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Top 50 area concerts of 2017
By John J. Moser
Of The Morning Call |
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performs during their 40th Anniversary Tour at Bridgestone Arena on April 25 in Nashville.. (Rick Diamond / Getty Images for Sacks & Co)
In a world where new music artists — and even whole musical styles — appear and disappear in a wisp, is it any wonder that of the 125 concerts I saw this year, many of the best were classic artists?
With song catalogs that span whole segments of peoples' lives, those artists in a single concert can rekindle decades-old emotions. They can offer a voyage of maturation — of life itself.
And this year proved those moments can be truly special: Tom Petty on fire on his last tour ever. Van Morrison, who at 72, in his first Pennsylvania show in nearly a decade, making fans wonder if they'll ever see all that power again. Even a relative "newcomer" such as Keith Urban, at 20 years into his career, showing how much good music he has.
Of course, newer artists have been impressive, too. Twenty One Pilots and Florida Georgia Line at PPL Center and Ariana Grande at Wells Fargo Center were simply joys to watch.
Here's my list of the Top 50 area concerts of 2017:
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' 40th Anniversary Tour at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center
1. TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS, July 1, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
It's hard not to consider the fact that Petty died just three months after this show, but even if that had not been the case, the show's celebration of the 40th anniversary of its first disc was clearly something special: 19 songs in two hours, with a full house singing along on virtually every song — not just in a jovial way, but as if the words and music meant something to their lives. So that when they sang the title words to "I Won't Back Down," it was a statement of resolve gained over those years. (Petty knowingly introduced that song by saying, "Shall we sing one all together?") And when they sang to "Free Fallin'" — played with obvious intent and so good it was chill-inducing — it was a celebration of release, perhaps letting go of ghosts from the past.
Van Morrison at Outlaw Music Festival at HersheyPark stadium.
2. OUTLAW FESTIVAL, Sept. 10, HersheyPark Stadium
It was a marvelous night for a Moondance. With a large, glowing moon filling the late-summer sky, Van Morrison, one of the best singers in rock history, showed his power in a set that delightfully danced through his career as the headliner of the Outlaw Music Festival. Morrison's only East Coast concert this year was the highlight of a daylong festival that had many highlights, several provided by Lukas Nelson and his band Promise of the Real, and others by a blissfully energetic set by The Avett Brothers and a warm nightcap from festival curator Willie Nelson.
Keith Urban headlines Allentown Fair grandstand
3. KEITH URBAN, Aug. 30, Allentown Fair
Country singer Keith Urban is the perfect act for a cool summer night. Urban conjured up good times, life on a breeze and nighttime memories in a 20-song, two-hour concert that was perfect for the outdoor fair setting. From the second song of the night, the appropriate "Long Hot Summer," which Urban extended to nine minutes, he let the crowd know it was going to be a special time. "Hell of a nice night, Allentown," he told the crowd of 8,114. And it was — a hit-laden ride that showed both how much good music Urban has released in nearly 20 years, and how good and fresh he remains as an artist. And as good as the music was, Urban also made it a show.
Twenty One Pilots play Allentown's PPL Center.
4. TWENTY ONE PILOTS, Jan. 24, PPL Center, Allentown
Twenty One Pilots is a duo you're going to want to see soon, while it's still young and full of optimism and convinced its music can reach people and make a difference. Allentown's PPL Center got it at just the right time. Four years to the day that Twenty One Pilots was an opening act at Allentown's former Crocodile Rock Cafe club just two blocks away, that optimism and honesty still came through. In a set of 19 songs and a medley of four others lasting two hours, Twenty One Pilots spoke far more of life, love and the questions of success than of topics chart-topping songs usually do, and in a way that seemed to connect to everyone in the sold-out crowd of more than 10,000.
VIDEO: Janet Jackson performs at Sands Bethlehem Event Center.
5. JANET JACKSON, Nov. 11, Sands Bethlehem Event Center
Janet Jackson has always been the member of her musical family who sought respect. So, in making a comeback — her most recent album, "Unbreakable," is her only disc in nine years and her show was only her second Pennsylvania show in more than 16 years — it wasn't a surprise that she tried to make a statement. Her 34-song, hour-and-45-minute show was a litany of hits — so packed that it ran through the entire list of her biggest 1980s songs — performed with surprising energy.
