America at the Orange County Fair

Let me start this review by stating the obvious.  I love the band America.  I have been a fan since the early days of the band, having seen them in March 1973 and many many times since then.  Their music never fails to bring me out of a funk, to touch me and alter my mood.  I was really excited to see them locally with a full orchestra, so Chris bought me tickets for the show last night at the Pacific Ampitheatre in Costa Mesa, about an hour and a half from here.

We drove down to Costa Mesa and stopped to eat at a place near the fair called the Cabo Cafe.  The food was barely edible and expensive, a theme that would be echoed later in the evening when we bought food from the fair booth but were not allowed to sit and eat it.  The carnitas was boiled to almost the point of disintegration and tasteless.  I dumped a load of the house salsa on it in hopes of improving it.  No luck.

We had purchased VIP parking passes.   GOOD thing, as neither of us was walking very well.  I actually stepped wrong and howled, it hurt!  Getting old, as my father observed, is not for sissies.

We found our seats and settled in.  I forgot I was in Orange County and the crowd was the typical people just out for an evening, versus a hardcore fan-base.  I think a lot of them had come to see the Orchestra. 

The orchestra began the set by playing "Fanfare for the Common Man" the 1984 Olympics theme. It was received with polite applause.  The conductor then announced that for the first half ( HALF!) of the evening, they would be exploring "The Great American Songbook" then proceeded to launch into Earth Wind and Fire.  This was my cue to take the potty break I was wondering about!  They performed about a half dozen songs and the conductor was fun to watch, but the orchestra was less than impressive.  Maybe it was the selection of songs.  Chris said the arrangements were bad, but I was not wanting more and was restlessly waiting for the band to come on.

They began, as expected, with Miniature.  The orchestra missed all the nuances and drama of the song, it was just missing .. something.   That was how the night went for me.    I want to say this with out being mean, but the mix was terrible.  The sound was off balance and the band sounded, well, horrible.   At one point, I actually thought "we should just leave" but I waited it out.  Gerry seemed to be struggling with his vocals and JW had him so loud you couldn't hear anyone else, even when he was singing harmony.  The orchestra seemed to be an afterthought and instead of being wowed by the sound and the arrangements, I was underwhelmed.  At one point I found myself wondering if the orchestra were playing at all; a good portion of the time, the musicians were just still.

I like the new drummer, Ryland Steen, but he came out on "You can do Magic" going WAY too fast.  I found myself missing Wil's drumming, his subtle licks and steadiness.  Chris said Ryland got lost a few times, but that could be due to being thrown off by the Orchestra more than anything else.   I was delighted to see Andy Barr take up Woodz's spot. It was only his second show with the band and he did really well, taking the banjo on "Don't cross the river" and singing the tag line on YCDM.  I used to see Andy with his local band ( Forgive me but I think the name of it was Head Parade) and I liked him. He was absolutely a revelation on Sandman, by far the best song of the evening. Kudos as always to the solid presence of Rich Campbell who is a delight to watch. The mix was just awful and most of the night I found my mind wandering and wondering why the band sounded so off.  To say I was disappointed is an understatement.  It was a short set, which included "The Last Unicorn" a song I really don't like, but is saved by the recorder  that Rich plays to begin the song.   They played "Chasing the rainbow" which the crowd did not seem to know at all.  I think I was the only person in my section who applauded it ( it's my ringtone on my phone, so there you go).  They showed some marvelous montage videos and I found myself getting lost in them rather than trying to watch the band.  I always get seated behind someone tall wearing a hat and tonight was no different.  It was a treat to see the video shoot from the Hat Trick album, to see David Dickey and Wil and Woodz.  Nostalgia swept over me, making me a trifle sad.  Sandman never fails to make me think of my friend Kaye Thomas, an old Marine who died before we could "have that beer".


We left the concert after the crowd had departed, paid too much for bad fair food and were told we needed to leave the grounds to eat it.  WHY they let them sell us food we could not eat is beyond me. We could not walk and carry it at the same time. We wound up chucking it in the garbage. The food and that experience left a BAD taste in my mouth. 

I will go to see America again.  They are playing a freebie in Pershing Square, but unless there is a drastic change to my health, I will not be going to that one.  The thought of having to try to stand all that time makes me break out in a sweat. I am a real wuss when it comes to pain and I can't see putting myself in that situation.   I need to look at the concert list and see what is do-able for us.