STERLING HEIGHTS -- Steve Miller and Peter Frampton get a bum rap sometimes. <\/p>\n
Both singer-guitarists are fiercely loved as vastly underrated purveyors of rock blues guitar while simultaneously, and unfairly, slammed for their unapologetic love for pure pop-oriented radio tunes. On Saturday night, July 1, in the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, the two classic rock fixtures played both sides of their respective coins, delivering the hits and showing off their serious instrumental chops in equal measure, making for a satisfying summertime jaunt. <\/p>\n
Related: Peter Frampton at Freedom Hill, 5 Things To Know <\/p>\n
Frampton offered a truncated but tight sunset show, ripping through his pop favorites while also exploring deeper musical spaces. Say what you will about his overuse of the Talk Box, but the simple fact is that Frampton can roll with the best of them, delivering superbly on super smash Do You Feel Like We Do as he blended his own clean soloing with the bluesy lines from keyboardist Rob Arthur, and on (Ill Give You) Money, certainly his heaviest song. <\/p>\n
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Less successful was Framptons tribute to the late Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, a good but awkward instrumental cover of Black Hole Sun that seemed to confuse the baby-boomer dominated crowd. But that was an exception as a talkative Frampton offered stories from his lengthy career, like when he partied too hard in the Bahamas with Alvin Lee and then, hung over, wrote Baby I Love Your Way in a single afternoon when he was short on time. <\/p>\n
The Steve Miller Band played in the headline slot, after a booming public address announcer introduced the group as Stevie Guitar Miller and the Steve Miller Band! The 73-year-old frontman proved more than worthy of that cocksure moniker, at times even channeling his godfather and guitar teacher Les Paul, albeit doing so on a (gasp!) Fender guitar. From the opening few frames -- going haywire on Abracadabra, for example the group was in the zone. <\/p>\n
The set felt, above anything else, democratic, with Miller bringing out Frampton for a guest appearance, simply stating that were gonna do some songs for ya! The two traded dexterous and pleasing barbs on Mercury Blues, launching the song into the cosmos. <\/p>\n
The obscure, stretched-out shredding indulgence was tempered by the fact that Miller has a laundry list of megahits in its arsenal. A straightforward version of The Joker shone like a gleaming diamond amid stunning yet overly-extravagant fretwork. Fly Like an Eagle combined the earworm-like quality of Millers songcraft with his otherworldly guitar skills, playing spacey funk licks over pulsing organ by keyboardist Joseph Wooten and funk bass from sideman Kenny Lee Lewis. <\/p>\n
An encore pairing of Jet Airliner and Jungle Love capped a show that packaged two of the 1970s biggest acts. But Frampton is far from his Humble Pie roots, while Miller has reinvented himself so masterfully over the years that its easy to forget he was in the thick of the Haight-Ashbury psychedelic explosion. Both classic rock fixtures have stood the test of time, and on Saturday night they truly stood and delivered a rollicking blast of shimmering rock and blues to the delight of a lively audience. <\/p>\n
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Review: Steve Miller, Peter Frampton rock at Freedom Hill - The Oakland Press<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" STERLING HEIGHTS -- Steve Miller and Peter Frampton get a bum rap sometimes. Continue reading