John Mellencamp headlines Allentown Fair grandstand.
6. JOHN MELLENCAMP, Aug. 31, Allentown Fair
When John Mellencamp sang in his nostalgic 1987 hit "Cherry Bomb" that "we were young and we were improvin'," the implication was that, at his age, he was neither. It's hard to say whether Mellencamp, after a career of more than 40 years and now at age 65, is getting better. But he showed his performance skills still are great, and his music as relevant as ever — perhaps even more so in our troubled times and to an audience that also is no longer young.
Santana at Musikfest
7. SANTANA, Aug. 4, Musikfest, Bethlehem
There's a reason you remember and love music from nearly 50 years ago while you can't remember the No. 1 hit Taylor Swift had last year. Those seminal rock songs were groundbreaking and the musicians who played them innovative. That explains much of why rock guitarist Carlos Santana's show to open Musikfest's 34th year was so good, but it goes beyond that. The rest of the reasoning was that Santana, 70, remains one of rock music's greatest guitarists. From the opening notes of the opening instrumental, his sound was distinctive and recognizable. Even more, Santana continues to make music that's relevant.
Ariana Grande performs at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center
8. ARIANA GRANDE, March 2, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
In her 21-song, 80-minute concert, Ariana Grande showed why she clearly deserves a long career. Her vocal abilities are better than any of her contemporaries. She tossed off soaring, stratospheric notes with ease from the start of the show till the end and, perhaps more importantly, in most of her songs she found the emotional element that makes that talent connect. And she brimmed with charisma, her long ponytail swinging as she danced in high heels on an elaborate stage. Grande clearly intended to show the nearly sold-out crowd that she has skills beyond the teen-favorite career phase.
Performs at Allentown's PPL Center
9. FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE, March 16, PPL Center, Allentown
Florida Georgia Line's show did not solve the argument about whether the duo's genre-blurring songs are really county. But while the band is known as the foremost practitioner of the "bro-country" genre that melds rock, pop and even hip-hop, the 90-minute show of 15 songs and two medleys contained not only a lot of music that was very much country, but good country. Whatever genre it was, it attracted a sold-out crowd of 10,000 — including young fans that other country artists should envy.
Miranda Lambert performs at the Santander Arena in Reading.
10. MIRANDA LAMBERT, Feb. 23, Santander Arena, Reading
Part of what made country music star Miranda Lambert's concert so good was that she was so believable. When she opened with her first big hit, "Kerosene," pacing the stage in a short, leather black skirt and black shirt laced open to reveal her black bra, you could believe she burned as hot as the fuel she was singing about. Whether or not Lambert really embodied those things, the ability to connect to them, and convey that to the audience, is what makes her so revered in country music.
Buckingham-McVie plays at Sands Bethlehem Event Center Friday night.
11. BUCKINGHAM-MCVIE, Aug. 11, Sands Bethlehem Event Center.
Stevie Nicks may be the face of Fleetwood Mac, and likely its most recognizable voice. But Lindsey Buckingham is clearly the band's head — author of many of its biggest hits, player of its distinctive guitar, master behind its sound with his production. And Christine McVie may be its heart — the warm, welcoming vocal counter to Nicks' emotional gypsy. So you would expect that even though Buckingham and McVie's current duo tour is to support their new self-titled, Top 20 album, they would carry many of Fleetwood Mac's attributes into concert with them. And indeed they did, on the last date of the tour's first leg — to the point of playing almost as many Fleetwood Mac songs (nine) in the 19-song, hour-and-40-minute set than they did the new songs (10). The songs weren't always Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits, but they displayed the pair's contributions to the band. And the concert also showed how distinctive Buckingham and McVie are as solo artists.
Why Don't We, Charlie Puth, Logic, Liam Payne, The Chainsmokers, Fall Out Boy, Kesha, Halsey, Sabrina Carpenter, Niall Horan play Q102 Jingle Ball at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center.
12. JINGLE BALL, with KESHA, THE CHAINSMOKERS, NIALL HORAN, CHARLIE PUTH AND MORE, Dec. 6, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.
