Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats
There was not one person at Jobing.com arena who wasn’t blown away by seeing Brian Setzer and his Stray Cats performing together. What was even more surprising was that people seemed pleasantly surprised to find out how good that band really is. With little radio airplay, it’s probably quite easy to think of the band as an old flash in the pan. Most people have only heard the songs “Stray Cat Strut” and “(She’s) Sexy + 17.” But The Stray Cats won a lot of new fans at Jobing.com arena Wednesday night, August 8, for The Peak’s “Festivus” concert.
Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders
The Pretenders didn’t disappoint either. Ever hear someone say singers get older and lose their ability to hit the high notes? Well, that just wasn’t so with Chrissie Hynde who sounded flawless.
She dedicated “Stand By You” to all the animal rights activists and vegetarians in the audience. Phoenix, Arizona is not the audience to go activist on, however. When Hynde mentioned the slaughter of animals, the Phoenix audience cheered. It’s not a progressive bunch. Hynde seemed a little miffed by it for half a second but went right back to rocking the crowd.
She dedicated a song to Joe Strummer and played “Ohio,” “Talk of the Town,” a fast-paced version of “Kid,” and their final song of the night, “Brass in Pocket.” Everything in The Pretenders set was energetic and upbeat – no slow songs here. The slow stuff was better kept to Don Henley.
Don Henley
Don Henley was also flawless like the Stray Cats and Pretenders before him. He came on playing “Sunset Grill,” and the acoustics were fabulous at Jobing.com Arena. Part of what made each act sound perfect was the fact that they were all old pros experienced at playing live and at working in every trench of rock n’ roll.
An a capella version of “End of the Innocence” by Henley was astonishing. Here was another performer with absolutely no problem hitting any high notes. The crowd went nuts for “Boys Of Summer.” But at the same time, the older crowd didn’t seem too into staying out late. Despite the great crowd response to Henley and his band, people were leaving early. The Don Henley crowd seemed to have to get up early for work.
Peak Festivus brought together three rock bands it would be impossible to see together on the same night otherwise. It wasn’t the greatest selling show of all time, but it’s likely the show being on a Wednesday night had something to do with that. The bands performed perfectly and definitely should not be missed if ever the opportunity to see them arises!
Disclosure: The author works on the air at 98-7 The Peak.
