Tonight Lady Vick and I caught the 1970’s pop-rock sensation Orleans at The Den. This was billed as a special night as it 2012 marks the fortieth year of the band, the last thirty-six of which have been without any hit songs. Nonetheless, Orleans did have three top-twenty songs back in the day so it made sense for us to pay homage.
Orleans was founded by two Hoppen brothers, John Hall and Wells Kelly in 1972. The band had three popular songs in the mid-70s but failed to keep the momentum as the 80s approached. They spent the next thirty years playing shows and doing session work in Nashville. The band evolved over the years; a third Hoppen brother and guitarist Fly Amero were added in 1980, Kelly died in 1984 and Hall was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2006 and served two terms. So clearly this is a band that has seen it all but has largely spent their days providing a dose of nostalgia to the likes of me.
We arrived fifteen minutes before show time and there were plenty of seats to be had. In fact The Den did not reach capacity despite the aura of reunion in the air. The band (three Hoppens, an Amero and a Morgan) opened with Let There Be Music and sounded strong. Before the second song, the band was joined by Hall, who entered the stage unannounced and undetected, save for a smattering of applause from the AARP-card holding faithful. The reunion was on, as this was a collection of all living founders!
This was a feel good show, not a great show, but just a show by a group of talented musicians who understood their place, played their music and did not attempt to prove that they are relevant in modern music. There did appear to be some friction between Amero and Hall as the latter was clearly more appreciated than the former. Amero came off as a spotlight hugger and should have accepted his role as “glad to be here” guy. Larry Hoppen sounded great on vocals, is an excellent guitarist and was affable and engaging. The other two Hoppens were cordial, yet devoid of emotion. The drummer was quite good but mute and Hall was talented yet rusty. Overall, the band was good. They nailed the hits perfectly, first with “Dance With Me” twenty minutes into the show, which provoked a standing ovation. At the one hour mark they played my favorite “Love Takes Time”. This was a nice extended versions and was solid. They ended with “Still The One”, which brought the house down, until the encored with a slow ballad “Please Be There” which brought me down and was not the best way to leave the crowd. Lowlights of the show were two Amero-led blues songs, which seemed out of place. The highlight for me was Power, a John Hall composition about the evils of atomic energy, which was a nice message packaged in strong vocals and melodic rhythms.
When asked, the Lady Vick said “the show is exactly what I expected”. Her summary is perfect. It was good to see the boys back together, but there was nothing life-changing about their performance. I wish Amero had lost the directions to The Den and Hall would have been more involved, but otherwise this was a pleasant show at a smoke-free yet smoke-filled venue.
Vick
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