Saw Peter Frampton Saturday Night

[JO'C]

Went to a Peter Frampton concert at Boardinghouse Park in Lowell, MA on Saturday night. He was phenomenal. I liked his songs good enough back in the day but I was more into Clapton, the Allmans, Skynyrd, Outlaws, Zeppelin, etc. I had never seen him live before and this was outdoors in a small city park that they convert at night for concerts. It probably holds about 2000. It's general admission but they let you claim a space with a blanket or chairs any time after 7 am on the day of the show. I got there at 9 am and about 80% of the spaces were already taken. We got a decent spot about 75' from the stage.

Besides being a great guitarist, Peter is also a master showman. He was very gracious, engaging with the crowd and he was smiling constantly the whole show. For an old guy he is in great shape and had lots of energy. He played LP Standard bursts for the first few songs, then he strapped on a 335 for Show Me the Way for his first squawk box tune. The 3 pickup black LP came out for Do You Feel Like I Do? He did most of his hits. For covers he did Rebel, Rebel and a really cool squawk box version of Sound Garden's Black Hole Sun. He did about a 10 minute guitar dual with his other guitarist Adam Lester. They were wailing away and challenging each other with wild runs that brought the whole crowd to their feet. After a little over 2 hours he came out for the second encore. He played blazing solos all by himself on the stage for about 5 minutes. Then the band came back on stage and the keyboard riff to While My Guitar Gently Weeps started and off they went for about a 15 minute rendition. What a way to close out the night.

He definitely put all he has into the show, his voice is still there, the band was great and oh what tone? There's something about 3 Marshall's to bring out that wonderful Gibson tone, especially the lows. I would highly recommend seeing hime if he comes around on tour.

[LarryUK]

I saw him on his anniversary tour and it was great. He can really produce the goods, unlike many newer artists.

[Tman]

Very cool He still has it. Was the 3 pickup Black LP the stolen one recovered (from South America I think)?

 

I saw him 2-3years ago in Griffith Park in L.A. with BB King. I went with the 50 something year old bass player in the band I am in now and there was a lot of hooch being smoked around us - clouded my memory a bit.

[JO'C]

I'm thinking it was one of his signature models. It looked brand new.

[fretplay]

There's a good video of him on You Tube playing acoustic.

 

[/media]

[L5Larry]

I saw Frampton on the "Comes Alive" tour in '75/76. The next time I saw him was 2010 or so. Hadn't lost a beat, and by far a better show. Of course the "teen idol" rockstar in a huge auditorium versus the virtuoso guitarist in a small theater/club might have something to do with it. Oh, and then there's the fog and haze of the '70's.

 

Anyway, as Peter said himself (I'm paraphrasing here), "As a teen idol your career will only last a few years, as a musician your career can last a lifetime."

 

I highly recommend any chance to see him perform, you'll be mesmerized.

[MrNylon]

I never saw him solo. I did see him when he was in Humble Pie though.

[Retired]

The wife and I saw him many years back in Iowa and he was great. Same place that Alice Cooper and Chicago and many great bands have come. We just saw Kenny Logins last night in Omaha with two local bands for a free concert and fireworks sponsored by A Bank. What a great show.

[kelly campbell]

Saw him in 1977 and then a couple times in the past 8 years, the man can still play..very enjoyable and I love the LP he plays.

[cookieman15061]

Ive seen him a number of times through the years and had the great fortune to work security at one of his show about 16 years ago. He's one of nicest, down to earth "Rock Gods" you could ever meet. Extremely gracious and appreciative of everyone involved in his performance.

Great player too.