My daughter Jenice – who is an avid Procol fan also – and I
arrived at the amphitheatre, Jones Beach, early this day (11 June 2010)
lucky enough hear the last three songs of Procol's soundcheck,
which
consisted of Simple Sister, Conquistador and Shine on
Brightly. All sounded extremely tight and remarkably forceful! At that,
I knew Jenice and I were about to see a really dynamic concert!
Procol opened with Geoff's powerful unison guitar riff, Josh's screaming
Hammond, Matt's unique bass playing and Geoff Dunn's thundrous percussion to
Shine on Brightly and, of course, Sir Gary Brooker's piano and vocals
which are as strong as ever! Homburg was simply enchanting with
Geoff's "tick tock" on the "guit fiddle"; Josh's keyboard licks were super
on Pandora's Box (that little Caribbean edge between Gary and Josh
gives the song a nice fresh taste); and Whaling Stories, one of my
favourites, since I first saw Procol perform it live at the Fillmore East
(1970)! Simply put, like hearing a orchestra without the orchestra.
Wall Street Blues completely rocked the place. Blink of an Eye commemorates 9/11 as it does on our local radio station (played many times throughout the day) every year on 9/11. Simple Sister gets a standing ovation by a majority of the audience (Geoff's riffs were outstanding). And where's a more appropriate atmosphere for A Salty Dog than an amphitheatre, overlooking the sea, watching it performed by these exceptionally talented musicians? Another standing ovation by most.
They closed their set with Conquistador and, last, A Whiter Shade of Pale
Surprisingly – the audience being predominately there for Tull – Procol received a very warm reception from the crowd, calling out for more!
Thanks, Gary