You would think that teen- and tween-oriented pop music would be a girl's game – and for a long time, it was, what with Taylor Swift ruling the genre. And the audience is no question still overwhelmingly female, as the crowd of 14,000 at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center for radio station WIOQ-FM, Q-102's annual Jingle Ball clearly showed. But when it came down to performance, it was the males who dominated the 10-act, 3 ½-hour show. And not only in a teen-idol way, but in a their-music-was-way-better way. It also showed the influence Justin Timberlake has had on male pop music. Charlie Puth again led the 10-act pack, with a set that as just four songs and 20 minutes was far too brief, but condensed his best material into an offering that showed just how good he is, and the growth he's undergoing.
Barry Manilow plays Allentown's PPL Center
13. BARRY MANILOW, Oct. 6, PPL Center, Allentown.
It was no coincidence that Barry Manilow opened and closed his concert with his 1975 hit "It's a Miracle." The depth and breadth of Manilow's career does, indeed, seem like a miracle: He has produced 50 Top 40 songs, making him the most successful adult contemporary artist ever, and his hits-laden set list showed it. It may be even more of a miracle that Manilow, at 74, still is out performing those songs with the vigor he showed. For nearly the entire 21-song, 85-minute set, he stood at the front of the stage, mic in hand.
Toto plays Easton's State Theatre
14. TOTO, June 16, State Theatre, Easton
Musical styles come and go, tastes rise and fade. But really good music, well performed, stands the test of time – sounding just as good years later as it did when you first heard it. The latter describes the best songs of Toto, the radio-rock group that from 1978-82 sold 20 million albums. And nearly 40 years after that commercial peak, the band showed that its songs, indeed, hold up – and so does the band. And its music still connects with a crowd.Its hour-and-55-minute set wasn't perfect, but the best of the 14 full songs and a medley of others it played were astonishingly good.
Headline Radio 104.5 Birthday at BB&T Pavilion in Camden, N.J.
15. WRFF-FM RADIO 104.5 10th BIRTHDAY PARTY, WITH KINGS OF LEON, BASTILLE, THE 1975 AND MORE, May 14, BB&T Pavilion, Camden, N.J.
With the ephemeral attention span of alternative music, for a radio station to stay around for a decade – and to stay at the forefront as WRFF-FM 104.5 in Philadelphia has -- is a real accomplishment. But an even bigger accomplishment is that at its 10th Birthday Party concert, the station showed it not only continues to recognize what great new music is, but remembers acts who make it, even after they're no longer the next big thing.
Rick Astley plays Philadelphia's Electric Factory
16. RICK ASTLEY, Feb. 11, Electric Factory, Philadelphia.
Even when it was a huge hit back in 1987, Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" had a hint of tongue-in-cheek quality – that a slight, impeccably groomed redhead would be singing such a soulful song, and so well. Almost 30 years later, Astley is on his first American tour in 28 years, and that kitsch remained a part of "Never Gonna Give You Up," especially in a time when Astley is known perhaps as well for the internet joke "rickrolling" meme as he is for his music career. But that didn't diminish the song's impact. And it, as well as the rest of Astley's 19-song, hour-and-45-minute show, reminded the crowd of something less than 1,500 of how big a hit he was back then. It also showed how much intact Astley's voice and performance skills are.
Dropkick Murphys at Ardmore Music Hall
17. DROPKICK MURPHYS (Acoustic), Jan. 4, Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore. Also, Feb. 21, Sands Bethlehem Event Center.
Dopkick Murphys drummer Matt Kelly was on stage talking about the band's new album, "11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory," when he was asked about the song "Blood." "We're known for … our songs are pretty rambunctious and move along at a pretty good pace," Kelly said. But on the new disc, he said, "we're letting the music breathe more than it normally would." That was an apt description of the six new songs Dropkick Murphys played (in a seven-song show) in an intimate acoustic show for about 200 ticket winners of Philadelphia radio station WMMR-FM, 93.3. Playing unplugged, the six-member band ran through more than half the tunes on the new disc, its ninth.
18. RICHARD THOMPSON, Nov. 30, Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville.
Two songs into his concert, singer-songwriter extraordinaire Richard Thompson addressed the sold-out crowd in a deadpan. "Some say my music is one dimensional in its range," Thompson, in black jeans, vest and beret, said. "I just performed a slow depressing song and a medium depressing song. Now, I'll perform a fast depressing song." The truth is that several of the 21 songs Thompson played in an hour-and-50-minute set were, indeed, depressing – but in the wonderfully rewarding way great lyrical truths are. And the rest of his set spanned a spectrum of other emotions, as well: Love, loss, elation, even humor. And a great majority were stunningly good.
