The 2010 Rock Hall Benefit Concert Weekend Pt 1: Raleigh Rocks Downtown

Story by admin | May 3, 2010 | Tags: music

Raleigh, NC — The weekend festivities kicked off on Friday night with a free public concert at City Plaza in downtown Raleigh. A steady stream of people filled the plaza throughout the night to check out the impressive lineup of performances.

Troubled Identity

The early part of the evening featured Troubled Identity, a high school band all the way from Chicago, Illinois. They rocked the house with some serious rock and roll and plenty of poise on stage.

94 East

Next up was Minneapolis-based funk group 94 East. The lead singer and frontman, Pepe Willie, was a major influence on Prince’s early career and the band recorded many of his early songs with him.

Needless to say, their performance was overflowing with energy and musical talent. Not only did we get to hear some great tunes from their latest album, but we were also treated with a few classic Prince hits including 1999 and an amazing rendition of Purple Rain. It got even better when singer/guitarist Marshall Charloff emerged in a purple ruffled coat, a black wig and shades!

Professor Louie & The Crowmatrix

Professor Louie & The Crowmatrix were the next on the bill. The americana/roots/blues band has worked with The Band as well as many other legendary artists. Their set included a mixture of original songs (including some from their latest album, The Whispering Pines) as well as covers from Bob Dylan (Gotta Serve Somebody, Forever Young) and The Band (The Weight).

A great moment during this set was when special guest Johnny Ciao joined the band on stage. He really ripped on that harmonica! And how could you not love a performer who has forks as the temples of his eyeglasses?

White Sox All-Star Band

We got a really special (and unplanned!) treat for the next act. Alan White (of Yes) and the rest of the White Sox All-Star Band decided to show up to enjoy the festivities on Friday night. Imagine turning around and seeing the legendary drummer of Yes standing behind you! The best part, however, was that they decided that they felt like playing a few songs for us!

This year’s lineup for the all-star band included lead singer Tom Bowes (formerly of Tower of Power), keyboardist Spike Edney (formerly of Queen), guitarist Jamie Moses (formerly of Queen), electric rock violinist Geoffrey Castle, bassist and co-founder Bernt Bodal and drummer Alan White.

The band put on a powerful and high-energy set that got the entire crowd dancing and singing along. Lead singer Tom Bowes boasted some massively impressive vocal range. The set was fully comprised of awesome classic rock covers, including Can’t Get Enough (Bad Company), Lola (The Kinks) and Tie Your Mother Down (Queen).

Though the 3-song set was short, it definitely served as a great teaser for the full set that was to come on Saturday night!

BSDs

The final set of the night was an amazing jam session with the BSDs (or Dave Mason’s band without Dave).

While the following night would showcase the Dave Mason Band performing songs from Dave Mason’s former band, Traffic, Friday’s set included songs by other artists, including Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh), Will It Go Round In Circles (Billy Preston), Baby, What You Want Me To Do? (Jimmy Reed), Crossroads (Robert Johnson), Oh! Darling (The Beatles) and While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles).

Next Up: Rock Hall Benefit Show in Cary

Look for Part 2 on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Benefit Weekend: the Big Show at Koka Booth Amphitheatre.

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Kristen Collosso blogs about music at GiveMeTheLights.