Left over from last weekend’s photo was the musical part of the Concert for a Random Soldier held in Millsboro, Delaware. Yes, I promised to do this so here you go.
Kim and I arrived in the midst of act number two of nine featured bands, the outfit called 33 1/3. (Apparently we missed the acoustic stylings of one Matt Lafferty.)
With a cast of seven players and their various instruments, the band could pretty much cover the gamut of songs popularized in the golden era of album rock and Top 40 radio. And that’s what they did, placing a spin on a number of popular oldies.
The same could be said about the next band in line, 8 Track Flashback. The instrumentation was a little different, but they also set their stamp on the grooveyard of forgotten favorites.
It’s worth pointing out, though, that the set changes were not quiet. A second stage of sorts was set up for acoustic acts to play between band sets. One example of this was Jim and Shel, and another pictured below them was Adam Murray.
We had a definite change in tone with the fourth band of the nine-band lineup. The Mari Hill Band brought a sassier, bluesier feel to the proceedings as she and her band belted out a mix of old favorites along with an original or two.
And then things were shaken up even more by Ashley Mitchell and her acoustic partner, Donny Marvel. If you never thought of songs like ‘Rock the Casbah’ done as an acoustic duo, well, that’s one they tried. They succeeded rather well at it, too.
As veterans of several Concerts for a Random Soldier, Semiblind knew just what the crowd wanted, and they gave them doses of classic rock while trying out a few originals.
It was a trend that would be continued by the next band, which was the final band we saw at the show. By far it was the heaviest, too.
The Saints of Chaos were once known as Factor, and like Semiblind before them SOC has done a number of these shows. But it fell to them, as Chad Clifton’s favorite band (the one he snuck into bars to watch play) to play his favorite song – a high-powered version of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black.’ That was one of just a couple covers SOC tossed in their set – theirs were mostly originals.
The only drawback to SOC’s set (which also affected Semiblind to a slight extent) was the sound. While for Semiblind it was a matter of getting the proper instrument mix (the bass was apparently not going through the monitors loudly enough), the Saints of Chaos were simply too much wattage for the system to handle, as they blew out a breaker – twice (including on ‘Paint It Black,’ which was a bummer.) Yep, they were loud, but it was good.
Unfortunately, Kim and I couldn’t hang around for the final two bands – but Blind Willie should be back for next year’s rendition. Interestingly enough, the final act was a reunion of a band which played at the first Concert for a Random Soldier in 2006 called Lisa Says No. Perhaps they will make that an annual event as well.
In all, there were nine bands plus a number of acoustic acts in the space of nine hours – a veritable potpourri of music that one should check out next year. The Concert for a Random Soldier promises to be bigger and even better in 2012.
