was a great performance and they were well received by the crowd.
I've gotta hand it to Steppenwolf. This band was the surprise of the evening for me. This was my first time seeing them play live, and it was a stunning performance, indeed. They started off with "Sookie Sookie," which the crowd loved along with "Rock Me Baby." We were treated to a beautiful rendition of "Hootchie Kootchie Man," the old Willie Dixon blues number. When they played "Magic Carpet Ride," the crowd went crazy. I had been hearing that "Born To Be Wild" would be the last song of the night, and the crowd went absolutely nuts over this one which is one of my all time favorites. A few people started leaving, but the rest of the crowd wouldn't shut up and kept cheering, wanting more. Just when I thought it wouldn't happen, they came back out and played "Pusher Man." Unbelieveable, is all I can say. It was the best of Steppenwolf right there on stage! Evin & I were noticing John Kay. It looks like he hasn't aged. Is he the Dick Clark of classic rock? The
Steppenwolf set lasted approx. 50 minutes and the whole concert was 4 hours. Everyone got their money's worth that night. The Hilton, which has more money than the rest of the world pulled out all the stops putting this one on. The stage was enormous, as was the sound system and light show. The whole event was capped off by a fireworks display! Truly a memorable concert. If you ever have a chance to see any one of these bands perform, do whatever it takes ... just go, you won't be disappointed!
----- Carl Hanson (original webmaster)
SummerDaze
June 27 ... Los Angeles, CA ... Universal Amphiteatre
As a radical by-product of the seventies, I had heard the music from these four bands many times. I had not seen any of them live in concert though. What I will tell you is that Foghat stole the show!! They could have easily headlined! Their cover of "Sweet Home Chicago" rocked the house. Mr. Price is a real talent and could be listened to non-stop. I will definitely recommend this concert to all my buds.
----- Bill S.
SummerDaze
June 27 ... Los Angeles, CA ... Universal Amphiteatre
I saw The Summer Daze Tour at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A. in June and it was a great show. I love Foghat and Blue Oyster Cult and it was a dream come true to finally see them live. My only regret is
that Foghat didn't get to play longer. I hope they come to L.A. again soon, only this time by themselves, as I could have watched them for hours and not get tired. All in all it was a great show. Even Steppenwolf sounded good and I saw them back in 1967. Your website is fantastic. I visit yours and B.O.C. at least every couple of weeks. Thank you for the good job.
----- Richard Amundsen
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