Survivor
Michigan State Fair
Highland Park, Detroit, MI
09/05/09
By Alun Williams
Set List:
First Night / Burning Heart | Broken Promises | Poor Mans
Son |High On You | Rockin’ Into The Night | Michael Young
Keyboard solo |The Search Is Over | Burning Bridges | Somewhere
In America | Frankie Sullivan + Marc Droubay jam | I Can’t Hold
Back |Another Frankie Sullivan + Marc Droubay jam | Eye Of The
Tiger
The last time I
had the chance of seeing Survivor live was just about a month
after Robin McAuley had joined them, following the departure of
long time excellent vocalist Jimi Jamison. That event was back
in 2006 and was a fun show. Three years on, I wondered how they
were going to be.
McAuley has a
very good track record though he recorded two good albums with
cult UK AOR band Grand Prix, after which he was a part of the
Far Corporation before becoming half of the name of The McAuley
Schenker Group, for three albums. He did a little solo work too
before finally joining Survivor.
Briefly before
the show started, we got a chance to meet the band and all
seemed in good spirits and posed for a few photo’s and chatted
briefly with some fortunate fans.
I asked the
question of Frankie Sullivan, how the new album was coming
along. He told me, “We’re really happy with it, it’s all
recorded we just have to complete the finishing touches, final
mixes and all that.”
So encouraging
news there and Robin McAuley echoed the same sentiments. “We’ve
gone back and forward on it a bit, working whenever we could, in
between all the other work and schedules. It will be great to
get it out there.” He went on to tell me, that he just completed
a commercial for a potato chip company (Dorito’s). “It was quite
funny actually, almost like a Jack Black type skit … Every now
and then you have to do this stuff you know?”
Original
Survivor member along with Sullivan, is drummer Marc Droubay who
was in good spirits too, I asked how all the dates were going,
he said, “Well, Frankie and I made a pact a long, long time ago
and here we are, still at it … Seriously though, it’s going
well, the band is tight and really playing well.”
So, “the stage
was set, the roles were chosen,” – From “Popular Girl” (Vital
Signs) - to coin a line from these guys and the audience if
a little low in numbers were excitedly awaiting the bands
arrival on stage.
The sad thing
about the bands performance here tonight, was in terms of live
rock music, it clashed with two other shows on the same night,
in two different venues by ZZ Top and Tesla. That said the
current Michigan economy is still bad and can’t have helped.
They opened the
show with “First Night” from Vital Signs and the crowd
really enjoyed it and the sound levels were good out front of
stage. “Burning Heart” from the Rocky 4 Soundtrack was
next and I have to say, Robin McAuley’s voice worked perfectly
in the band. When I first heard him with them at the show back
in 2006, I really wondered if his fit with Survivor would work …
I should never
have even questioned it, three years on it’s clear he’s a great
fit.
“Broken
Promises” was next & Frankie Sullivan and bassist Billy Ozzello
were all over the stage behind, alongside and all around McAuley
for an active performance all round throughout the show.
McAuley then
chatted to the crowd a bit, throwing in the winning line, “So
tell me, is Michigan State Fair the best in the country then?”
Sure fire way to get the crowd behind you before they gave us,
“Poor Mans Son” from the Premonition album. Excellent
stuff …
It did seem that
the focus of the set was based around the Vital Signs
album, with five of the evening’s eleven songs coming from that
release, including “High On You” which came next. Another sure
fire hit with the crowd, as it was in the Billboard charts back
in the day.
Next Frankie
Sullivan took the microphone, to tell everyone how when Survivor
were starting out recording their first album, they had a number
of great songs, but there was one he was really wanting to be on
it, but the people at the record label thought not so much …
He went on to
add, “There were some other bands recording in the studio at the
same time, so I thought I’d go and say “Hi.”
“I asked this
one band called 38 Special, if they would be interested in this
song and they said sure. They took it and clearly it worked for
them. I want to play it for you now, hope you like it.”
Cue “Rockin’
into the Night” which the rest of the crowd lapped up and so did
we …
Keyboards man
Michael Young - who seemed a great talent also playing second
guitar to Sullivan - was left to play his solo piece briefly
before McAuley stepped back out as Young started playing the
opening bars to “The Search Is Over” to many cheers and much
applause, as the rest of the band then joined in too. It was
class stuff from these fine players.
Next came a
track from the Too Hot To Sleep album, “Burning Bridges”
and no doubt the band was in their stride and so was Frankie
Sullivan with quite a lengthy guitar solo in the track, before
they then gave us “Somewhere in America,” the opening track from
their self titled debut album.
Everyone clearly
enjoyed the evening’s performance and the whole band really was
seriously tight as well as McAuley, Sullivan and Ozzello being
extremely mobile all over the stage space provided. Performers
to the maximum …
Something a
little strange perhaps came next as Sullivan and Droubay are
left as the only players on the stage, as Sullivan launched into
a solo type spot jam and then Droubay duly obliged by playing
along. Interesting …
The rest of the
band came back on as the jam fazed into “I Can’t Hold Back,”
another well known hit song.
Guess what next?
Sullivan and Droubay gave another off the cuff jam spot … This
was a little strange perhaps as there is no doubting Sullivan’s
ability as a player and it wasn’t as if Marc Droubay got a drum
solo in, so to some of us, a couple of other songs would’ve been
appreciated more …
Time for the end
of the set, as the story is told of how Sly Stallone wanted
Survivor to write the soundtrack song to the Rocky 3 movie and
he insisted it was only them that write the song.
It was time also
for the best known song of the bands repertoire to make its
entrance, to the biggest cheer of the evening, yes it was “Eye
of the Tiger” time …
That was it …
Personally considering how much the crowd enjoyed the show with
their responses as well as how the band seemed to be clicking,
why no encore?
Amazed that they
didn’t maybe play something else to close the set and then come
back out and do “Eye of the Tiger” as an encore …
The whole
performance was sixty five minutes long, surprising short for a
headline band of their experience.
Taking nothing away though, it was a fun night and it was good
to see them live again.
