DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jerry Lee Lewis entertained nonstop for 45 minutes Saturday night at the Blaisdell Arena.
Legendary artists
bring landmark show
to Hawaii
Exaggeration is an inescapable part of concert promotion. Every upcoming show is "the biggest show (or party) of the year," but when Tom Moffatt touted Saturday night's Chuck Berry/Little Richard/Jerry Lee Lewis triple bill as the "Rock & Roll Supershow," hype wasn't even a part of the equation.
With Elvis dead, a show with Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis is as big as it gets. The three are not only legends as performers and recording artists, but also the surviving founding fathers of rock. In their music is heard rhythm and blues, country, gospel and the blues -- the cross-cultural blending that ended the long reign of white pop in mainstream American music.
Bo Diddley, Fats Domino and the Everly Brothers also belong at the founders' table, but even so, the Blaisdell Arena show was the biggest and most historically significant since Moffatt brought Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Liza Minelli here almost 15 years ago.
It was a great evening of true "classic rock" as well.
Opening the show, Jerry Lee Lewis delivered the best all-around performance of the night. Lewis' voice had a bit of slur to it when he talked, but there was nothing lacking in his performance. The voice, the smile, the charisma and his hard-driving "pumping piano" approach were all in full effect. At 68, "The Killer" still rocks.
In fact, he ripped it up for 45 minutes with solid support from his tight four-piece band. The set included strong, full-length renditions of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" and "Great Balls of Fire," and displayed his command of R&B and gospel as well. Stick McGhee would certainly have approved of Lewis' version of "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee," and the Big Bopper would have appreciated Lewis' light-hearted treatment of "Chantilly Lace." Lewis' reworking of "C.C. Rider" as slow blues was another highlight in a great set.
Fans seated down front in Section CC were particularly fortunate, being able to see Lewis' hands -- that was a show in itself! He also applied a booted foot to the keys on one song and played with his back to the keyboard as well.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Helping make history at the Blaisdell Arena Saturday night were Little Richard, left, and Chuck Berry.
Despite the controversies of his youth, Lewis is a deeply religious man. He introduced a beautiful country gospel tune with a bit of testament and told the crowd that he thanks God for each new day of life.
Little Richard, who will be 71 in December, was, alas, another story. One of the greatest entertainers in rock and the originator of some of the greatest music of the era, he spent far too much time playing other artists' hits and not enough time on his own.
Richard could have devoted his entire 70-minute set to full-length versions of his own songs and still maybe missed a couple -- there was no need for him to cover hits by Larry Williams and Bob Seger. As it was, he got off to a slow and disappointing start and didn't really take off until he got into his own "Lucille" about 20 minutes into the show. It was hit and miss thereafter.
A big problem was Richard's band, which included two drummers and two electric bass players. It was an interesting concept, but there was such an overload on the bottom end that it was difficult to hear Richard's piano work, even on those numbers when he stopped pacing the stage and actually played a bit. Given the power and presence of his piano playing back in the day, it was disappointing how little time he spent at the keyboard. It also seemed odd to hear his horn player singing lead on several of his hits.
On the other hand, Richard was personable and charming. Although he announced sternly after three or four songs that he wanted all the amateur photographers to put their cameras away, he also stopped the show several times to hand out posters, sent his "brother" out into the crowd to distribute free souvenir books and spent more than an hour signing autographs after the show.
He ended with an interesting arrangement of "The Girl Can't Help It," followed by abbreviated one-verse renditions of several of his other hits. All in all, Little Richard may have been telling the truth when he said recently that this is the last time he'll do a concert here.
Chuck Berry closed the show in his own inimitable style with a set that was one step removed from a backyard jam. (His band -- three local musicians -- said afterward that they'd gone on without a rehearsal or a sound check, and were schooled by the master as the show progressed.) It could have been a disaster, but Berry pulled it off and proved again that he is the single most important guitarist of the rock era.
Berry, cool and charismatic at 77, rocked the crowd for just about 60 minutes as he jumped at random through his discography -- "Roll Over Beethoven," "School Days," "Little Queenie" and "Reelin' and Rockin'" -- often adding lyrics a bit more risque than those he recorded back in the days of sanitized white pop radio.
"Johnny B. Goode" was one of the concert highlights -- Berry even "duckwalked" across the stage on that one. Anyone who knows him only as a rocker, or for "My Ding-A-Ling," might have been surprised by the depth and feeling of his work as a blues guitarist. Add his wry humor, and Berry probably could have improvised for an hour and still sent the crowd home happy.
It was after 11:30 when Berry finally bid goodnight and brought the landmark concert to a close.
It's hard imagine a bigger and more significant show -- unless "Uncle Tom" can find a way to bring them back with Bo Diddley, Fats Domino and the reunited Everly Brothers as well.
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