Post by jptheprofessor on Jul 29, 2006 14:24:03 GMT -5
On Sunday night, July 9, I went to see Sammy Hagar in concert at Post Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake. With their special 4th of July ticket sale special for this show - where you could purchase one $10 lawn seat ticket and get 3 more free - how could I refuse? (I wound up with four lawn tickets for just $12.37! Sweet!) And it got even better from there, more on that later...
With my cronies Sparky and Guv'nor Jesse in tow, we arrived at Star Lake early; we thought the show started at 5, but it turned out Sammy didn't take the stage until 8. So with time to burn, we tailgated in the parking lot and relaxed with other fans before entering the venue to check out the concert.
We entered Post Gazette Pavilion and set up shop on the lawn. We suspected that not too many tickets had sold for this concert, and we were right, as the lawn area was sparsely populated, and even the pavilion area had lots of open seats. Within a few minutes, Star Lake folks came over and told us that we could go up and sit in the pavilion area - great!
Sammy Hagar did two sets. The first was with his current band, The Waboritas. They did classics and hits from throughout the Red Rocker's 30-plus year career - including such solo hits as "Mas Tequila," "There's Only One Way to Rock," "I'll Fall In Love Again," his recent single "Let Me Take You There," "Little White Lie," "I Can't Drive 55" and "Heavy Metal." They also did "Rock Candy" from Sammy's Montrose days, and introduced several new songs from Sammy's forthcoming new CD, including "Mexico" and "Sam I Am." The stage area was done up like the Cabo Wabo Cantina, and a select group of fans were seated behind the band on stage. Sammy periodically served tequila shots to select audience members in that group, including one fan who just arrived back from serving in Iraq, and a couple that just got engaged.
The second set would feature Sammy with The Other Half - essentially, the Waboritas with a different bass player, Van Halen's Michael Anthony. Michael surfaced on stage first, booming out a montrous bass solo display, that eventually culminated in the opening chords of the first tune of the set, "Running with the Devil." From there, Sammy, Michael and the Other Half performed Van Halen classics, including "Sittin' On Top of the World," "Why Can't This Be Love," "Good Enough," "Summer Nights," "Runaround," "Finish What Ya Started," and "Best of Both Worlds." The concert ended on a surprise note, with Sammy and the Other Half breaking into a rendition of the Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right (to Party)," while the stagefront audience was showered in a barrage of confetti from above the stage.
Sammy is still in great form; he can still wail on voice, and smoked on guitar! Sammy is an entertainer who connects with the crowd, too - he frequently spoke to the crowd and had fun with stagefront fans, quipped and joked with 'cantina waitresses' who brought tequila shots up to him, and bantered with his bandmates as well.
This was an all-around, fun show. Too bad there weren't more people present to experience it.
Some photos from the concert (yes, Star Lake allowed digital cameras inside for this show):
Guv'nor Jesse - his balance enhanced by quantities of Anheuser-Busch products consumed during the tailgate - took this horizontally-challenged shot of yours truly and Sparky in the Star Lake parking lot. We adjusted our pose to accomodate Jesse's camera angle.
As the gravitational balance shifted beneath him, Guv'nor Jesse.
The backdrop curtain showed the cover of Sammy Hagar's forthcoming new album, Livin' It Up.
Fans were seated behind Sammy Hagar as he and the Wabos and Other Half performed.
A lawn seat view of Sammy Hagar's stage set-up.
Once again, the stage for Sammy Hagar's concert.
Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar and The Other Half.
The Red Rocker has fun with one of his waitresses.
Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar and Vic Johnson of The Other Half.
Once again, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar and Vic Johnson of The Other Half.
The confetti-filled finale to Sammy Hagar and The Other Half's set.
With my cronies Sparky and Guv'nor Jesse in tow, we arrived at Star Lake early; we thought the show started at 5, but it turned out Sammy didn't take the stage until 8. So with time to burn, we tailgated in the parking lot and relaxed with other fans before entering the venue to check out the concert.
We entered Post Gazette Pavilion and set up shop on the lawn. We suspected that not too many tickets had sold for this concert, and we were right, as the lawn area was sparsely populated, and even the pavilion area had lots of open seats. Within a few minutes, Star Lake folks came over and told us that we could go up and sit in the pavilion area - great!
Sammy Hagar did two sets. The first was with his current band, The Waboritas. They did classics and hits from throughout the Red Rocker's 30-plus year career - including such solo hits as "Mas Tequila," "There's Only One Way to Rock," "I'll Fall In Love Again," his recent single "Let Me Take You There," "Little White Lie," "I Can't Drive 55" and "Heavy Metal." They also did "Rock Candy" from Sammy's Montrose days, and introduced several new songs from Sammy's forthcoming new CD, including "Mexico" and "Sam I Am." The stage area was done up like the Cabo Wabo Cantina, and a select group of fans were seated behind the band on stage. Sammy periodically served tequila shots to select audience members in that group, including one fan who just arrived back from serving in Iraq, and a couple that just got engaged.
The second set would feature Sammy with The Other Half - essentially, the Waboritas with a different bass player, Van Halen's Michael Anthony. Michael surfaced on stage first, booming out a montrous bass solo display, that eventually culminated in the opening chords of the first tune of the set, "Running with the Devil." From there, Sammy, Michael and the Other Half performed Van Halen classics, including "Sittin' On Top of the World," "Why Can't This Be Love," "Good Enough," "Summer Nights," "Runaround," "Finish What Ya Started," and "Best of Both Worlds." The concert ended on a surprise note, with Sammy and the Other Half breaking into a rendition of the Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right (to Party)," while the stagefront audience was showered in a barrage of confetti from above the stage.
Sammy is still in great form; he can still wail on voice, and smoked on guitar! Sammy is an entertainer who connects with the crowd, too - he frequently spoke to the crowd and had fun with stagefront fans, quipped and joked with 'cantina waitresses' who brought tequila shots up to him, and bantered with his bandmates as well.
This was an all-around, fun show. Too bad there weren't more people present to experience it.
Some photos from the concert (yes, Star Lake allowed digital cameras inside for this show):
Guv'nor Jesse - his balance enhanced by quantities of Anheuser-Busch products consumed during the tailgate - took this horizontally-challenged shot of yours truly and Sparky in the Star Lake parking lot. We adjusted our pose to accomodate Jesse's camera angle.
As the gravitational balance shifted beneath him, Guv'nor Jesse.
The backdrop curtain showed the cover of Sammy Hagar's forthcoming new album, Livin' It Up.
Fans were seated behind Sammy Hagar as he and the Wabos and Other Half performed.
A lawn seat view of Sammy Hagar's stage set-up.
Once again, the stage for Sammy Hagar's concert.
Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar and The Other Half.
The Red Rocker has fun with one of his waitresses.
Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar and Vic Johnson of The Other Half.
Once again, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar and Vic Johnson of The Other Half.
The confetti-filled finale to Sammy Hagar and The Other Half's set.