Native New Jersey son Bon Jovi was back at a nearby, nearly sold-out Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Friday, riding the wave of a new No. 1 album, "This House is Not for Sale."
19. BON JOVI, March 31, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.
Who says you can't go home, indeed.When Bon Jovi was at the peak of its popularity in the late 1980s, it always seemed as if it was playing above its level – a good meat-and-potatoes band that somehow captured listeners and sold records at an astonishing rate. Yet 30 years later, native New Jersey son Bon Jovi was back at a nearby, nearly sold-out Wells Fargo Center, riding the wave of a new No. 1 album, "This House is Not for Sale." That album itself is a statement, with its title "This House is Not for Sale" telling whomever' s listening that Bon Jovi hasn't changed. The band opened its 25-song, two-hour-and-25-minute show with the disc's title track, singer Jon Bon Jovi's vocals almost whispered amid a booming, aggressive rock sound, as he stood splayed-legged to deliver the lyrics.
Robert Randolph performs at Musikfest Cafe in Bethlehem during the South Side Arts & Music Festival on April 28. /// BRIAN HINELINE/SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL (© Brian Hineline / SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL)
20. SOUTHSIDE ARTS AND MUSIC FESTIVAL, April 20-21, various venues, Bethlehem.
Before ArtsQuest's new South Side Arts & Music Festival opened, Patrick Brogan called it "a discovery festival" where audiences would discover great music while they discovered South Side Bethlehem. Judging on opening night, the Southside Arts& Music Festival succeeded on both accounts. The music lineup was strong from top to bottom, with some of the night's preliminary acts turning out to be among the best, and the headliners performing as well as you would have expected. And the idea of a festival in which crowds traverse the South Side from venue to venue not only worked well, but had a fun, breezy vibe to it – precisely the mini-South by Southwest that organizers had in mind.
Katy Perry plays Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center.
21. KATY PERRY, Oct. 12, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.
Let's start with an acknowledgment: Katy Perry's concert was an incredible spectacle. Perry opened the concert by literally flying out over the stage on a star singing "Witness," the title track from her new CD. But let's also acknowledge this: All the presentation meant that Perry's songs largely became background music. And while it also was musically pleasing, the "show" without question not only overtook the concert portion, but diminished it.
Toby Keith headlines Musikfest in Bethlehem.
22. TOBY KEITH, Aug. 11, Musikfest, Bethlehem.
In an era when chest-thumping pride in America can be divisive and extolling the virtues of alcohol can been called irresponsible, country superstar Toby Keith proved to be the great unifier with his critics-be-damned concert. The Oklahoman put on a delightfully politically incorrect and musically powerful show that had the whole sold-out crowd of 6,684 behind him as he packed 20 songs — more than half of them chart-toppers — into 95 minutes.
Live headlines Musikfest in Bethlehem on August 7, 2017.
23. LIVE, Aug. 7, Musikfest, Bethlehem
What made the band Live so huge in the post-grunge 1990s was its intensity. The group's driving musicality beneath singer Ed Kowalczyk's life-or-death vocals, mixed with a healthy dose of mysticism in its lyrics, was the band's ticket to huge popularity. The difficulty with living by the sword of sheer force is that a band can also die by it when it can no longer deliver. That's further a fear with Live, which had been on hiatus for seven years before reuniting late last year. Fear not. At its concert, Live showed that more than 20 years after its commercial peak — and 15 years since it played the Lehigh Valley in a sold-out Musikfest show in 2002 — both its songs and performance prowess hold up. More than that, the band has added a musical muscularity and depth that comes with age and experience.
Kris Kristofferson plays Sands Bethlehem Event Center.
24. KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, Jan. 29, Sands Bethlehem Event Center.
When an iconic country singer who wrote and sang some of the most storied songs in history plays a stark, stripped-down show of just him and his acoustic guitar, it's hard not to see the performance in terms of mortality. Kris Kristofferson performed such a show, alone on the stage for a 90-minute show of 29 songs in two sets (plus an intermission).And it was clear the show was rumination on a career – and a life -- by turns reflective, sad, defiant and triumphant. And it was, overall, excellent.
David Archuleta performs at Sellersville Theater 1894.
