Thunder Beach Jam Review (Or the Night I Became a Badfinger Fan)
Rain may have threatened to call and end to the first day of Thunder Beach Jam – but the skies cleared, the weather cooperated, and the show went on.
The Kicks got the shortest end of the weather of the stick, having to abbreviate their set. They were the energetic newcomers of the night, dishing out a southern rock/hard rock hybrid. Full of swagger and enthusiasm – the rain didn’t get the best of their spirits.
The band has recently released an album, which I would recommend checking out.
I’m just going to admit it – I wasn’t sure how much of Badfinger’s set I would be familiar with. Turns out, the answer is quite a bit.
Joey Molland told a terrific story on stage about how George Harrison (yeah, that George Harrison) congratulated them on their hit song, followed by the warning to get to used to singing it every night for the rest of his life.
And here is another confession, I don’t watch Breaking Bad either. Weird subject change? No, it turns out that the series finale of Breaking Bad predominately featured the Badfinger song “Baby Blue” – propelling a song from 1972 back onto the charts.
Molland teased, saying that he felt like it had been handed to him – that he didn’t quite know what to think about it.
As for their set – the first half featured a lot of songs from early in their career – which left me feeling like this is the closest I’ll ever come to seeing The Beatles (or hell, a Beatle) in my lifetime.
They still glowed as they played, which with a career spanning over 40 years is quite a feat.
Grand Funk Railroad was ready to close out the night and bring the house down with it.
Playing through a slew of hits, the band proved that they still are top notch performers. Although much of the current line-up wasn’t part of the band’s heyday, it still was fun to hear songs I’ve heard all my life blasting through the massive speakers.
http://www.grandfunkrailroad.com/
Unfortunately, the second day of Thunder Beach Jam was called off. But from the parking lot we were treated to hearing a bit of John Kay & Steppenwolf doing sound check.
Here’s hoping that we will have the chance to see Steppenwolf again soon.
Thunder Beach Jam was at the new Pier Park stage – a weekend concert during Panama City Beach’s Thunder Beach bike week.
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