Review of South Padre (SP) concert 6-19-97: Being temporarily handicapped with a major broken leg, I was surprised at the no seat arena. We found a wheelchair , as standing is being relearned, which got me a “front row seat”, but my spouse wasn’t allowed. How stupid. He got to sit with me after a hassle (I think some SP water was earlier laced with testosterone!). Sammy bounded onto stage in red (what else?! ) panne’ (stretch crushed velvet,for the guys) pants, muscle shirt , and a sunshine yellow shirt. His locks were flowing Sammy style as the best teeth in R&R were grinning away and opened with MTM. I noted that his sneakers looked personally painted with glitter paint.

” Who has the Right” was enjoyed by all. Sammy relayed his delight at being back in SP to kick off his tour and how well MTM is doing on the charts, and thanked his fans. He believes SP to be a great beach party town, and “if there’s a party, well shit, I’m there”. He was enjoying himself and having fun! True Red Rocker style abounded through some new and old songs, my favorite of the latter is “There’s only one way to Rock”. He had some great stories to origins of songs and his place in Cabo Wabo, which we were all transformed to via a painted backdrop of his well known, kick ass, R&R hangout. He told of a drunk stumbling down the road, bouncing off barbed wire, with his clothes torn and bloody and thought,”man, he looks like he’s doing a little cabo wabo”; And Tada!, the idea was named!

An acoustic set was done in lieu of an intermission – Thanks Sammy! It included “Where Eagles Fly” and “Right Now”. I enjoyed “Kama”, his song to his daughter, birth IS amazing! Musically, Van Halen made appearances throughout; “Dreams” was my favorite. “Finish What You Started”, “Heavy Metal” and “I Can’t Drive 55” was danced/sung to by all. Uncustomarily, Sammy wore the only shirt thrown on stage, which advertised a burger place (he usually only wears shirts made for him that don’t advertise). Must’ve been someone he knew. One bra was collected , along with a few hats and some shades.

Mona and Victor (the bassist and guitarist, respectively) were apparently not used to concert fans and were a little shy. Mona warmed up and Victor really came alive on the closure, which was a repeat of MTM. Sammy admitted they (all?) were too high when they played the first time to do the song justice. And it WAS better. True to form, Sammy marched/danced and had fun. Victor’s power source funked up during “Stoned”, but the band played on. Sammy said after hearing Mona audition two songs, he knew he’d found his bass player! David on drums was introduced as a friend since he was fourteen yrs. old, and Sammy had to always go pick him up ‘cuz he couldn’t drive! The entire venue was awesome and fun as only SH can make it. I can always count on his consistent pleasure in making music and jamming to some great tunes.

I know I’ve left out a lot of songs, I didn’t write them down, and Sammy said that the set included about 30 songs. I apologize if I left out your personal favorite, but I’m sure it was rockin’ and I enjoyed it! Thanks to MCA (new label), no cameras allowed. Many made the walk back to the car to put up there camera, bummer. I will keep it in my head though. My husband and I got a bonus as after the show we went to a local hangout called “Coconuts” and David joined the band for a few songs. Thanks Again Sammy for the quality fun jam that we’ve all come to love!

See you next time!

Addendum to South Padre Review 6-19-97: I was in a Sammy Fog when I wrote this review and I need to correct and add stuff. “Where Eagles Fly” was no where near the acoustic set, it was near the end. The acoustic set did include songs from MTM-and a few ‘unplugged’ versions of favorites. The show was about 3 hours long and it was GREAT!!!!!! But, ya’ll already knew that would the case. He seemed pleased at the way the show went-at the end he said he loves a perfect show, even when it fucked up, it still went perfect! “Little White Lie” was excellent as well as the instrumental that was the first song he ever wrote (ed. Bad Motor Scooter). And in case you’re wondering, he shaved off that little strip of beard that he was sporting on the MTM cover-looks much better! As far as we know, there were no waboritas or tacos in the lobby, but he did have a wandering Mariachi Band, and they were wonderful!

Mary Peck:)

He hit the stage at the Zoo Amphitheatre running. Playing to a crowd of nearly 4400, Sammy Hagar proved he can still dominate the stage by himself. The Saturday show was the second of his “Evening with Sammy Hagar” style tour. It opened with a mariachi band, who played “La Bamba” and then got off the stage.

The first song was the title track from his new album, Marching to Mars. Dancing around in red velour stretch pants, a bright yellow shirt, and sneakers with flames painted on them, Sammy played to the audience’s excitement and set a wild, energetic mood that carried the whole show. He played some of his older material, “One Way to Rock”, “Returning Home” and “I’ll Fall in Love Again”, then another song from his newest album, “Salvation”. He said the song is about the power of belief, about the power of faith. A very soulful tune, it moves slowly with a quiet intensity which Sammy is quite capable of delivering. During the next song, “Why Can’t This Be Love”, the audience pelted the stage with clothes and banners. Sammy loved it, saying “the roadies just don’t understand, this stuff stays on stage for the whole show, so they can just stop trying to take it away.” He would put on a shirt, wear it for a bit, then take it off and toss it back to the audience. He played another from MTM called “Who Has the Right?”, a song he’s been trying to write for ten years. “One thing you can not do is take other people’s lives”, Hagar said. “That’s wrong.” Then it was back to some older material, with “Bad Motor Scooter” the energetic “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, and a bluesy version of “Finish What Ya Started”. “I wanted to save this next song for tonight because it’s special,” Hagar said of “Kama”. He explained that the song is named for and is about his daughter, who was born last April; “kama” is a Sanskrit word that means “love”. “Kama” is kind of a mellotron lullaby. The sun set during this song, leaving behind red clouds. The crowd seemed to appreciate the emotion behind the song.

Thanks to Jazz Somers for sending this review.

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

The redrocker treated the crowd at the Zoo Amphitheater in OKC to a
spectacular two and a half hour show on Saturday night, June 21. He
opened and closed the show with Marching to Mars. The close included
the backing vocals of the lucky winners of a radio contest sponsored by
Rock 100 the Katt. The show included may fan favorites from the new
album, old singles, work with Van Halen, Heavy Metal, and even back to
Montrose.

The show opened with a mariachi band singing La Bamba in front of the
Cabo Wabo. Prior to hitting the stage, the band roamed the crowd while
working its way up front.

About the only song Sammy did not perform was Give to Live.

Just thought I would pass on a brief message from a fan in attendance.

Thanks to Martin J. Duke for this review!