{"id":24483,"date":"2016-01-31T18:58:43","date_gmt":"2016-01-31T23:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/?p=24483"},"modified":"2016-02-01T08:05:17","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T13:05:17","slug":"lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Lynyrd Skynyrd Concert Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DSC_0688\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lynyrd Skynyrd
\nCedar Park Center
\nJanuary 28, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lynyrd Skynyrd began its new 2016 tour right here in Central Texas, and they couldn\u2019t have picked a better place. While I was slightly alarmed at how few cars were in the parking lot to this mid-sized arena (up to 8,500+), I was delighted to see the place fill up with lots and lots of people. I guess the older generation carpools\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Austin legend Dale Watson sauntered out on stage first and filled the hockey arena with his Texas honky tonk brand of country music. It\u2019s not an odd pairing for the southern rock legends from Jacksonville, Florida, but my heavy metal ears quickly tuned out and patiently waited.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jason Boland and the Stragglers came on next, stepping things up tempo-wise only a bit, with its raw and red dirt county. The lyrics definitely bent to the side of rebel and outlaw, with tunes like \u201cMy Baby Loves Me When I\u2019m Stoned.\u201d There was a lot of space behind the soundboard on the floor, which was wisely used by many couples as a bona fide dance floor. The Stragglers consisted of some pedal steel guitar, a violin, drums, bass and a guitar\/singer (Boland). They wrapped things up with \u201cLivin\u2019 on Tulsa Time,\u201d which only whet the appetites of the audience for some fast, up-tempo southern rock.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lynyrd Skynyrd came right out and proceeded to take care of business. Starting with their ironic \u201cWorkin\u2019 for the MCA,\u201d Skynyrd was in the house and they made no apologies for their sound, their songs, their image or their volume. It was loud, in tune and just warming up. Without a break, the tight yet relaxed band went into \u201cI Ain\u2019t the One\u201d and then delivered the boogie dynamics of \u201cWhat\u2019s Your Name,\u201d which made sure the audience was loose and having a good time. \u201cSaturday Night Special\u201d turned on the aggressive guitar tones several notches with its biting and muscular riffs. It\u2019s a great tune that ironically juxtaposes a left-wing plea from a predominantly right-wing fan-base. That\u2019s what you get when Southerners embrace the hippie lifestyle \u2013 you get Lynyrd Skynyrd.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Only after this splendid rockin\u2019 assault was over did the band let its feet off the gas. Johnny Van Zant, the younger brother of the legendary Ronnie Van Zant, finally took some time between songs to say hello, apply the band\u2019s gratitude for the faithful Skynyrd Nation. \u201cWe don\u2019t like to call y\u2019all fans,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause we\u2019re family.\u201d While the band might represent some sort of clich\u00e9 for classic and southern rock, these old dogs do not come off as insincere, fatigued, out-of-touch or arrogant. This family attitude kind of permeates what comes off the stage. This was no joke. This was no nostalgia trip (even though the songs are all decades old). This was a serious rock concert that delivered all the energy, feel and spit \u2019n\u2019 vinegar attitude that you\u2019d ever need or want from a rock band. All cylinders were firing. The audience loved it and the performers looked plenty pleased.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDouble Trouble\u201d and \u201cI Know A Little\u201d kept the energy flowing and the music kept doing the talking. Little brother Johnny Van Zant sounds just like his older brother and he\u2019s a great frontman. He definitely keeps the set moving, but he never stifles the energy in the room by talking too much. The band keeps bringing it as if they were still in their 20s and had something to prove. \u201cThat Smell\u201d brought more irony, as it was a dire warning about drugging and drinking that was composed from a bunch of wild partyers. No one could doubt that the lyrics come from an informed source, though. \u201cNeedle and Spoon\u201d furthered the point that hard drugs were killers and then the first powerful ballad took center stage with \u201cTuesday\u2019s Gone.\u201d It sounded as sweet as ever \u2013 loud and powerful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prior to the next song, another ballad, Van Zant took the time to pay tribute to our U.S. military and a nice video homage played on the giant screen behind the band. After the song, the frontman went a step further and asked for the audience to stand to further honor our men and women of the armed forces. That was cool.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGimme Three Steps\u201d came on next, with its fun and scary true-life story of a Van Zant singer dancing with a girl named Linda Lue at a club, only to be interrupted by her significant other, complete with a loaded .44. I told my friend that she was about to hear the \u201cc-word,\u201d but was surprised that Van Zant censored himself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A few things have changed about this band over the years. The most significant is the toll death has taken on this legendary and prolific band. The plane crash took Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, Ronnie Van Zant, Since then, Allen Collins, Hughie Thomasson (legendary member of The Outlaws), Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson (the last two of which were both part of Christian rock\u2019s classic bands \u2013 Vision, with Rocco Marshall). Guitarist Rickey Medlocke, frontman for Blackfoot (this writer\u2019s favorite southern rock band of all time), was once a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd (pre-Blackfoot), where he played drums, guitar and mandolin in sessions work. He rejoined Skynyrd in 1996. The rest of the touring band is guitarist Mark \u201cSparky\u201d Matejka, drummer Michael Cartellone, bassist Johnny Colt (who, with his crazy facial hair and tophat, is a doppleganger for the late Leon Wilkeson), drummer Peter Keys, and beautiful background singers Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase. All the personnel changes have been significant, but the world-class delivery of heartfelt music has not dipped.