The Willie Nile Band ~ 2010 July 1 ~ Stearns Square (City Block Concert Series), Springfield, MA
Band personnel: Willie Nile (lead vocals, rhythm guitar); Johnny Pisano (bass, backing vocals); Frankie Lee (drums); Peter Hoffman (lead guitar)
Set List
Places I Have Never Been - That's the Reason - Run - Vagabond Moon - Hit the Road Jack - She's So Cold - Give Me Tomorrow - House of a Thousand Guitars - The Innocent Ones - Sing Me a Song - When One Stands - Poor Boy - Les Champs-Élysées - Cell Phones Ringing in the Pockets of the Dead - Hard Times in America - I Wanna Be Sedated - Satisfaction - Heaven Help the Lonely - People Who Died ... encore ... One Guitar
Scroll down past the videos for review; photo gallery to the right.
Videos
Review
It was Bike Night at the downtown Springfield free concert series. Motorcycles were parked all over. The noisy, smelly things were competing with the sounds of the concert. Tattoos and black leather were predominant in the crowd. Willie Nile wore a t-shirt with the logo "Indian Motorcycle."
In other words, it wasn't a night for ballads. Willie Nile played a set entirely composed of uptempo rockers, including several covers ("Hit the Road Jack," "I Wanna Be Sedated," "Satisfaction") that were sure to be crowd-pleasers. Absolutely nothing wrong with that! The show didn't give any indication of Willie's versatility and his sensitive side, but so what? Willie clearly knew the type of crowd he was performing to, and gave them a show they would enjoy. Toward the last few songs of the show, many people in the crowd got up and stood up in front of the stage -- always a good thing for the energy at a rock concert.
The City of Springfield does a very good thing with this concert series. It's free, it's outside, it's summer (it was still light out when the show started). The Stearns Square venue is easy to find off Rte. 291, there is plenty of street parking in the area, and the park is plenty big enough for the crowd. People brought lawn chairs and blankets. There was food for sale, or you could bring a picnic. I would guess other concerts in the series are more family oriented than this one, but the Bike Night show is a good idea too.
The band for this show were Peter Hoffman on guitar, Frankie Lee on bass, and Johnny Pisano on bass. It was my first time seeing Johnny and I was very impressed with his playing, his backing vocals, and his general showmanship. The guy is definitely a positive component of Willie's band. Peter Hoffman's daughter joined in briefly on backing vocals.
More Willie
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