{"id":44793,"date":"2015-07-26T21:54:07","date_gmt":"2015-07-26T21:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=44793"},"modified":"2015-07-29T18:09:46","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T18:09:46","slug":"full-story-hippiefest-concert-thrills-tioga-downs-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/07\/26\/full-story-hippiefest-concert-thrills-tioga-downs-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"Full Story: Hippiefest concert thrills Tioga Downs\u2019 audience"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hippiefest<\/a>

Legendary rocker Rick Derringer and his band perform during Hippiefest at Tioga Downs on Saturday, July 25. Also pictured is drummer Kenn Moutenot. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

A line-up of legendary rock and rollers billed as \u201cHippiefest\u201d took the summer concert stage at Tioga Downs on Saturday evening, July 25, which included performances by Felix Cavaliere\u2019s Rascals, the Lovin\u2019 Spoonful, Rick Derringer, and Joey Molland\u2019s Badfinger. The spirit of the hippie era was prevalent as concertgoers arrived donned in colorful attire, from tie-dyed shirts and dresses to bandanas and flowers, as well as other accessories.<\/p>\n

From the moment Rick Derringer opened the show with a song he wrote recorded by the late great Johnny Winter, \u201cStill Alive and Well,\u201d to the finale\u2019 when Felix Cavaliere\u2019s Rascals were literally igniting the concert venue with their high-energy classics while end-of-show lightning in the night sky seemed to compete with stage lights, the Hippiefest show was packed with fan-favorite tunes and powerful instrumentals.<\/p>\n

Derringer shared in a July 14 phone interview, \u201cReal legends singing iconic songs and at the top of their game; Hippiefest is better than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Derringer\u2019s comment was spot-on.<\/p>\n

\"Hippiefest<\/a>

Rick Derringer and his band perform at Hippiefest on the Tioga Downs summer concert stage on Saturday, July 25. Pictured is bassist Charlie Torres, who has played with Derringer for over 25 years. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

Concertgoers who thought twice about attending Hippiefest missed out on an amazing collaboration of artists who ruled the charts in the mid 1960\u2019s to early 1970\u2019s, and proved to the Tioga Downs audience that they can still bring down the house some five decades later.<\/p>\n

At the age of 17, Derringer made the summer of \u201965 memorable with his band, The McCoys, when the number one smash, \u201cHang on Sloopy\u201d hit the airwaves, and the song had the Tioga Downs crowd toe-tapping in their seats.<\/p>\n

Derringer shared some music history, telling the audience that when \u201cSloopy\u201d hit number one, it edged out the Beatles song, \u201cYesterday,\u201d and then joked that he didn\u2019t really need Ringo Starr\u2019s approval to share the story today.<\/p>\n

Derringer had previously shared during a phone interview, \u201cA highlight of my career has been touring with Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within Derringer\u2019s set, he was joined by original Badfinger member, Joey Molland. Molland commanded the stage with a selection of Badfinger\u2019s hit songs, along with Derringer and his band, bassist Charlie Torres, and drummer Kenn Moutenot. Molland performed \u201cBaby Blue,\u201d along with \u201cCome & Get It,\u201d \u201cDay after Day\u201d and \u201cNo Matter What.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molland shared a story about his first audition with Badfinger, and chuckled, \u201cThey didn\u2019t tell me I\u2019d be singing \u2018Come & Get It\u2019 for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hippiefest<\/a>

Original Badfinger band member, Joey Molland, performs during Hippiefest at Tioga Downs on Saturday, July 25. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

Derringer and Torres then amazed the audience with their unbelievable guitar wizardry. Spotlighted by green lighting effects, the duo owned the stage as they played Edgar Winter\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein,\u201d and received a well-deserved standing ovation.<\/p>\n

Derringer announced to the crowd, \u201cI wish I could play all night,\u201d as he led into his rock and roll anthem, \u201cRock and Roll Hoochie Koo,\u201d and showed off his guitar mastery with an extended version of the song to the delight of the Tioga Downs audience.<\/p>\n

A stage change prompted a brief intermission, but it wasn\u2019t long before the Lovin\u2019 Spoonful engaged the audience with their string of hits. Two original Spoonful members, Joe Butler and Steve Boone, shared that they met each other 54 years ago, while Jerry Yester joined the band in 1967.<\/p>\n

After a few jokes about age and gray hair, Butler and Boone joked, \u201cWe\u2019re glad we\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you all whistle?\u201d Jerry Yester asked, as the audience eventually caught on to the whistling technique for the Spoonful\u2019s smash hit \u201cDaydream.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spoonful performed other hits including, \u201cDid You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind\u201d and \u201cYou Didn\u2019t Have to Be So Nice,\u201d just a few of their folk-pop and rock classics.<\/p>\n

But it was the ever popular, \u201cDo You Believe in Magic\u201d which hit the charts 50 years ago; and \u201cSummer in the City\u201d that got the crowd out of their seats and up to the stage area to dance.<\/p>\n

\"Hippiefest<\/a>

Rick Derringer and Joey Molland of Badfinger, and Derringer’s band perform during Hippiefest at Tioga Downs on Saturday, July 25. (Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

Following the Spoonful, Felix Cavaliere\u2019s Rascals electrified the stage with their famed hits, \u201cI\u2019ve Been Lonely Too Long,\u201d \u201cIn the Midnight Hour,\u201d \u201cA Beautiful Morning,\u201d and \u201cPeople Got to be Free,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n

The Rascals, also known as a \u201cblue-eyed soul\u201d band back-in-the-day, performed several hits from their album \u201cGroovin\u2019,\u201d including the title song, \u201cGroovin\u2019,\u201d which brought more audience members to the stage area to dance to the slower speed classic, as well as \u201cYou Better Run,\u201d which was later covered by Pat Benatar and \u201cI\u2019m So Happy Now,\u201d a song on the famous LP which led them into singing a more recent song about happiness, Pharrell Williams\u2019 smash, \u201cHappy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Needless to say, the audience left happy following Hippiefest at Tioga Downs.<\/p>\n

\"Hippiefest<\/a>

The Lovin’ Spoonful performs at Hippiefest, held at Tioga Downs on Saturday, July 25. (Photo by Wendy Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Prior to the concert, Jeff Gural, CEO of American Racing and Entertainment and owner of Tioga Downs, addressed the audience in between sets about upcoming expansion plans as well as remaining summer concerts and special events. For more information, visit tiogadowns.com or find them on Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\n

To view brief video performances, visit https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Nuho5wjaVfA&feature=youtu.be<\/a> and https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8OpWKD4Ds-I&feature=youtu.be<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to view more photos from Hippiefest. For photos below, click the thumbnail to enlarge.<\/p>\n

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