by TonyNYC » Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:36 pm
Felix Cavaliere's Rascals at BB King's last night
Though I enjoyed the show, I didn't love it and felt it was a little too pat and he mailed it in. I've seen him 3-4 times over the last 10 years and he plays the same songs in pretty much the same order. Even the same snippets from other artists-Apple Peaches Pumpkin Pie, My Girl, Just My Imagination, Thank You For Lettin' Me Be Myself-which I don't like at all.
I loved all the songs he played-Lonely Too Long, Midnight Hour, Beautiful Morning, Groovin' which he dedicated to Pete Fornatale, Mustang Sally, You Better Run, A Girl Like You which sounded particularly good, Come On Up, the drummer sang I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore badly, People Gotta be Free and Good Lovin.' I didn't like that he extended nearly every song with a guitar break or a sing along chorus.. All those classic 3 minute rock/soul classics do not get better by dragging them along for another 2 minutes longer.
I still love the sound of his voice and loved his organ. The rest of the band was passable although the guitar could have been featured less.
There are so many other great Rascal songs and songs from his solo albums I would love to hear. He even recently put out two albums with Steve Cropper that were solid. He sells himself short by only playing the part of a golden oldie. And yeah, no matter how nice of a guy Felix seems to be-cordial, gracious, appreciative-he needs to play longer.