Last night I had the pleasure of attending a Veterans’ Benefit concert in Chattanooga, TN. Three groups were on tap for the evening, and they could not have been any different from one another if someone had planned it (which they might have). The night included a local treasure, the Overland Express; a Rock/Blues staple, Edgar Winter, and the orchestrated rock sounds of Kansas.
I had never heard Overland Express, but I was not disappointed. They play Southern Rock the way it was meant to be. Throughout the night we enjoyed the duet sounds of two guitars harmonizing with one another through long rifts reminiscent of the Allman Brothers or the Eagles. They were laid back and continually smiling as they road from one song wave to another. The crowd had them back for one encore before the stage had to be completely torn down and then rebuilt for Edgar Winter.
At first, I thought the musicians playing with Edgar Winter were just stage hands. They were all dressed in black pants and t-shirts. They carried in their own instruments and took time to get everything set up. They looked to be in their late 20′s or early 30′s. I was expecting a band aged at about 100 (that’s how old Edgar is, right?). The entire band was one drummer, one bassist, and one guitarist…plus Edgar Winter, of course. I was hyped up for Frankenstein, and I was thrilled when they finally got there. The song lasted over 10 minutes as Edgar riffed through his synthesizer, saxophone, and drums. By the time they got to Tobacco Road, possibly his first hit with his brother Johnny, the crowd was wound up tight. It would be difficult to describe the vocal range of Edgar Winter as he would “scat” his way through musical notes and then be echoed by one of the other band members. Each round grew longer and more complicated as Winter belted out his notes, but the band did their best to keep up. Overall, Edgar Winter put on the best show of the three bands. The fact that he is almost completely blind did not stop him from being a commanding, larger-than-life presence on stage.
After another quick tear down and rebuilding of the stage, Kansas came on without any introduction. They burst quickly into a wall of sound that sounded every bit as tight and complicated as their albums from over 30 years ago. Not having seen them live before, I was surprised that there were only 5 members. The music they produce sounds like so many more. I have always liked Kansas. Not just for their unique rock-orchestra sound, but because they write lyrics that sound more like philosophers than rockers. I always felt they were a band in search of life’s meaning, and as a much younger man 30 years ago, they struck a chord in my life.
Other than the fact that the concert was in an open-air pavillion and I nearly froze my tuckus off, the evening was everything one could hope for in a concert. It was an intimate venue with only a couple thousand people. I was center stage in the 5th row of carry-your-own lawn chairs. And I got to hear three of my favorite songs of all time: Frankenstein, Dust in the Wind, and Carry On My Wayward Son (Kansas’ second encore).
For those of you expecting a tie-in to education (as I am usually prone to do in this blog), here it is. These three bands have been around for 30 plus years. They are still playing the same songs they played 30 years ago. And they still have a profound impact on the people who hear them: young and old. So all you teachers out there who feel like you are being left behind in the technology boom, take heart. You can still touch kids’ hearts and lives doing the same thing you’ve always done.
Standards change. Technology changes. Even kids change. But teaching is teaching is teaching. Go out and do some this week. Your students will love you for it.