America, one of my favorite bands in the 70s, is coming to a town nearby in August. I’m wondering if I’ll be disappointed by their performance, since of course it isn’t the same now as then. Anybody heard them lately?
I saw them way back in the summer of 1991 and they were very, very good. well worth the $25 I paid.
Thank you. I’m really looking forward to going.
First, just on the off-chance you didn’t know it, the current version of America is a two-man group: Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell will be there, but Dan Peek hasn’t toured with America in about 20 years.
I didn’t see them when they played in Austin last year, but a friend who saw them said they were pretty good but not great. His take was that Bunnell still sounds about the same as ever (so songs like “Tin Man” and “Horse With No Name” should be okay) but that Beckley can’t hit high notes any more (Dan Peek was always the real high harmony singer of the group anyway).
So, according to my friend they sound pretty good when they’re singing the verses, but the harmonies are pretty weak, sometimes ragged.
My interpretation: you’ll have a good time, provided that you don’t demand perfection and don’t pay too much. If tickets are $25.00, go and enjoy it. If they’re $50 or $75, stay home and listen to the Greatest Hits CD.
I figured this was a misplaced GD thread. Then I remembered there’s a band… :dubious:
Carry on.
Dewey…lol. astorian, the article in the paper did mention that Peek had left the group in 1975 for a “contemporary Christian music career”. Cost of tickets is $50 for first four rows and $35 for all other seats. I’m not expecting them to sound exactly the same, but I also don’t want to be sitting there thinking: “who the heck am I listening to?” By the way, the city they’ll be playing in is Sweetwater, population something like 25,000. I live in Abilene, population 115,000. Why they are playing there is beyond me. It’s only 40 miles from here, though.