Last April, Brynne and I saw Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden, another bucket list concert for us to check off. For months, we were excited to see the Piano Man on his home turf. Unfortunately, it was a “meh” experience.
Still, New York City, being the great city that it is, has ways of making it up to you. Two nights later we were at the intimate, Off-Broadway, 179-seat Cherry Lane Theatre to see Coal Country, an under-the-radar musical based on the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion that killed 29 miners in West Virginia. The gut-punch-of-a-show featured country/folk legend Steve Earle, a national treasure.
According to Scott, if music is religion, then Carlos Santana is the “high priest of prayer service.” (Photo provided by Scott Saalman)
If blowing a big wad of cash like Big Shots just to see Billy Joel in the Big Apple taught us anything, it’s that we are fortunate to live in the Indy area where there is so much musical entertainment to enjoy so close to home.
I always joke that the only reason I married Brynne was because, at the time of our online courtship, she lived only one mile or so from “I Still Call It Deer Creek” amphitheater. Before Brynne, I used to live three hours south of Deer Creek. Now, I’m five minutes away. Or, as the locals like to say, “the distance of two roundabouts.” We don’t have roundabouts at the bottom of Indiana. Well, we do … but they’re called crop circles. Hamilton County is clearly an alien invasion hotbed.
I’m happy to be a full-time Fishers resident. A few months ago, I saw Earth, Wind & Fire and Santana at Deer Creek. If music is religion, then Carlos Santana is the high priest of prayer service. I always feel reborn after a Santana show. While I’ve seen the Doobie Brothers several times, this summer, Deer Creek provided my first opportunity to see Michael McDonald in the lineup.
When I moved here about a year ago, I soon realized how lucky I was to be living near many other music venues as well. The Jazz Kitchen gave us the opportunity to sit several feet away from the great trumpeter/composer/Renaissance music man Terence Blanchard, Spike Lee’s movie soundtrack wingman. We are fortunate to have a premier jazz club nearby. Next up, Chuchito Valdés, this January.
Terence Blanchard gave an up-close show at The Jazz Kitchen. (Photo provided by Scott Saalman)
Earlier this year, I wrote a column about my failure to land tickets to see Sting at the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. The thought of not seeing Sting in the 1,600-seat concert hall crown jewel that is only 30 minutes (an estimated one dozen roundabouts) away was just too much to bear. Somehow, Sting’s management read my column, reached out, and offered us sixth row, center seats (free!). Every little thing Sting did that night was magic!
We saw A.J. Croce perform his “Croce Plays Croce” act live at the Tarkington Civic Center, also in Carmel, last March. Even if the show hadn’t been an homage to A.J.’s famous old man, I would’ve seen him anyway. I liked his whimsical chatter between songs, the Juke joint aura of his act, and his reverent references to Big Easy gold standard gods like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John. He delivered a Crescent City state of mind to Carmelites. Mostly at piano, A.J. delivered a melting pot of musical styles, from jazz to blues to rock to soul, with a bit of boogie-woogie to boot.
“He’s a good guy and a major talent,” says my friend, singer-songwriter Jen Chapin, who is the offspring of another famous ‘70s singer-songwriter, Harry Chapin. Harry, like Jim, left us way too soon. “I relate to how he is inspired by the legacy of his legendary dad but honors, in his case, very funky influences,” adds Jen, who once toured with him. “A.J.’s music is very much his own.” The same can be said about Jen.
Sting performed earlier this year at the Palladium in Carmel. (Photo provided by Scott Saalman)
That night, he played his own songs, plus covers written by others not named Croce. Mostly, though, he sang the songs written by Papa Jim, a recent departure from his traditional repertoire. I’m not so sure I’ve seen anyone more musically gifted than A.J. Croce. He is talented with a capital T. Bring him back to the Tark, please.
Thanks to Rock The Ruins at Holliday Park in Indy, we attended another bucket list concert, Bruce Hornsby, and became instant fans of opening act Bonny Light Horseman. This fall, The Cyrus Place in downtown Indy provided us the unique opportunity to enjoy a live quartet performing selections from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons within the romantic glow of hundreds of candles.
The Yacht Rock Revue was at the TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park. (Photo provided by Scott Saalman)
The TCU amphitheater at White River State Park proved to be a pleasant surprise this summer. The last time I was there, pre-pandemic, the venue was nothing worth writing home about, merely a hilly lawn with Porta Potties. Now, it is roofed and has real seats and restrooms. This gorgeous, intimate venue’s robust 2022 summer concert lineup was the best of any in Indy. We saw Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt there, but our highlight shows were blues god Buddy Guy (who might be older than God) and Chris Isaak, the poster child of stage presence.
Of course, no show we saw in the past year was as fun and nutso as Yacht Rock Revue, also at TCU! Yes, the professional, touring musicians of Yacht Rock Revue did perform mostly cover songs, but it’s still rock and roll to me.
Contact: scottsaalman@gmail.com