Smoke on the Water, September, 2005.
Ok, this is the second of the long overdue festival reviews. This was my first Smoke on the Water gig. Now, I have to admit, I don’t know why I have not gone to Pine Bluff for this little get together before. I know I’ve thought about going but, for whatever reason, it never materialized. Well, this year, the planets line up instead of crashing into one another, and off we went.
The setting for SotW was great. Right next to the lake, with lots of space to move around and we did not have to park too far away. There were two stages for music, although we did not make it over to the smaller stage, so no comments on whoever was playing down there. Sorry. There were a number of food and specialty vendors and, of course, all the carnival rides a body could want. One of the coolest things I’ve seen in awhile was a vendor that was promoting himself as Band in My Hand. These folks take old record albums and turn them into purses. One side of the purse is the actual album cover while the other side is the original vinyl. Pretty cool, eh? The purses are sturdy and well done with a variety of covers, from the Beatles to Kenny Rogers to almost anything in between. It did give me a shudder to think though, that someone had diced up their old vinyl. Cool but scary.
We got to the venue just in time to catch Little Rock based blues band NTO. I admit here that I did not know much about NTO prior to this festival. However, the band is quite good, running through some pretty good blues during the part of their set I got to hear. I’m looking forward to catching their full show in the future.
Next up was the band I wanted to see, Liquid Groove Mojo. Now, I’ve got to ‘fess up. I’m biased toward LGM…I do some of their booking and have come to be pretty good friends with Joe and Rhonda Pitts and the rest of the band. Joe, of course, is the guitar player and one of the singers for the band. I’ve got to give a shout out for Joe here. He was recently nominated by Indie Artist Radio as the Male Vocalist of the Year for the 2006 International Online Music Awards. Right on, Joe! Darrell, Al and Bryan aren’t too shabby either, by the way. LGM has become one of my favorite bands and they are a pretty nice bunch of guys to boot. I was pleasantly surprised by their sound in this venue. LGM opened up on the sparse crowd with a full sound that I had not heard out of them before. These guys are meant to play in the big arenas and fests. The music was solid for the entire set, from covers to originals. My favorite tune of the afternoon was "High Price".
Michael Burks and his band followed LGM. The set was typical Burks. With one of the best touring bands out there, Burks lit it up. From his scorching guitar work to his deep, soulful vocals, Burks was on his game. Too bad there was not much of a crowd to see it. Anyone who missed this show missed out getting to see and hear one of the best guitarists on today’s blues scene
I need to chase a rabbit right here while it’s on my mind. I have to say the stage and venue in the park where SotW was held is pretty damned nice. The stage faces the woods and also the setting sun (the only drawback since the sun is directly in the band’s eyes until it gets behind the trees). The backdrop is the lake. Man, what a place to kick back and enjoy some great music. In addition to the permanent stage, the venue also has permanent seating in place with room to expand. The permanent seating is a very nice touch.
Back to the music. Next in line was Anthony Gomes and his band. I’ve come to be a pretty big fan of Gomes’ music since I heard him play in Hot Springs a couple years back. Gomes is a pasty faced white boy, his words, that is playing the blues he’s feeling. When you get to one of his shows, it’s hard to tell if you are at a rock show, a blues show, or a hoppin’ come to Jesus gathering. The music runs the gamut. You get blues, rock, funk and sometimes a sermon. The two songs that stuck out this night for me were "Everyday Super Star", a pumped up rocker, and the ballad "Keep On", one of his best in my opinion. While this is Gomes show, he is complimented by his bass player, Biscuit Miller. Miller is a character and a showman in his own right. I like to think Miller and I are kindred souls because we both like wearing the same kind of hats. Anyway, Miller keeps the crowd going, pulling off some pretty impressive acrobatics with his bass like slinging it a full 360 degrees around his back in mid-song and never missing a beat. Gomes and Miller also did a bit where they were playing each other’s axe while facing one another. Pretty impressive. Anthony Gomes and his band are an extremely tight group of musician’s who are ready to take it to the next level.
The finale of the festival was the "most recognizable voice in rock ‘n’ roll", former Black Sheep and Foreigner lead singer, Lou Gramm. I had a chance to talk at length with Gramm’s road manager before the show. I did not know until then that Gramm had had a benign tumor the size of a golf ball removed from his brain about five years ago. The tumor put pressure on his brain causing memory loss, headaches and double vision, literally. Since the surgery, Gramm has slowly been rehabilitating, working on his weight (he’s gotten heavier due to steroids he has to take) and his vocals. I found out this version of Gramm’s band included his two brothers, Ben and Richard Grammitico, one of whom was in Gramm’s first band (Richard), Black Sheep. In addition, Gramm’s guitar player, Don Mancuso, was also in the original Black Sheep. If any of you out there have a copy of either of Black Sheep’s albums you have a rare treasure indeed.
The band was extremely well versed in the Foreigner classics. Gramm began the evening a little rusty but warmed up the more he sang. As the show wore on, Gramm’s vocals became stronger. The crowd recognized it and spurred him on as he ran through his solo work and the Foreigner catalog. I’ve got to say, the fans who stayed for the show, and there were a bunch of us, cheered Gramm on the entire night. This was another trip down memory lane for me. Foreigner was the first concert that I attended long ago and far away. It was a very different Lou Gramm back then compared to this evening. However, I was not disappointed. I can’t tell you that there was one song in Gramm’s set that stood out above the rest. They were all good. The biggest crowd reactions came when Gramm sang "Long, Long Way From Home", "Jukebox Hero", and "Waiting For A Girl Like You". Gramm’s performance was solid and heroic.
Overall, the SotW festival was a solid music show and I hope to get over there again next year. The setting was great with the water in the background and the full moon rising over the stage as darkness fell. The downside to the evening was the cost. It cost to get into the venue. No problem. It cost to park. Again, not a big problem. But, when it got dark, you had to pay to sit inside the fenced area that surrounded the seating in front of the stage. Folks had been coming and going all day into the seating area with no indication there would be a charge later. It seemed like a cheesy way to try to get more money out of folks who had already paid to get in the place. We moved to the back of the fence, which ended up being just as good a seat as any. I will say the two fellas who were working the security at the entrance to the seating area were cool enough to let me go in and take pictures. I didn’t get their names but they know who they are.
So, Smoke on the Water is a pretty good little Arkansas based music festival. Definitely check it out. Oh yeah, they have a BBQ cook off too. I missed out on that one somehow. Kind of unlike me to miss out on food. You can find some pictures of this year’s Smoke on the Water Festival on my website at www.unknownlegendsbooking.com under the News/Events tab.