The Steve Miller Band with Dave Mason Rock the Ironstone Vineyards Amphitheatre
Review by James Roberts
Staff Writer
Two of the greats of Rock and Roll performed at the Ironstone Vineyards on the last Sunday in July, making the hills around Murphys ring with the sounds of blues-rock and hard-core electric guitar. Headlining the evening was the Steve Miller Band. Known as the Gangster of Love, The Space Cowboy, and Maurice, Steve Miller brought a lifelong love of the blues and rock to the Ironstone stage, with a twenty-one song set. Miller’s mastery of the guitar and command of a variety of musical styles is not surprising, considering that the Miller family home had regular visitors such as Les Paul and T-Bone Walker when he was growing up. Photo: Steve Miller
The opening act was Dave Mason and the Dave Mason Band. Mason, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member with his early band Traffic, was backed by his five member band on an hour-long, eleven song set. Starting with “Let It Go, Let It Flow” and moving through songs such as “So High,” “Good to You,” “Let Me Go,” and “Mister Fantasy,” and featuring his biggest hit “We Just Disagree,” which was also the shortest song of the set, Mason sang with a powerful voice that showed absolutely no signs of aging. His lead vocals and the backing vocals by his band mates, and excellent work on the sound board, gave us discernable lyrics that were well supported by the instruments without being overpowered by them. Photo: Dave Mason
The set finished up with rousing performances of two classic rock songs: Mason’s own “Feelin’ Alright,” which had great success as a recording by Joe Cocker, and the Bob Dylan song “All Along the Watchtower,” a song that Mason introduced to Jimi Hendrix back in the 1960’s, and on which Mason played acoustic guitar on Hendrix’ hit recording. Mason and his band put on an excellent performance, and I would happily go see them again.
After a break for the set change, and to allow time for the crowds to visit the many food and drink vendors, as well as the booth selling performer’s merchandise, the Steve Miller Band took the stage. With a 3-D backdrop that showed rows of electric guitars spiraling into the center of the galaxy, Miller and his five-piece band and back-up vocalist Sonny Charles opened with “Jet Airliner,” followed by “Take the Money and Run,” and “Abracadabra.” From there it just kept getting better. Miller’s blues roots were evident throughout, particularly when he shared the stage with Sonny Charles, who took center stage for a couple of exciting blues tunes and joined with Miller on others. It’s always a pleasure to see the headliner have someone else take the stage for a song or two (or three or more) and Charles’ energy and enthusiasm were matched by his winning performance. Photo: Steve Miller
The Steve Miller Band mixed Miller’s many hits with some lesser-known songs, and Miller added some interesting twists along the way. He would take us from New Orleans style blues to a bouncy sing-along, to “Living in the U.S.A,” “Jungle Love,” “The Joker,” and a long rendition of “Fly Like an Eagle” that segued into the Nat “King” Cole hit “Nature Boy” and back again, in an interesting and very satisfying melding of the two songs that benefited by Miller’s vocal style. Photo: Steve Miller and Sonny
Miller and Mason both support Kids Rock Free® Music Program, a Fender Center program that offers professional caliber performing arts education in guitar, bass guitar, drums, piano, combo band, and vocal performance to kids from the ages of seven to seventeen, as well as providing them with free to low-cost instruments. For Steve Miller’s last song he introduced a young beneficiary of Kids Rock Free® named Dylan Brown, who joined him on “Space Cowboy,” trading lead guitar solos.
The best thing about the concert was watching both Dave Mason and Steve Miller tearing it up on their guitars. These are two front men who are also their own lead guitar players, and their musicianship was awesome. The Ironstone Vineyards Amphitheatre in Murphys is a great place to experience a concert. With reserved seating down front, and lawn seating in the back, and two giant screens flanking the stage, there’s not a bad seat in the house. The staff is friendly and helpful, and it’s always a pleasant experience.
Upcoming events at Ironstone are Alan Jackson with special guest Shooter Jennings on August 26, 8pm, Sammy Hagar with Joe Satriani on September 9, 8pm, and Don Henley on October 1, 730pm, and for you classic car enthusiasts the Concours D'Elegance on September 24th. Tickets are available through http://Ticketmaster Doors to the venue open approx. 1 hour prior to the performance. Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com; to charge tickets by phone, (800) 745-3000. Lawn tickets are available at Black Oak Casino. On the day of the show, tickets to that show will be available onsite at the Ironstone box office. Low beach chairs (seat lower than 12", back lower than 32"from the ground) and blankets are allowed into the General Admission section. Check out the Ironstone Facebook Group for special deals and info!
Ticketing options include the Platinum Dinner package (premium seating, pre-show four-course Winemaker dinner); Gold Seating (premium seating with no meal); Silver Seating (reserved seating with buffet dinner); Reserved Seating (reserved seating with no meal) and General Admission (lawn seating). Low beach chairs and blankets are allowed into the General Admission section. Low beach chairs must have a seat lower than 12" from the ground, and the back must be lower than 32" from the ground. NO HIGH BACK CHAIRS WILL BE ALLOWED INTO THE VENUE!
Tickets can be purchased on line at http://www.ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, please, call (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster Outlets. Lawn tickets are available at Black Oak Casino. On the day of the show tickets to that show will be available on site at the Ironstone box office. Ironstone Amphitheatre is at Ironstone Vineyards, 1894 Six Mile Road, Murphys, CA. Ticketing options include the Platinum Dinner package; Gold Seating; Silver Seating; Reserved Seating, and General Admission. More information at www.ironstoneamphitheatre.net Be sure to catch one of the 2011 Summer Concerts and enjoy an Ironstone summer.
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