Review
Voices Rock Kaanapali
Maui, Hawaii - January 2002
VOICES ROCK KAANAPALI - January 11th-12th, 2002
Here we are GH fans were on our way to see Papa Glenn R.O.C.K. Maui!
With the unfortunate Orlando cancellation and the previous Voices of Classic Rock show in Las Vegas scheduled on a work night (a Monday), we decided it was time to cash in our last remaining air miles coupons and pack our backpacks and
head for Maui!
It's a little over a 4 hour flight from San Francisco and as I was looking
through the In-Flight Magazine and noticed they were featuring the new
"Kiss Box Set" on the in-flight programming, so I tuned in, it certainly
made the time fly! As we touched down in Maui, all I could see was
endless fields of sugar cane and massive volcanic mountains, it reminded
me a bit of Hong Kong's Victoria Peak, so beautiful. This was our first
trip to Hawaii, so we played the typical tourists. David was looking out
for Steve McGarrett, while I was in search of "Danno", it was our running
joke all weekend...(yes, Hawaii Five-O fans here)!!
When we got to our room I noticed a huge AD for the Concert on the table,
no lack of promotion here folks! In the lobby there were 2 "HUGE" poster
stands where tickets were being sold. We also managed to pick up some of
the local papers, it was advertised in every paper we opened. "If only they
could promote a new release from Glenn like that", we said to ourselves!
We heard them jamming across the street, so we headed over and low and
behold Glenn was up there thumping on his bass with a couple of other
"Voices". We waved to Glenn and he approached the mic and said "You guys
made it"!! He then directed us over to Gabrielle and the other "Rock
Wives"! It gave us a chance to catch up with Gabrielle. It was supposed to
be a "Closed Rehearsal", but by the end of the night there were people up
in the bleachers, drinking beer and hanging out, what a treat "they got a
free show", we said to ourselves!
The "Voices" had a grueling schedule ahead of them. 'VH-1 Classic' wanted
each artist to do a "Full Dress Rehearsal", in case it got rained out, so
they would get "Something" on tape"! So after the "day" rehearsals were
done, all the artists returned in their "gig attire" and did their piece.
Man everyone sounded "Great", when it was Glenn's turn, David ran down
front and took a few pics before the cameras started rolling. They had a
strict "NO" camera policy throughout the weekend (sigh).
Glenn and Pat Travers on guitar opened with You Keep On Moving then Stormbringer emerged, its one of my favorite songs I never tire of hearing it. A blistering version of Mistreated followed, David was blown away at Glenn's vocals as well as Pat Traver's performance on this song.
The evening was coming to an end when all the "Voices" came out and did
the Rockforever Anthem, an original tune written by them all, it reminded me a little of the Dio-led 'Hear-n-Aid' "Stars" song, although heavier, each member had a line to sing and all joined in on the chorus. The last song of
the evening was a great rendition of Smoke On The Water. After it was over, David and I went back to the hotel for a bit of R&R.
Saturday morning arrived and after a walk along the sun drenched beach and a
quick dip in the ocean (heh, we're in Hawaii after all), we headed back to
the tennis stadium early, so we could try and speak to Glenn before the show.
Our timing couldn't have been any better; we literally bumped into him as we
entered the parking lot, he was heading back to the villa to pick up his bass
and equipment. He invited us to walk with him and 'have a chat'. Once there,
we briefly met the VCR webmaster (John Gates), had our quick chat and then
helped Glenn carry his stuff over. You should have seen David with Glenn's
bass, sure wish I had taken a picture ;-)
Glenn was very generous letting us hangout stage left and the backstage area
to watch the sound checks, and that's where we ran into George Nastos. What a
nice guy, we had met for the first time a year ago in New York during the US
solo tour plus 'spoke' online since then, and he remembered us instantly! We
asked him if he was playing that night, but he was unsure 'cuz he didn't have
an amp! Then out of nowhere, an amp appears!! They broke into "Burn", great
to see them playing together again, they have some great chemistry!
After Glenn was done, we went back to the villa to get caught up and Joe
Lynn Turner and his manager, Mark, walked in. They were very nice, JLT has
got a grip on him, my hand hurt after he shaked it!! Showtime was fast
approaching so we headed back to the hotel for a few beers before the gig.
An hour passed, we went to enter the Stadium. Inside they had intense
security, checking bags, I thought it was a bit over the top, "For God's sake
'we're in Hawaii' of all places"! The only good thing about it, was you were
able to go out whenever you wanted, as long as you had the right wristbands
on!!
Now for the show - there were a couple of performances I did enjoy, Spencer
Davis I'm A Man, Gimme Some Lovin, David Jenkins Pablo Cruise songs, Leslie West, Alex Ligertwood - "I'm Winning", all of Joe Lynn Turner's mini-set Street of Dreams, Stone Cold, Hush and Woman from Tokyo. It was great to see Glenn sing backup on the various numbers - he's not going to do these during one of his solo shows! It really shows off his versatility! That's also true for all the VCR members, you really get to see the full spectrum of their talent and not just what they're known for.
Glenn was up next, the first few bars of Burn started, and the crowd went "CRAZY". Glenn looked and sounded "Great", strutting across the
stage in those "dangerous" white platform boots working the crowd and the cameraman. It was a surreal experience to witness the filming of it, with the huge camera booms hovering over the crowd up front. Towards the end of Burn George's amp starts playing up with feedback starting to screech, but he manages to finish the song. Then the director tells Glenn he must re-do the song! George fights with his amp a bit longer, but it wasn't cooperating and he then storms off stage! Can't blame him at all, it was a bit of a fiasco. Luckily, Pat Travers steps in and GH fans are given Burn II. If Glenn was annoyed at what just happened he sure didn't show it he was only too happy to do it again, although it was a little less powerful, 'cuz after giving a blistering no-holds barred vocal outing the first time round, and in
the heat, it wasn't surprising!
I think the days events seemed to take a toll on a few of the "Voices",
Charlie Morgan flipped a wobbly mid-set but it was topped off, after the show
as the crowd was dispersing, when the 2 ton 30-foot camera boom came crashing
to the ground, just missing people by inches - "Do I hear lawsuit"!! Luckily
no one was injured.
As we left the stadium they had a make-shift T-shirt stand where "ladies"
from "Hooters" were selling "Voices of Classic Rock" T-Shirts, Hats and
CD's. Also a few of the Voices came out after the show and signed some
stuff for the fans, which was great.
What a weekend...
As Sunday lunchtime approached, David and I headed to the airport for our
flight back to the mainland. I had one last Mai Tai and bid farewell to
Maui.
Until next time...
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