by Krystle Wagner, The State News
Sean Cook
The Lowdown
Lansing resident Victoria Johnson, left, talks with her ex-assistant principal from Pattengill Middle School Janet Lewis and her husband Rodney on Wednesday at Quentin Park in Lansing while listening to the band Don Middlebrook and Living Soul. Johnson happened to be walking by the couple when she realized that the woman was her assistant principal some 17
years ago.
Lansing — An audience of about 150 people crowded into Quentin Park in Lansing to listen to Don Middlebrook and Living Soul performing tropical rock music Wednesday. The band performed alternative and country music more than rock music.
The band’s attempt to perform “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems” by Kenny Chesney was terrible. The instrumentals didn’t fit the song and even though the song is light and fun, the vocals were too fluffy. It came across as the singer not putting much effort into what he was singing.
It sounded too laid-back for a song that’s about being laid-back, relaxing and having fun. During some parts of the song, it was difficult to understand the lyrics, adding to my perception of the singer’s lack of effort.
I was expecting something terrible when they announced the next song would be their own, “Luckyville,” but it wasn’t too bad. The song was about the singer’s friend who leads a good life.
It definitely felt like summer as I sat in the sun and listened to the laid-back rhythm of the steel drum that accompanied the vocals. While the message of the song was about a guy living a good life, it didn’t come across as jealous.
The song I enjoyed the most was “I Don’t Know.” It was a funny song and the band worked the crowd. They made comments about the Lansing area and MSU. One of the funnier parts of the song was when they insulted the University of Michigan. In the song, a man was confronted by a police officer for kicking a deer. The man justified his actions by saying, “I thought it was a wolverine,” to which the audience gave a huge cheering response.
I’m under the impression that this band shouldn’t play country music, since its attempts at that genre ended in disaster. When it tried to take on “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett, it almost destroyed the song for me.
The instrumentals were completely butchered. The singer didn’t sound confident. The only words he seemed to know were those of the chorus, and even the chorus didn’t pack a punch. For whatever reason, the female singer added backup vocals, which made the song even worse. The song couldn’t have ended soon enough.
The show had its ups and downs, and even though the band tried their best, I’m not certain that I would have the urge to see them again.
They involved the audience as much as possible, but that didn’t make up for their lack of ability to perform the songs adequately. Learning the music genre the band is best at and expanding from there might help it create a following.
Discussion on "Tropical rock misses mark in park performance"
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Chet Wellington
7:24am, Aug 11, 2009
Don Middlebrook is one of the greatest people I have ever met, and he is a good person, who is also an awesome musician, one of the best guitarists I have ever met.
Fred Delson
7:34am, Aug 11, 2009
Don Middlebrook has one of the best bands I’ve ever seen, they are all great people and have a great sound, some of the best musicians I have ever seen.
Bill Bollocks
7:49am, Aug 11, 2009
Don Middlebrook is the heart and living soul of music on the national scene, and has been giving fans in EL a great taste of Jimmy Buffet for years and years and it really never gets old.
Don is East Lansing music and we are so grateful for it. And he is such a super nice guy.
Tarek Buckmaster
1:50pm, Aug 12, 2009
I am confused by this review. Does the writer have more musical experience than an occasional ‘Happy Birthday’ song? Another opinion of this concert would be that there was a very entertaining performance for a group “crowded” into Quentin Park, where the band performed songs that “felt like summer”, yet offered a range of songs to appeal to a diverse crowd where everyone hopefully heard something that they enjoyed. I saw a band catering to the crowd, playing cover songs in addition to their own, and eagerly requesting the participation of children (what band does that?!?)instead of selfishly promoting themselves to create a following. When I go to sit in the grass at a free concert in one of the city parks, I expect to enjoy relaxing, easily recognizable songs. I, along with everyone I was with, left completely satisfied. AND, this review completely missed what I thought was the best part of the show. Other than a slight aside, there is no mention of the female singer’s songs! She had an amazing voice and her songs sounded even better than the originals. Perhaps the writer should stick to a genre she knows best, perhaps comedy?