Music Zephyr

Peter Frampton
Live 19 July 2009
Pocono Downs
Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

So this was easily my fourth visit to the Frampton Inn and a good time was had by all. He continues to sound like it's 1999 (or 1974!), with a lighteningly smooth touch on electric and/or acoustic guitar. He also has taken care of his vocal cords, with lovingly beautiful to hard rockin' lead vocals on a variety of tunes, old and new. Here's the but...

But, the show was plagued early by electrical/sound problems. The band was hearing a "hellicopter" (prounced "hell-E-copter" by Peter), in their in-ear monitors, that started during a rather early in the set "Show Me The Way." In fact I noted Frampton didn't play the voice box in the intro of the piece; it must have been a fluke....well, not really. During "Do You Feel Like We Do," he used it sparingly, except towards the end. I'm guessing the feed in his ears was insane, with the electronic noise. Also, the show began at just before sundown, so I realize stage lighting was difficult, but even as the darkness set in, clearly the lights were poor. In fact the bass player (John Regan, celebrating twenty years in the Frampton band) was better lit than the (other) boss, for most of the show.

Now the problems were blamed on the stage being soaked a few days ago during a Tennessee gig in a howling wind/rain storm. But groping for functional guitars, and eventually settling for the band walking off during 2 acoustic numbers, did throw off the enthusiasm of the show, on an otherwise perfect evening for an outdoor rock concert.

There were a few highlights: a new tune "Thank You, Mr. Churchill," about World War II (due on P.F.'s new CD, "80% done" and due out much later in the year he said), and final encore of Harrison's classic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," that has become a staple since he put it on disc a few years ago. Grammy Award winning Frampton album Fingerprints was showcased by only "Boot It Up," but those of us (like ME!), who heard the sound check, heard most of "Black Hole Sun," from the same disc, and several takes on "Lines of My Face."

Gripes are otherwise few, but glaringly missing from the set were "I'm In You," "Verge of A Thing," (his best relatively new studio song, from the album Now, and my personal favorite P.F. cover of "Jumpin' Jack Flash." Even given the pregnant pauses in the show, the entire gig was under 2 hours long, including encores of "Off the Hook," and "Gently Weeps". We would have enjoyed a few more tunes, Peter!

I guess the energy zapping and even the venue itself, contributed to a slightly tired performance, and I'll say this was my least favorite Frampton show I've seen, but still a solid performance.

Bottom Line: 3.5/5 stars.

Zeph, out
PS: I will soon post some images from the show, stay tuned.
PPS: A word about Pocono Downs (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania). It's a horse race track, adjacent to a slots-only casino. The casino (Mohegan Sun), was spectacular. The restaurants and bars were delightful. I'm not a slots player, but fun was had by all. Now the concert "arena" (actually just part of the track and stands) was less than nice. In fact, on a hot day, you will be sitting/standing on mostly BLACK grounds, even the beige plastic seats in the stands stood on wood painted black. It would sizzle in the heat/sun. There is no roof, and if a storm hits, you are going to get pelted, even in the best seats. And you purchase a seat in a section (A,B,C,D,E), not a particular seat. So even top ticket is just a license to hunt. More than a few good seats went unoccupied between groups of odd numbers. If you go, consider the cheaper seats, and be willing to run into the casino if the weather zaps you (the cheap seats are closer to the casino door). On the venue....2/5 stars, (1 point added for the proximity of a great place to dine, drink and party)....otherwise it's a slapped together race trap!