Roots Report July 2022: Traveling out of state for shows? In this economy?

Okee dokee folks… The cost of gas is hurting us all. It is eating into the important things that I do – travel to gigs and cover concerts. I have tried to cut back on my driving in an attempt to use less petrol. I am angry at the greed that is fueling the increase. Record profits for the oil companies, Wall Street speculators, production cutbacks and not the Ukraine conflict are the real underlying causes. 

Despite the gas price gouging, I have ventured to a few out-of-town shows. I had my own sort of religious experience at Fenway last week when I FINALLY saw Paul McCartney in concert. It was well worth the price of the kidney I sold for the ticket to see a Beatle. He played a nearly three-hour show of songs I wanted to hear. My only complaints about the show had nothing to do with Sir Paul: Parking was a ridiculous $55, a bottle of water was $5 and a drink was $15. Crazy!!! The crowd did a good job of interfering with my McCartney worship — people, as I mentioned a couple of columns ago, STILL do not know how to behave courteously when they go to concerts!

Next up was the Chevalier in Medford, MA. It’s a nice 1900-seat theater just outside of Boston where we attended the Rubber Soul & Revolver Beatles Tribute Show with Todd Rundgren, Christopher Cross, Joey Molland, Denny Laine and Jason Scheff (photos on Facebook). This was a fun show and Todd once again proved why he is a god to so many folks. If you want to catch Rundgren playing his music close by, he will be at the Odeum in East Greenwich on July 15. You can hear my Roots Report Podcast interview with Rundgren here: MotifRI.com/RootsReportPodcast 

Also coming up at the Greenwich Odeum are: Jim Boggia’s Bruce Off-Broadway, Steve Earle and The Dukes, Molly Hatchet, and ASIA Featuring John Payne (David Tessier’s All Star Stars opens). I have podcasts coming up with a couple of these acts. Check the Motif site to find out who! For more about the Odeum shows, “Go” to GreenwichOdeum.com. Read on…

The East Providence 40th annual Heritage Days are coming up July 29 – 31 with a host of tribute shows that make it seem like a local Bonnaroo! Acts such as The McCartney Years, Tusk (Fleetwood Mac), The Machine (Pink Floyd), The Blushing Brides (Rolling Stones), Mr. Dynamite (James Brown) and Physical Graffiti (Led Zeppelin) will take the stage at Pierce Field over the 3 days. There is much more than music happening so be sure to “Ramble On” to: EPHeritageFest.TicketLeap.com

The 25th annual New Bedford Folk Festival will take place on Saturday, July 9, and Sunday, July 10 after a two year COVID-19 hiatus. Known for the best in contemporary, Americana, traditional, blues and Celtic folk music, the NB festival will feature performers most requested over the past 25 years, including Tom Rush, Susan Werner, Cheryl Wheeler, Garnet Rogers, John Gorka, Abbie Gardner, Tony Trischka, Grace Morrison, RUNA, Roy Book Binder, The Vox Hunters, Vance Gilbert and many more performers on the festival’s seven stages. Food and craft areas are free and open to the public; the music stages require passes. For more “Walk Around Downtown” to NewBedfordFolkFestival.com

Indian Ranch on Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in Webster, MA has been presenting events since 1946. It’s less than an hour from PVD and has a schedule of concerts running into October. Just some of the shows coming up are: Michael Franti & Spearhead, Little River Band, Ann Wilson of Heart, Three Dog Night, Rhiannon Giddens with Silkroad Ensemble, Tesla, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Collective Soul and Switchfoot, ABBA The Concert, Extreme and many others. For more about the venue and schedule, get “Out in the Country” to: IndianRanch.com

The RI Folk Festival is just two months away! Though the schedule is booked and everything is in the works there just never seems to be enough of certain things for this quickly growing grassroots fest. Volunteers are always needed for the day of show set up and load out, but the festival can always use committed folks who want to be part of the pre-fest planning. Quality craft vendors can, for a small fee, rent a spot to sell their work. And lastly, sponsors are always needed to provide the funding to keep this festival free. If you are interested in any of these don’t hesitate to contact the festival. There will be a fundraiser at Askew on July 8 featuring some of the board members who are performers as well as other guests. For more, get the folk over to RhodeIslandFolkFestival.com

Here is a quick list of some other shows that you may want to hit: Bill Maher at The Boch 7/9, Roger Waters at the TD Garden 7/12, Psychedelic Furs with X at the Strand 7/13, The Rocket Man Elton John Tribute at PPAC 7/16, David Bromberg at the Narrows 7/29, The Metal Bee Gees at The Met on 7/30, The Summer of Love Concert at The Stadium 7/30. They are all worth the trip.
I am always adding new Roots Report Podcasts — I just can’t help myself! Don’t forget there is so much more online that I produce for Motif — event reviews at MotifRI.com and lots of concert photos on the Motif Facebook page, Fb.com/MotifRI. That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. JohnFuzek.com