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Clearwater, FL 11/29/97 |
| An acoustically perfect venue paired with an acoustically perfect set
of musicians can only mean a perfect evening. An SRO crowd greeted "Craig
Chaquico," former lead guitarist of "Jefferson Airplane,"
as he got the evening rolling with a trip down the "Acoustic Highway."
Anyone who has heard "Jefferson Airplane" knows that Craig's guitar
work was a major part of its success, and his talent really shines with
acoustic performances like this.He is a 'performer' who plays to the crowd
and gets them involved with the music. In a sign of how things would be
all evening, fellow guitarist "Peter White" joined Craig during
his next number, "Gathering of the Tribes," as they played a bit
of dueling guitars, not trying to outdo each other, but rather to complement
each other, resulting in one of the best guitar numbers I've heard in a
long time. Then like a tag team match, it was "Richard Elliott's" turn to join Craig, adding his powerful sax to the tune "Auto Blue." Visually it was a sight; tall, lanky Craig with his flowing hair and guitar and Richard, short, curly haired with his trademark white saxophone that looked nearly as big as he was. Musically it was a delight, the sax punctuating the melody delivered up by Craig. No sooner was this number over, than Craig broke into an old "Jefferson Airplane" tune, "Find Your Way Back," an appropriate title as he left the stage and played literally in the laps of those in the first row and then proceeded to play his way up one side of the hall, through the very row I was sitting in, and back down the other side to the stage, all the while strumming furiously. Craig then took a few minutes to talk to the crowd as he recovered from his musical jaunt, explaining how he turned to the acoustic guitar because his then pregnant wife could not abide the sounds of his electric guitar, thus the beginning of a whole new chapter in his career. The last song of his set was inspired from a moment on a high plateau when an eagle flew around him and literally made eye contact and seemed to be saying to this earthbound man, "don't you wish you could do this!" The soaring notes of Craig's guitar from "Return of the Eagle" was his reply, to the eagle and to us, as he took us on a musical flight that ended with a standing ovation. The first of many to come this night. "Craig Chaquico" then turned the stage over "Richard Braun," or rather the hall, since Rick appeared a few rows down and to my left adorned with a bright lemon-green sportcoat and his trumpet caressing the venue with its honeyed voice as he made his way to the stage.My dad would have loved Rick's rendition of the classic "Sentimental Journey." His trumpet literally wept as "Peter White" joined him onstage to provide a soft and mellow background with his acoustic guitar. Rick then introduced the backup band for the tour, which is actually "Richard Elliot's" band and it includes two homegrown boys, the Reinhard brothers on keyboards and drums. Whether it was appearing in his hometown or just a regular part of the show, during the next song, "Poodlesville," Don Reinhard was featured with a tremendous keyboard solo that stole the moment. I'm sure we'll hear more from him in the near future! "Peter White" then reappeared with a guitar solo to start out "Club Harlow," which Rick (sans the green coat) joined, using his now muted horn to give that smoky room atmosphere to the music. "Indians" followed, as Braun showed why he is one of the premier trumpet players today, coaxing every bit of sound you could imagine from that piece of hollow brass. One of the big hits for "Richard Braun" was "Notorious" which he recorded with "Richard Elliot." The two Richards closed the first half of the show with a live rendition that made me wish for a tape recorder and brought me to my feet with the rest of the audience for another standing 'O.' After a short break, the evening continued its "Smooth Sailing" with "Peter White" providing his guitar magic, followed by the "James Bond Theme," one of my favorite guitar pieces. Then Peter, who is very low-key, pointed out the two Christmas trees in bays on either side of the hall and as he played "Oh Tannenbaum" they both came ablaze with lights. It added a nice and festive touch, with the trees remaining lit for the rest of the evening. The first sing-along of the evening was to the "Stevie Wonder" hit "My Cherie Amour," the la-la-las decking the hall. Then Rick's trumpet joined Peter in a rendition of "San Francisco" as Peter's set came to a close. After the "guitars and more" part of the evening, it was the sax's turn to shine, "Jumpin Off" with "Richard Elliot" and his signature white saxophone as "Rick Braun" played the flugelhorn. "Peter White" then played a duet with Elliot on "In the Groove," as Elliot also made the rounds of the hall. Oh the magic of modern electronics! Two solo classic show tunes then followed. First came "Over the Rainbow" which might have been the high point of the evening with it's haunting and dramatic presentation. Might have been, except that "Richard Ellliot" then showed us why the sax is often referred to as the 'sexophone' as he gave an impassioned performance of "When A Man Loves A Woman," complete with saxual overtones. It was a moment to remember (and smile inwardly about). It also brought the crowd to its feet once again for a well-deserved ovation. As all good things must, the evening finally came to a close with all four musicians joining forces with the audience in a rousing rendition of a rock classic the name of which escapes me even now, but then I was having too much fun to worry about figuring it out. |
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