38 Special: Rock band 'tears up the town' years ago
It's a good thing Chingawassa Days is an outdoor festival, because 38 Special would have blown the roof off an auditorium during their performance Saturday.
The band showed why they perform more than 100 dates a year. Their high-energy show featured their classic hits, some new music, and lively banter with an equally enthusiastic audience of about 2,000.
"Please have us back," lead guitarist Danny Chauncey said after the show. "We love playing for a rock-and-roll crowd like this one."
"That's the great thing about a small town," said guitarist and singer Don Barnes. "We've never seen hospitality like this. We really appreciate it."
A tape of rumbling thunder started the show. As the lights dimmed, fans rushed to fill the open area in front of the stage.
Band members Don Barnes, Donnie Van Zant, Danny Chauncey, Larry (LJ) Junstrom, Bobby Capps, and Gary Moffait walked on stage and ripped into "Rockin' Into the Night."
From that point on, it was 90 minutes of high-powered rock.
Chauncey and Barnes showed their talent as guitar virtuosos in song after song.
Van Zant was all over the stage, twirling his mike stand, doing Chuck Berry "duck walks," and punching the air. The highlight for many was his stirring rendition of "Rebel to Rebel," dedicated to his late brother, Ronnie, who founded Lynyrd Skynyrd.
While the rest of the band took a break, Moffait offered a fast-paced drum solo, his hands moving so fast they blurred.
The only negative was when some idiot in the crowd tossed ice cubes on stage, causing one band member to slip. Barnes secured a cup and tossed ice back.
The band's encore featured Chuck Berry's "Back in the USA" followed by an explosive rendition of the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit "Travelin' Band."
Trent Summar
Opening act Trent Summar and the New Row Mob faced blistering heat, which reduced turnout early in the show.
It's too bad; a producer is going to make a lot of money someday with a Trent Summar/38 Special concert tour.
Summar was a true entertainer, wearing neon red pants, white boots, and a battered cowboy hat.
He kicked, danced, slapped, and twisted as he ran through the songs from his self-titled album.
Summar spent much of the time joking with the crowd. He congratulated Heather Hancock, former Marion Motel manager, on her birthday, later referring to Hancock and her friends as the "Solid Gold Marion Dancettes."
He also offered to sell the crowd a swimsuit calendar — featuring his bandmates in string bikinis.
The New Row Mob would make pretty ugly swimsuit models, but they were unsurpassed as musicians. Guitarists John Bolinger and Bert Weilburg smoked through rockers like "Paint Your Name in Purple" and bluesy love songs like "Starletta."
Drummer Mark Horn kept the furious beat.
Bass player Supe Granda, of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, was a crowd favorite. He played the same bass he used to record "Jackie Blue" and "If You Want to Get to Heaven, You Have to Raise a Little Hell."
Summar also was pleased with Marion. The band toured the area, visited with antique collector Marion Ogden (Summar salvages architectural details from buildings scheduled for demolition), and hung out with 38 Special and their crew.
Synergy
Fans on Friday and Saturday saw stars in the making with Synergy, a Wichita band.
Most of the band are musicians with years of experience under their belts. Vocalists Miranda McKellips and Danelle Phillips, both 21, have voices more powerful than their age would indicate.
They sang classic rock songs to open their set before moving to recent hits by Linkin Park and Pink.
