Lynyrd Skynyrd
PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
You know, I often wonder whether a band feels cheesy doing this sort of a show, where the concert is a value-added freebie tacked on to a ballgame ticket. If you're Me First & The Gimme Gimmes or The Clarks, probably not. Playing a baseball stadium is a thrill in its own. But if you're in Lynyrd Skynyrd?
post continues....
I dunno. But I am sure that the band doesn't usually have a massive fireworks finale to accompany the coda to "Freebird," and the band didn't have to pony up a dime towards the cost of the pyrotechnics.
To back up, after the Pirates finished what was only their ninth sellout of the season with a win (what? did he say "a win"???), the players dashed off the field and the stadium crew set up a stage at 2nd base. With an enviable efficiency (just a 20 minute or so turnaround), the ballpark was switched into concert mode and the archtypical Southern rock band began playing.
Skynyrd played a crowd-pleasing set of past hits, including "That Smell," "Saturday Night Special," "Sweet Home Alabama," and the aforementioned "Freebird" (but why, oh why, does Johnny Van Zant have to use the painfully tired introductory question "what song is it you want to hear?"). Also standing out was "Gimme Three Steps," "What's Your Name?" and their take on J.J. Cale's "Call Me the Breeze."
Although the central New York of my youth was nowhere near the Mason-Dixon Line, bands like Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and the Charlie Daniels Band were still hugely popular. My hometown was in a fairly rural area, and the image of the rebel South (perhaps one of the most effective branding jobs in U.S. history; see, for example, here) struck a chord with many disaffected high schoolers there. But Skynyrd's Gold & Platinum compilation was on seemingly everyone's turntable, not just the Southern rockers in town, since their music was all over radio in a way that many other similar bands simply couldn't match. My sister owned the album, and I certainly spent a fair amount of time watching that label rotate around the phonograph spindle. So it was good to see these songs live for the first time.
The sound was not ideal for the show, however. It was a bit muddy and not loud enough. I guess it's unfair to expect sound like the Rolling Stone's "Steel Wheels" show I saw at Shea Stadium, but there's got to be some middle ground. The instrumental second half of "Freebird" is really the song's power, showcasing the interplay of the multiple guitars, but that complexity was largely lost in the wash of sound from the roll-away PA system set up perhaps too efficiently after the game.
You know, I often wonder whether a band feels cheesy doing this sort of a show, where the concert is a value-added freebie tacked on to a ballgame ticket. If you're Me First & The Gimme Gimmes or The Clarks, probably not. Playing a baseball stadium is a thrill in its own. But if you're in Lynyrd Skynyrd?
post continues....
I dunno. But I am sure that the band doesn't usually have a massive fireworks finale to accompany the coda to "Freebird," and the band didn't have to pony up a dime towards the cost of the pyrotechnics.
To back up, after the Pirates finished what was only their ninth sellout of the season with a win (what? did he say "a win"???), the players dashed off the field and the stadium crew set up a stage at 2nd base. With an enviable efficiency (just a 20 minute or so turnaround), the ballpark was switched into concert mode and the archtypical Southern rock band began playing.
Skynyrd played a crowd-pleasing set of past hits, including "That Smell," "Saturday Night Special," "Sweet Home Alabama," and the aforementioned "Freebird" (but why, oh why, does Johnny Van Zant have to use the painfully tired introductory question "what song is it you want to hear?"). Also standing out was "Gimme Three Steps," "What's Your Name?" and their take on J.J. Cale's "Call Me the Breeze."
Although the central New York of my youth was nowhere near the Mason-Dixon Line, bands like Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and the Charlie Daniels Band were still hugely popular. My hometown was in a fairly rural area, and the image of the rebel South (perhaps one of the most effective branding jobs in U.S. history; see, for example, here) struck a chord with many disaffected high schoolers there. But Skynyrd's Gold & Platinum compilation was on seemingly everyone's turntable, not just the Southern rockers in town, since their music was all over radio in a way that many other similar bands simply couldn't match. My sister owned the album, and I certainly spent a fair amount of time watching that label rotate around the phonograph spindle. So it was good to see these songs live for the first time.
The sound was not ideal for the show, however. It was a bit muddy and not loud enough. I guess it's unfair to expect sound like the Rolling Stone's "Steel Wheels" show I saw at Shea Stadium, but there's got to be some middle ground. The instrumental second half of "Freebird" is really the song's power, showcasing the interplay of the multiple guitars, but that complexity was largely lost in the wash of sound from the roll-away PA system set up perhaps too efficiently after the game.
Labels: Lynyrd Skynyrd, PA, Pittsburgh, PNC Park
2 Comments:
Awesome concert, too bad we had to put up with a 3 hour meaningless ballgame to get to the real entertainment that sold out PNC Park. Skynyrd played their top hits with their usual engergy and of coursed closed out the approx 75 minute concert with Freebird. Only drawback was to substandard sound from the portable speaker system. However, with Skynyrd, you can never go wrong.
i had awsome seats for the game and concert 5 rows off of the away dugout and i thought that the concert sounded great..so i dont know where your seats were. plus even though the game didnt count for anything it was still a fun baseball game.
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