25. DAVID ARCHULETA, Oct. 25, Sellersville Theater 1894, Sellersville.
From the first notes David Archuleta sang in his new song "Up All Night" to open his concert, his voice was immediately as recognizable — and as good — as when he was runner-up on the seventh season of TV's "American Idol." But that "Idol" run was 10 years ago, and Archuleta also has matured and changed — both musically and personally, as his hour-and-55-minute show (plus an intermission) showed. His rich-toned voice still is a wonder, and he displayed it throughout the two sets. But now 26, Archuleta showed far more command of the stage, often gesturing broadly and sometimes dancing slightly as he sang.
26. SCORPIONS, Sept. 14, Santander Arena, Reading.
When you consider how few music acts make it to celebrate 50 years, how even fewer of those are heavy metal and how there are few prospects are out there for another generation to reach the milestone, it shows how impressive German rockers Scorpions were. The secret is that Scorpions' music is timeless. In a 95-minute set of 12 songs that kicked off Scorpions' latest U.S. tour, the group was not perfect.At 69, singer Klaus Meine's voice still is amazing, but has started to show a tattered edge here and there. Also as 69, guitarist Rudolf Schenker carried few of the leads – though he was solid when he did and was impressively energetic. But what really carried the night was Scorpions' screaming yet melodic rock – its guitar attack like no other band.
27. STRAIGHT NO CHASER, Nov. 4, State Theatre, Easton.
Just two months after a cappella group Pentatonix drew a crowd of more than 10,500 in the rain at Allentown Fair, senior a cappella group Straight No Chaser came to the much smaller State Theatre, where two nearly sold-out shows drew about 3,000 people. That's a shame, because Straight No Chaser, which has been around for a decade now, had the far superior show in every way. It's hard to figure out why, 10 years after its mash-up of "Twelve Days of Christmas" and Toto's "Africa" made the group an Internet sensation, Straight No Chaser isn't bigger than it is, or even the biggest a cappella group out there.
28. ROCK ALLEGIANCE FESTIVAL, Oct. 8, BB&T Pavilion, Camden, N.J.
Heavy metal music these days can be ponderous, and that can be accentuated by a daylong festival of thudding music. But the Rock Allegiance festival showed there are bands out there reclaiming the sound and exciting energy that made the genre so popular in the first place. That meant that the day's best performances of the 18-act, 11-hour festival weren't necessarily the headliners – or even on the main stage. It was a coronation of sorts for young Michigan rockers Greta Van Fleet – which, delegated to the festival's second stage in Wiggins Park, pulled a huge crowd away from the main arena that filled the park's rolling hills to hear its blistering set.
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29. WARPED TOUR, July 10, Pavilion at Montage, Scranton.
The Warped Tour has always been a place for the discovery of new music, and this year's 23rd annual edition of the tour that stopped Monday at The Pavilion at Montage was no exception. But this year that discovery element extended to two bands who made their mark in the 1980s and early 2000s – when the vast majority of those who attended Monday's 50-act, day-long show weren't born or were in their infancy: The Alarm and The Ataris.
30. MMR-B-Q, May 20, BB&T Pavilion, Camden, N.J.
The death of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, an influence and contemporary of many of the acts on the bill at radio station WMMR-FM 93.3's MMR-B-Q, could easily have cast a pall over the daylong show. And, indeed, several of the day's top acts paid tribute to Cornell, playing his songs or otherwise acknowledging him. But it mostly added up to uplifting admiration to Cornell's contributions rather than anything somber. And it came amid a day when the lineup and performances were as strong as any recent MMR-B-Q. Perhaps the most anticipated was the return to an area stage of 1990s alternative rock band Live after a six-year hiatus, but the band sounded much better 2 ½ months later at Musikfest.
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31. STEVEN VAN ZANDT, Oct. 1, Electric Factory, Philadelphia
Little Steven Van Zandt had a lot of catching up to do. On his first tour in nearly 25 years, promoting his first album as a solo artist in nearly 20, the longtime guitarist of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band brought his Disciples of Soul to Philadelphia and tried to make up for some of that lost time. He and his band played a show that stretched two hours and 10 minutes – taking a cue from his Boss to play concerts that leave the audience exhausted and exhilarated. Van Zandt's show also offered perspective on music history, covering what he said was something like 10 genres in its 22 songs. At its best, the show offered blasts of the wonderful rock-meets-R&B music of which Van Zandt not only has been a foremost proponent, but one of the modern architects.
32. TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND, July 8, Merriam Theatre, Philadelphia
Is it fair to criticize a band if it is known to give amazing concerts, and plays a show that's only great? That was the case when Tedeschi Trucks Band played the first of three concerts at Merriam Theatre. The band's concerts in recent years have been the fodder for fawning from fans and jam-band aficionados – and rightfully so. Guitarist Derek Trucks, who played with The Allman Brothers for 15 years, is among the best in the world today, and singer Susan Tedeschi's vocals are frequently searing. The show, which lasted just a shade over two hours of music, didn't quite hit that mark. But that doesn't mean it wasn't great.
33. THE CHAINSMOKERS, June 3, Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.
For as fresh and inventive as electronic dance music was when it first arose, it – like its forebear disco – has stagnated badly in recent years. The reason EDM/pop duo The Chainsmokers has been so successful, and the reason it was so good in the first of two shows at Temple University's Liacouras Center, is because it blows up conventions of the genre. Here's an EDM act that, on some songs, plays with a band, sings and comes out from behind its board to dance, speak to the audience and even perform on instruments. Even its staging and production was much better than most EDM. Those were by far the best moments of an hour-and-45-minute set that included full or partial versions of more than 30 songs.
34. THE 1975, May 12, Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem.
When British band The 1975 released its debut album in 2013, it was a bright blast of funky pop rock, with elements of INXS an d Prince that made it instantly accessible. These four years later, the band as it matured seems to have turned inward for inspiration. There's nothing wrong with that – The 1975's new album "I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It" – debuted at No. 1 last year, full of moody, introspective, atmospheric music. But live, too much of that type of music can sap the energy of a packed, standing-room audience ready to celebrate that earlier music in a concert that sold out in a record 10 minutes. The show started great, with "Love Me," the Top 10 first single from the new disc, as funky as INXS as singer Matthew Healy danced spasmodically around, shaking his mop of curls to the screams of the crowd. But the middle of the 85-minute, 18-song show was a six-song run of slower, sweet-sentiment songs.
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35. VINCE GILL At UNITED WAY OF GREATER LEHIGH VALLEY 100th ANNIVERSARY, Sept. 16, Sands Bethlehem Event Center.
Filling the role of entertainment for the 100th anniversary of a charitable organization isn't an easy task. But Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill nicely filled the bill when the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley held a fund-raising gala to mark that occasion. Gill certainly had the gravitas for such a gig: He's won more Grammy Awards than any other male country singer has seen more than a dozen of the 31 albums he has released in a career of more than 30 years go gold or platinum and had 25 Top 10 country hits. But it was Gill's gentle spirit, which captured the spirit of the night, that made his performance so good. That, and the fact that he's so talented.
36. THE QUEERS AND THE ATARIS, Sept. 24, One Centre Square, Easton.
Back when punk rock started, before it was taken over and watered down by mass media, it was loud, fast, rude and more than a bit demented. Anyone wanting to understand what real punk rock was like need only to have been at One Centre Square when veteran punk band The Queers put on a demonstration of what real punk rock was – and is. Its set had all of the above attributes, with the band racing through an astounding 25 songs in 47 minutes – loud, hard and fast.
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37. BARENAKED LADIES, Jun 19, Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center, Bethlehem.
Despite Barenaked Ladies having some perfectly good recent music, fans at its concert obviously preferred songs from the its 1998-2000 commercial peak. In fairness, the 22-song, 95 minute show – scheduled for Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks but moved inside because of rain – started slowly. It opening with "Who Needs Sleep," a deeper (yet fun and irreverent) cut from the 1998 double-platinum album "Stunt." And while the band played a ragged but also fun version of the hit "It's All Been Done" as the second song (the crowd cheered it heartily), it wasn't until the band more consistently dipped into its classic material that the show took off.
38. KOOL & THE GANG/MORRIS DAY & THE TIME, July 3, Mount Airy Casino Resort, Mount Pocono. The 1970s was by far the highest profile era ever for funk music, and Kool and the Gang was at the genre's forefront, with a nearly a dozen high-charting hits. But it was in the 1980s that Prince and The Time brought funk perfection. And that was the story of the concert by Kool and the Gang and Morris Day and The Time. Kool and the Gang's 13-song, 85-minute set was packed with hits, starting with the opening "Fresh," a Top 10 from the end of the band's run at the top. But supporting act Morris Day and The Time was far better.
