April 8, 1976 review: J. Geils Band and Peter Frampton in Memorial Auditorium


 

In sports terms, a truly colossal upset.

April 8, 1976

2nd-Billed Frampton

Beats J. Geils Band  

He may have been second-billed, but guitarist Peter Frampton was the reason why most of the 14,000 heavy rock fanciers were in Memorial Auditorium Wednesday night.

          The affable, golden-curled Frampton, who left Humble Pie on the brink of their success, has unexpectedly shot to the top himself this spring with a live album that’s Number One on the charts.

          It’s a case of popular taste finally catching up to him. Four years ago it was that he forsook heavy metal to steer into gentler, more artful directions.

          With a stockpile of favorites accumulated since then, Frampton’s a safe, solid artist, a more conservative rave than one might expect from these youngish fans, whose pre-concert celebrations left the Aud area littered with hundreds of bottles and cans.

* * *

LIVE FRAMPTON was pretty much the Frampton live album re-created. Same strategy – Frampton first, then the group. Same excellent sidemen. Changes only in the selections. For instance, he started acoustically with “All I Want To Be (Is By Your Side).”

          His good cheer was infectious. Arms went up to match his happy, arm-waving salutes. Cheers greeted his whimsical mating of guitar and vocal with the wah-wah pedal.

          But it was a short set. The “Shine On” finale came after only an hour. Then there was just “White Sugar” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” for the two encores.

* * *

TIME WAS TIGHT because of the equipment. There was a lot to move. That’s why starting time was shifted from 8 to 7:30 for the Steve Gibbons Band, a quintet of British rockers who were well-received even though arrivals streamed in throughout their opening set.

          Equipment handling also meant a long wait between Frampton and the top-billed J. Geils Band, whose star has been on the wane lately.

          There was no exodus after Frampton, however. The crowd stayed to boogie 75 minutes to Geils’ revved-up electric blues.

          Instead, they were dandies playing roles. And their music, a greasy monument to their abandoned tastes, suffered from internal disdain.

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Peter Frampton in 1976.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: Was this review chopped from the bottom? I daresay so. I’m sure I wrote more about the J. Geils Band. Although I couldn’t resist cheering Frampton’s triumph – you always want to hail a new champion – I still was a longstanding Geils fan, despite their surrender to pop tastes.   

“Frampton Comes Alive” became one of the best-selling albums of all time and Frampton himself returned to Buffalo three months later to headline a Summerfest concert in Rich Stadium.

The Geils Band was in its early days as an arena attraction, having scored hits with “Give It to Me” in 1973 and “Must of Got Lost” in 1975, but as Wikipedia notes, “the group seemed destined to be nothing more than a party band until the release of ‘Monkey Island’ (1977).”           

No Frampton setlist from this date on setlist.fm, but the one from Eisenhower Hall Theater at West Point three nights later seems pretty close:

All I Wanna Be (Is By Your Side)

Penny for Your Thoughts

Baby, I Love Your Way

Baby (Somethin’s Happening)

Doobie Wah

Lines on My Face

Show Me the Way

(I’ll Give You) Money

It’s a Plain Shame

Do You Feel Like We Do

(encores)

Shine On (Humble Pie song)

White Sugar

Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Rolling Stones song)  

His show April 3 at Rose Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich., was much the same, but shorter, according to setlist.fm. Missing were “Penny for Your Thoughts” and the encores.        

No setlist for J. Geils Band on setlist.fm either. Here’s their compilation of the band’s average 1976 setlist:        

Southside Shuffle

I Wanna Dance

Must of Got Lost

Detroit Breakdown

Little Red Rooster

Let’s Have a Party

Whammer Jammer

Lookin’ for a Love

Give It to Me

(encore)

Start All Over Again

         First I Look at the Purse                                               

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