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The band sounded like they could go all night as they effortlessly rocked through \u201cThey Call Me the Breeze.\u201d Once they went into \u201cSweet Home Alabama,\u201d complete with a rhetorical admonition to the soundman to \u201cTurn it up!\u201d Even though I have no qualms against Neal Young, it\u2019s always great to hear these southern hard rock musicians tell him off, \u201ca southern man don\u2019t need him around, anyhow.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019d never seen Lynyrd Skynyrd live before, so it was a real treat to lay my eyes and ears on them in their element. They are a true live band. They fully delivered and impressed this half-jaded\/half-youthful exuberant rock critic. I could sense that this was the end of the band\u2019s set. A brief inventory of their catalog in my head told me what was likely to happen. The band would triumphantly leave the stage with satisfaction of a job well done. Business wasn\u2019t over yet, of course, because they hadn\u2019t delivered their own epic tune. Even the most casual Lynyrd Skynyrd fan knew what song they\u2019d play for an encore.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What was surprising, however, was how classy they did it. Entering a darkened stage in a dark arena was the pianist, Peter Keys. He was Billy Powell\u2019s replacement, a fact that Johnny Van Zant reminded us of more than once, \u201c\u2026playing for Billy Powell up in rock and roll heaven. Keys came out and started playing the most beautiful and note-filled melody. It was part solo and part setup to the southern rock \u201cStairway to Heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By the way, only three bands have made epic statements like this \u2013 Zeppelin with the original, Aerosmith with \u201cDream On\u201d and this one, which is perhaps the strongest of them all with its three guitar harmony solo section at the end.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once the rest of the band sauntered back on stage, it was on. \u201cFree Bird\u201d began. An ode to a woman as a parting shot, Van Zant asked the poignant question, \u201cIf I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think the best way to describe this show and truly pay homage to the type of performance Lynyrd Skynyrd gave here in Texas in 2016 was it sounded as if these songs were being played for the very first time. Not a single note sounded tired, labored or phoned in. This band played quite a smashing set. Sure, the audience cheered loudly when each recognized hit started, but because of this heartfelt performance, it was easy to get lost in the song and amazed at how much went into each composition. These are truly special songs and they deserve the kind of performance that was given them. Not every \u201cclassic rock\u201d band does it this good. No one gets to accuse Lynyrd Skynyrd of phoning it in. If each stop on the tour (and subsequent tours) gets this kind of performance, do yourself a favor and go see \u2018em.<\/p>\n

Below is my southern rock smorgasbord of photos from the show. Enjoy:<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0936\"<\/a> \"DSC_0904\"<\/a> \"DSC_0880\"<\/a> \"DSC_0833\"<\/a> \"DSC_0822\"<\/a> \"DSC_0819\"<\/a> \"DSC_0801\"<\/a> \"DSC_0775\"<\/a> \"DSC_0754\"<\/a> \"DSC_0721\"<\/a> \"DSC_0697\"<\/a> \"DSC_0696\"<\/a> \"DSC_0665\"<\/a> \"DSC_0662\"<\/a> \"DSC_0652\"<\/a> \"DSC_0643\"<\/a> \"DSC_0637\"<\/a> \"DSC_0627\"<\/a> \"DSC_0609\"<\/a> \"DSC_0603\"<\/a> \"DSC_0578_PhotoBy_DougVanPelt\"<\/a> \"DSC_0577DSC_0578_PhotoBy_DougVanPelt\"<\/a> \"DSC_0569DSC_0578_PhotoBy_DougVanPelt\"<\/a> \"DSC_0564DSC_0578_PhotoBy_DougVanPelt\"<\/a> \"DSC_0555\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lynyrd Skynyrd Cedar Park Center January 28, 2016   Lynyrd Skynyrd began its new 2016 tour right here in Central Texas, and they couldn\u2019t have picked a better place. While I was slightly alarmed at how few cars were in the parking lot to this mid-sized arena (up to 8,500+), I was delighted to see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":24486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[3919,125,287,3921,3742,1800,1888,1995,3920,3924,2567,3923,3922,3918],"class_list":["post-24483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-38-special","tag-aerosmith","tag-austin","tag-blackfoot","tag-cedar-park-center","tag-led-zeppelin","tag-lynyrd-skynyrd","tag-metal","tag-molly-hatchet","tag-neal-young","tag-rock","tag-southern-rock","tag-the-allman-brothers","tag-the-outlaws","cat-17-id"],"yoast_head":"\nLynyrd Skynyrd Concert Review - The Original Heaven's Metal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Doug Van Pelt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/\",\"name\":\"Lynyrd Skynyrd Concert Review - The Original Heaven's Metal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DSC_0688.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-31T23:58:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-01T13:05:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/#\/schema\/person\/b155afeb7086c8182b3bb3b435e68c4b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DSC_0688.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DSC_0688.jpg\",\"width\":4288,\"height\":2848},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/lynyrd-skynyrd-concert-review\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lynyrd Skynyrd Concert Review\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/\",\"name\":\"The Original Heaven's Metal\",\"description\":\"Former Editor-in-Chief. 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