39. ANN WILSON, April 6, Keswick Theatre, Glenside
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Singer Ann Wilson's concert showed she's more than half of Heart, her famous band with her sister Nancy. Her distinctive, powerful and nuanced voice account for a lot of why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band has sold 25 million albums and amassed 20 Top 40 hits in its more-than-40-year career. But the concert also showed that Ann isn't all of Heart. Backed by a four-man band, in a purple dress with black shawl, Wilson sang an hour-and-40-minute show (plus an intermission) that, surprisingly not only stepped outside of Heart – just five of the 20 songs were the band's, and one was a deep cut – but outside rock, as well.
40. JUSTIN HAYWARD, Aug. 27, Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center, Bethlehem.
In the crowded world of popular music, what makes The Moody Blues unlike any other act is its lush, symphonic treatment of its songs. So there might have been fears that would be lost when its lead singer, guitarist and principle songwriter Justin Hayward set off on a solo tour. But Hayward showed how wrong that thinking was. Backed by a crack guitarist and keyboardist, Hayward captured enough of the Moodies' musical complexity to give sufficient depth to the 10 Moodies songs he performed in a 17-song set. But by stripping those songs to their barest, he also revealed how well most of those songs work on a simplistic level. He also showed that his solo songs, especially those from his latest disc, 2013's "Spirits of the Western Sky," stand up well aside of those Moodies songs -- and how much of him is in The Moodies' best work.
41. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, Feb. 12, Wells Fargo Center
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If there's a weakness to Red Hot Chili Peppers, it might be the specificity of its music. You certainly can't criticize the band's musical ability, as was shown by the first of two sold-out shows. If anything The Chili Peppers' playing is stronger than ever. Singer Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Klinghoffer all were at the top of their game: sharp, tight and funky and rocking as could be. And more than 30 years into its run, the band's enthusiasm remains strong. But the Chili Peppers' funk-rock grove is so established that perhaps the band sees no difference between its top hits and the rest of its catalog. Its 17-song set (including a four-minute opening jam) set, which clocked in at just under 90 minutes, offered few of the band's biggest hits.
42. THE MOODY BLUES 50TH ANNIVERSARY, July 18, Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem
it's without argument that "Days of Future Passed" is The Moody Blues' masterwork – "An album which changed our lives forever," bassist John Lodge said from the stage. The disc clearly has been a touchstone for fans, as well – a seminal document in the development of progressive rock, it's one of the band's best-selling discs and contains two of its biggest hits. So in many ways, the performance of "Days of Future Passed" live in its sequential entirety for the first time on a tour celebrating the disc's 50th anniversary is the concert of a lifetime for fans. The Moodies seemed to understand that, and gave a wonderful performance of not only the disc, but its greatest hits in a 19-song, hour-and-45-minute show played in two sets with a 20-minute intermission.
43. HUNTER HAYES, July 27, Musikfest Cafe at ArftsQuest Center, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem.
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Near the end of his main set, country singer Hunter Hayes teased the audience. "We're just getting started," he said. "Honestly, I got nowhere else to go tonight." It sounded like standard stage patter, but a good 20 minutes later, after he completed the set with the expected finish of his big hit "Wanted," Hayes returned to the café stage with a 15-minute, five-song, mostly acoustic encore that elevated his show from very good to great. It wasn't only because of the extra time and effort – Hayes' entire show was big on energy and enthusiasm. But his choice of songs and presentation of them showed Hayes at his best: Stripped to the essentials, he's a talented 25-year-old whose true wheelhouse is folk and country.
44. LUKAS NELSON AND PROMISE OF THE REAL, Nov. 15, Union Transfer, Philadelphia
It would be more than a bit cliché, when writing a review of Lukas Nelson, to say something like the apple doesn't call far from the tree. In truth, Nelson's voice sounds a lot like his father Willie's. And Lukas has the same knack for tapping into that universal vein of thought and emotion in his lyrics and songs. But Lukas Nelson showed in a rocking concert with his band Promise of the Real that he's much more than just Willie Nelson's progeny. He showed not only that his mastery of the guitar likely exceeds his father's, but that he's able to master a range of genres. The 17-song, hour-and-40-minute set opened with the chugging country blues of "Die Alone," then the swampy stomp of "Four-Letter Word," on which Nelson seemed to squeeze out sparks on his guitar solos.
