Bad Company Is The Real Thing!

At the end of the summer of 1974, I was preparing to head off to college at UC Santa Barbara. During a Labor Day going-away party a friend of mine named Ollie handed me a present which was obviously an album. Remember the days of giving someone a 12" record and trying to disguise its distinctive shape? As I opened it, Ollie said: "Take this to school and every time you play it think of the "bad company" you used to hang out with." Or something like that. 36 years later I still remember Ollie, only because of that record: "Bad Company."

The band of the same name had just put out their first album with the distinctive black and white logo on the cover. I could not go anywhere that summer without hearing the smash "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love." The opening power chords and suggestive lyrics were hard to resist. The entire album was solid from start to finish and became a favorite at my freshman dormitory, along with the follow-up "Straight Shooter" with its massive hit "Feel Like Makin' Love." Singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke were former members of the band Free, who's signature "All Right Now" is still a staple of classic rock radio. I saw Free open for Traffic in 1973 and I knew guitarist Mick Ralphs came from the band Mott The Hoople. Bassist Boz Burrell had played with King Crimson, replacing Greg Lake who left to form ELP. By the time I finally saw Crimson live their bass player was John Wetton, who later formed the super group Asia. As unlikely as it seems, King Crimson's three bassists ended up selling millions of records once they left that band!

These are the types of things I think about whenever I hear the music of the 70s. All those groups were part of the soundtrack of my life: from high school through college, I went to over 100 concerts before I turned 20! Although Bad Company toured relentlessly, I never saw them live. The moment I heard they were reuniting for a brief summer tour in 2010, I knew I had to go. I had waited over three decades to hear Bad Company in person and I wasn't going to wait any longer. I'm glad to say the show exceeded my extremely high expectations.

The night was a perfect example of "less is more" and it started with the venue. Fantasy Springs Casino is my favorite Indian casino, a classy joint east of Palm Springs. The concert was held at the 3,000 seat Special Events Center. That's right, no corporate sponsored name and no advertising blanketing the arena. No charge for parking, no dreaded ticket service fees, no opening act. No video cameras following the band around the stage (although the back-drop images and light show were terrific.) Only two hours of the best rock and roll you could ever want to hear. The casino added a nice touch by giving $10 in free slot play to every ticket buyer. I used it and won $60 playing video poker after the show which more than paid for my ticket!

Anytime a classic rock band takes the stage, the first question I have is: "Can they still sing?" Well, Paul Rodgers can not only sing, he is a true rock and roll star who knows how to put on a show. From tossing and twirling his mike stand on "Rock and Roll Fantasy" (now that's a lost art!) to standing at the grand piano while playing "Running With The Pack", Rodgers looked and sounded great. He implored the crowd to sing along on the opening "Can't Get Enough" and the effervescent "Shooting Star" which received one of the loudest ovations of the night.

Rodgers joined Ralphs for a side-by-side all-acoustic "Seagull" in the middle of the show and I could only wonder about all the rock and roll memories these two warriors have experienced together and apart in the last four decades. Simon Kirke has always been one of my favorite drummers, and he looked like a happy surfer boy keeping the beat throughout the show. The encore began with a bluesy version of "Ready For Love" and then they rolled the grand piano out to the center of the stage. I knew the next song had to be "Bad Company" and sure enough Rodgers started playing the familiar opening riff while the crowd went wild. For a moment I went back to being a freshman in college, happy and hopeful, wondering what the future had in store. So many years later I was glad that future finally let me see Bad Company in concert. It was worth the wait.