« Art Garfunkel, Part II | Main | Hal Sparks at Harborside »
March 30, 2009
Tower of Power at The Klein
For years, I had heard nothing but great things about seeing Tower of Power in concert.
For years, and for reasons I’m not too sure of, I never made the effort to see the band, whether it was at Toad’s Place in New Haven or at one of the casinos.
Friday night, Tower of Power played The Klein in Bridgeport and I made sure I was in the building. Now I just have one thing to say to all of my friends and colleagues that have been raving about the band: You were right.
I went in to the concert knowing only one song by the group, “What is Hip?,” — and I left wondering why I’ve never heard more from this brass-heavy band from Oakland, Calif., which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. I love rock bands with horn sections (Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, for example) and I love soul music. How can I have been so ignorant about Tower of Power?
Well, I’m cured of that ignorance and, like many of its fans, can’t wait for the group’s next Connecticut appearance. Friday night’s concert was pure energy from start to finish. It helped that The Klein (capacity 1,400) was sold out (or, in the Tower of Power vernacular, “Souled Out”). There were even groups of people standing along the side walls, leading me to wonder if they bought standing-room-only tickets or just couldn’t stay off their feet when the band kicked in to high gear.
What a thrill to see and hear the Tower of Power horn section perform, showing why these musicians are always in such high demand for studio work in their time away from the group. Actually, all 10 of the band members excelled and all 10 also had their own time in the spotlight (well, the rhythm section, not so much).
The cherry on the sundae was singer Larry Braggs. Soul music was oozing from this man’s pores, as well as a good dose of sweat from the energy he was emitting. Braggs is everything a soul band could want as its front man: engaging, energetic and with a voice that soared while knocking the crowd off its feet.
The opening act also was noteworthy, as none other than sax master David Sanborn and his band kicked off the festivities. Sanborn and his tight crew proved that jazz concerts don’t have to be boring events with a bunch of talented musicians noodling about. There was passion crammed into each song and the musicians’ solos were kept to a reasonable length. Sanborn, no show off, was very generous with his musicians in giving each a chance to shine and they each managed to please the crowd with precise and, perhaps more importantly, entertaining solos.
The Tower of Power horns joined Sanborn for a couple of songs at the end of his set and Braggs joined in on his finale, lifting Sanborn’s set even higher.
This guy I know went to the show and thought he was being smart by showing up late, not wanting to see Sanborn’s show. The look on his face when I told him what he missed, about how his beloved Tower of Power horns joined in with Sanborn, was priceless.
Posted by Sean on March 30, 2009 7:02 PM
