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I went to concert/event called The Jim Irsay Collection where he sets up a walk through showcase of memorabilia he owns as well as has an all star band playing. I didn't really know what the format would be, but I saw that Stephen Stills, Mike Mills, Billy Gibbons, and Wilson would be there and it was free so wtf. This was suppose to happen last week but we had insane winds so they moved it to tonight. Then last night I got an email saying it got moved again to this afternoon since insane wind was expected again tonight(it didn't happen), so it was at noon instead. I guess Ann had to cancel since the weekend got switched and they got Kevin Cronin instead, which worked out great for me as I love REO Speedwagon.
So Mike Mills was playing bass for pretty much the whole show along with Kenny Wayne Shepard playing guitar and Kenny Aaronoff on the drums and they brought out the guests who would do a few of their songs. We got there about an hour in, so timed it perfectly to when the heavy hitters would start doing their songs(after Irsay singing Johnny Cashs version of "Hurt"), so caught Stills a few songs after getting there doing "Love the One Your With" and "For What It's Worth." Then Vince Gill came out, who I don't really know or give a shit about though I believe he's in the Eagles now so I gave him credit for not making me listen to any stupid Eagles bullshit during his set.
That's when I went to go check out the exhibit. Ringos Drum Kit from Ed Sullivan, an Elton John Piano, a crazy awesome piano of John Lennons, James Browns glitter robe, bunch of guitars. That's where I ran into Eddie Trunk. He had these cars in there too but I sort of just breezed past them to the music shit because I had a feeling Cronin was gonna be on after Vince Gill and wanted to get back to the stage area. After I came out my wife went in, since they wouldn't let us take drinks in there, we had to take turns. She came back out and asked if I'd seen Hunter S Thompsons car, which I saw but didn't notice the sign that said it was his.
Sure enough Cronin was next. I figured he'd probably do some of the poppier REO hits, which ain't really my shit(I'm a first three albums guy), which he did do: Take it On The Run, Keep on Loving You, Time for Me to Fly, but also did Riding The Storm Out, which is awesome in any situation, and especially when KC is playing a Rickenbacker and violin and harmonica solos in the middle.
I sort of pictured Mike Mills being non-plussed when told that he was gonna have to learn some REO Speedwagon songs. I wonder if Kevin told Mike this story that he told during an REO show when I saw them years ago about how some model or something was all excited to meet him but then when they met she realized she was confusing them for REM and was expecting Michael Stipe.
Stills came back out and played "I Almost Cut My Hair" with Kevin Cronin, then it was Billy Gibbons for "Sharp Dressed Man" "Going Down" and "La Grange." Jim Irsay came back out and sang "Comfortably Numb" and something else I'm blanking on and that was the end of the show.
For a free show it was great. Not sure how it equated to raising money for charity, as even with drink sales this dude moved millions of dollars worth of instruments and shit around the country, flew a bunch of motherfuckers out, then pushed the show back and had to fly them out again lol as well as pay a bunch of staff and shit. But whatever, I got to take my two year old to breathe same air as and listen to some legends.