45. PARAMORE, Oct. 10, Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem
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Paramore singer Hayley Williams was on stage, near the end of the band's main set, when she addressed the audience and hit at the heart of the show it had just seen. "Thank you for growing up with us," Williams told the sold-out crowd of more than 3,500. While Williams was speaking about Paramore's longtime fans while introducing its 2007 triple-platinum hit "Misery Business," she clearly also was describing the night's show, which featured a far more serious, mature Paramore. After years of success – and the turmoil that often comes with it; its new album isn't called "After Laughter" for nothing – Paramore appears ready to transition from the pop-punk it was and blaze a future as an adult-oriented act.
46. DNCE, Feb. 16, Sands Bethlehem Event Center
The mistake most people make in formulating an opinion on hit funk-pop band DNCE is to focus on the fact that it's led by former Jonas Brothers singer Joe Jonas – as if the former boy-band connection disqualifies it from being legit funk. And certainly some of the appeal of DNCE's concert that concluded its North American tour had a strong element of pop appeal — as evidenced by the shrieking younger contingent among the smallish crowd of what looked like less than 1,500. But those who actually listened to the 18-song concert heard a band that has merged pop and funk in a really fun, entertaining and musically sound way.
47. CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD, May 18, Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center, Bethlehem
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It was hard not to notice that former Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson, on stage looked happier and more relaxed than he has in years. Wearing a tie-dyed shirt and jeans, backed by his Chris Robinson Brotherhood, the singer rolled through a two-set, 18-song show that covered two hours and 22 minutes, and seemed to have far more fun than he did on the Crowes' last tour in 2015. It showed in his singing – uninhibited, invested and interested. And his four-man band was as strong as he was – particularly guitarist Neal Casal, who aside from Robinson was star of the show.47.
48. WINTER JAM, WITH GROUPLOVE, JUDAH AND THE LION AND MORE, Jan. 15, Xfinity Live, Philadelphia
In a time when all music is of such high quality – or, cynics would say, indistinguishable by its sameness—performance is what can make one act stand out from the crowd. It was the energetic, enthusiastic performances of Grouplove and Judah and The Lion that set them apart from the rest of the eight-act Radio 104.5 Winter Jam. Top-billed Grouplove closed the show with a blistering 14-song set that lasted more than an hour – opening with its breakthrough 2011 hit "Colours" and playing its biggest hit, the platinum No. 1 Alt chart hit "Tongue Tied" a third of the way through the set. That kept the packed crowd revved up from the start in temperatures that were 36 degrees at the noon start, never hit 40 degrees and rapidly cooled as the sun went down.
49. THE BAND PERRY, March 11, Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, and Aug. 11 at Musikfest
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The Band Perry's new song, "Make You Happy," that opened its pop-up concert Saturday at Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, vocalist Kimberly Perry sang, "Not gonna aim to please no one … Damned if I do and damned if I don't." That could have been an expression of the way The Band Perry approached its upcoming third album, "My Bad Imagination," the songs of which accounted for six of the 10 songs (plus a medley of covers) the band did at Theatre of Living Arts in a 50-minute show pop-up show that was the fourth of nine dates in the short tour designed to showcase the upcoming disc.
50. KINKY FRIEDMAN, April 19, Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem
Singer Kinky Friedman is best known for his biting 1970s songs of social satire, and the sold-out audience at Bethlehem's Godfrey Daniels was treated to that during Friedman's concert. But the big surprise was that, between those songs and spates of uproarious, politically incorrect humor in the 85-minute show, Friedman wove wonderful songs that illuminated his 72-year-old life in perfectly traditional country, folk and Americana styles. And also showed how musically gifted Friedman is.
HONORABLE MENTION: Ian Anderson's 50th anniversary of Jethro Tull, Aug. 13, Musikfest; Fuel with Another Day Dawns, June 25, Penn's Peak near Jim Thorpe; Low Cut Connie, June 30, Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks, Bethlehem; Peach Festival, Aug. 12, Pavilion at Montage, Scranton; New Kids on the Block, with Boyz II Men and Paula Abdul, July 5, PPL Center, Allentown.
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jmoser@mcall.com
Twitter @johnjmoser
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