TEMECULA PRESENTS FOGHAT; THE SCENE PRESENTS NICE DAY

October 5, 2007 by PT Rothschild.

OLD TOWN TEMECULA COMMUNITY THEATER’S SECOND ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Temecula, CA – On a cool night at the heart of Old Town Temecula, the tourist end of T-town very reminiscent to the Village of East Davenport with a cowboy twang, the two main factions of T-town music fans intersected. Foghat, a veteran rock group who first scored radio friendly hits back in the early 70’s headlined to a show which featured local scene group Nice Day, a neighborhood underground music fave and friends to many who hang out at Cuppy’s. Vince, Jeremiah, and Ian (Nice Day) took the stage and exposed to the mainstream music fans the style and genius that marks today’s rock scene. The crowd loved it as did Foghat, said a Canadian source to me back stage after the show. The stage and atmosphere fit the artsy blend of Nice Day perfectly with very nice shadow work done by the lighting crew. At the break Jeremiah’s dad and uncle both beamed with satisfaction, as did we all who know the group. But it was Foghat’s night and they were the ‘cheese’.

Beginning with a speech by Hizzonor the Mayor, Chuck Washington, who made it known that Foghat was his choice for entertainment, and ending his speech with “Temecula Rocks”, the night of the second Anniversary Celebration was a night to be remembered. Foghat took the stage and in a time honed fashion, slowly grabbed the crowd, rhythmically massaged their inner party animal, and worked them into a stand-up-and-dance climax. The smooth blues riffs coupled with great sound production made it easy for the ‘uptown girls’ to get their music groove on, including one on a cane sitting just in front of me across the aisle. And in old school fashion, Foghat finished the set with an extended version of I Just Wanna Make Love To You and Fool For The City, leaving the crowd screaming for an encore, which was of course, Slow Ride. Front man Charlie Huhn remarked several times how amazing the crowd was and even backstage in the Green Room after the show, T-town’s crowd exuberance was still being talked about. Roger Earl, the one original member, said the band is playing tonight in the Midwest after taking the red-eye out of Ontario.

The second Anniversary Celebration was done with style as two buffet lines offered hot food, lamb (really tasty), anti-pasta, caviar, and something else I couldn’t quite make out, and the cold beer, soda, and wine, served up by the courteous attendants made the gratis munchies all the more scrumptious. But the icing on the cake for me, besides seeing many of my regular scene friends enjoy the evening, like Bill & Jeney, Johnny & Charity, Greg (dad of 15 North band), Peter Surowsky, Charles, Kaven, and latecomer Ivan (missing but asked about were ‘Nickel Sac’ and ‘Scenederella’, who was up in Hollywood), was running into long time old friends Brian & Mary, and ex-carbon fiber boss Joe Albertelli, a classic rock fan who played a mean ‘hobby’ guitar back in the day. So to anyone who wonders whether T-town knows how to throw a party, Bryan Bassett (lead/slide guitar) and Craig Macgregor (bass), the other two members of Foghat, various Valley music fans, and now the scene can all say ‘WooHoo’ with a resounding ‘YES’!

Posted in Family Attractions, Music, News | Print | No Comments »