Friday night, my wife Samantha and I went to see Pablo Cruise and Little River Band at the Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. If you have not experienced a concert at this venue, I would highly encourage it. The seating anywhere is amazing, and the acoustics are great. Pablo Cruise was high-energy and rocked out for over an hour. After resetting the stage (which included the Florida Rock Symphony Orchestra), Little River Band (LRB) took the stage. They started out singing a capella, and then, for an hour and a half, blew us away with past and future hits. There is a reason that the late Glenn Frey of the Eagles called LRB “the best singing band in the world.” Their harmonies were so tight and so high—it was truly a joy to hear.
Originally from Australia, LRB has had more than 30 different band members over the years, and, ironically enough, currently has no Australians at all in the band. The two “original” members in the concert we attended were both Americans who joined in the early 80s. Still, their singing and playing was spot on, as if you had just put on the record of their greatest hits—which is a great testament to the sound mixing and post-EQ effects team, who are the unsung heroes for any band to be sure.
Samantha and I were recalling the last time we saw LRB in person. The year was 1999, and there was a local promoter that arranged for LRB to come to Valdosta, GA, for a concert. They had settled in a large parking lot area near a bar/restaurant, set up a stage, and sold tickets. Based on the space, maybe they had been thinking 2,500 people would show up. I have no idea how many people bought tickets, but we did for the whole family. We arrived at the venue early to set up our chairs right in front of the stage. It was sweet!
The only problem was, the weather was not cooperating. There had been dark clouds all morning, but up to that point, it had stayed dry. Then, a light rain began to fall. I’m guessing maybe a couple hundred people were at the concert for the opening song. Immediately following the last guitar chord, the sky opened up and it started pouring. LRB played another song, and by the end of that second song, everyone who had previously been sitting in those chairs had up and left. Except one family—two adults and three children—who were sitting in a biblical rainstorm to hear one of their favorite bands. Ever.
The LRB guys looked out at us, and then looked at the electrical cables supplying power to the stage, which by this time were under three inches of water. Legitimately fearing for their very lives, they said they would play one more song for us (our choice) and then they would have to end the concert for safety reasons. We of course chose Reminiscing—an LRB classic.
As we were telling our friends later that week about out concert adventure and epic rainout, they commented that we must have been really big LRB fans to have stuck out such a huge rainstorm. There wasn’t any lightning, or we would have bolted (no pun intended), but we were definitely in for getting soaked if LRB was going to keep playing.
My question for you is, what are you so passionate about that you would sit in a downpour to do or experience it? Send me your responses to David@davidpeterson.com. I would love to hear about what drives you to be passionate.