Review: Pittsfield Takes A Journey With Evolution
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| Evolution's Hugo Valenti |
Little did I know how I was going to be blown away and my theory trashed in a few hours after watching Evolution perform at the beautiful Colonial theater on May 31.
People were saying lead singer Hugo Valenti was a dead ringer for Steve Perry and his voice was just as good if not better than Perry's! Bruce Witherell of Aries Entertainment was gracious enough to walk me backstage to meet the band prior to the show. Witherell made it known that I always cover original bands and usually do my write-up after the show, indicating to the band that I had my doubts but was there to find out for myself what all the talk was about.
They were very cool about everything and obviously knew that I was going to change my mind once I saw the show.
They are a great group of people and down to earth. They showed no signs of being the untouchable stars that some folks transform into once reaching a high level of popularity. Their professionalism and attitude is a credit to the music industry. Any major recording artist should be so lucky to have a band like Evolution touring to advertise their catalog of recorded works.
The night began with the popular local band Static. They fit the bill for a warm-up band, getting the crowd all excited and ready for the headliner. Static has a loyal following in the Berkshires and all of the band members are seasoned performers.
Jim Witherell (drums, lead vocals), Fabri Peroti (lead guitar), Andre LeBlanc (keyboards, guitar, and vocals) and AJ LeBlanc(bass) are an exceptional unit with a wide age range; they are similar to our own Boston Red Sox, a nice blend of veterans and younger players. I was particularly impressed with Witherell's capability of playing the drums and singing. His hands are as fast as lightning yet his vocals are strong and steady, as if he was in the front of the band standing there with a mic.
Evolution is Valenti (lead vocals), Les Janson (bass), Adam Holland (guitar), Lance Millard (keyboards, vocals) and the barefooted Mike Morales (drums). I have to say that I never expected the show to be this good.
Valenti is incredible in every way. Not only does he look like Perry, he sounds just like him, as near to a perfect resemblance of the original Journey singer you could possible imagine. The band told me prior to the show that the focus is theatrics and that proved to be very true. Valenti dresses like Perry and has his stage moves down as well. After a few songs, I felt like I was really watching Journey ... I was sold! I think most of the crowd that attended felt the same way as rousing applause followed each song.
The musicianship displayed by this band was exemplary. Holland was solid with his Neal Schon licks. He has the curly hair just like Schon with some resemblance facially. Millard did a nice job with the keyboards while sounding surprising like the early Journey configuration with Gregg Roley (vocals, Hammond B3). Roley and Schon were original members of Santana band and progenitors of the world-rock-fusion sound. Carlos Santana took a lot of criticism for bringing Schon into the band because at the time he was a very young 16 but as time passed Schon proved that Carlos made the right decision.
Janson, who looks like the second coming of Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, is a phenomenal bass player. His bass was a thing of beauty with LEDs shining brightly up and down the fret board when the lights dimmed on the stage. Without question, he is the finest musician in the band. Not to downplay the capabilities of the other band members who are very good, he just stood out as being the most accomplished.
Morales gave us a treat with a marvelous drum solo showing us that his abilities were beyond average as well. Everyone had their moment in the spotlight but it was the energetic Valenti that kept the funnel of energy flowing to audience all evening, at times coming out into the crowd while performing and doing plenty of in between song "pumping up" of the crowd. We witnessed this excellent showmanship all night long.
Evolution took us through 22 Journey classics, including the Perry song "Oh Sherrie," off his first solo album "Street Talk." Once again, the sound mix needed improvement. I am finding at the Colonial that this seems to be a problem. The first few songs for both groups seem to go through an adjusting period where the singer's parts are lost in the wall of music, eventually it settles in and your ears adjust, then it is adequate but not quite perfected.
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Certainly, the location of my seating has something to do with it. Being right up front does not allow for the true separation of instruments and vocals as someone sitting on the second or third level would enjoy the full effects of the facilities spaciousness and acoustics.
After the show, many lined up to meet the band, get their pictures taken and get the usual autographed memories to take home. I got a set list from the band prior to show and gave it to my son to follow during the show and he eagerly expressed afterwards how he wanted to get it autographed by the band.
This was a night to remember. Prior to the show I pulled out the entire remastered Journey catalog of CDs to spin and now I think I will leave them out for a while to listen to, just as reminder that there really are some great entertainers out there that can make you feel like you are seeing an original group in concert. Now that is entertainment!
Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck of Adams offers up his best-listening bets as a regular contributor to iBerkshires. For more reviews, www.muzikreviews.com.
