On a muggy and sometimes raining Tuesday evening, a good night was had by all in
suburban Chicago Ill., courtesy of The Cryan' Shames, Jimy Sohns, Dennis
Tufano, and Ronnie Rice. Close your eyes. It's 1967, and all of a sudden we are
sitting on our front porches on the northwest side of Chicago listening to WLS radio on
our Philco transistors. The energy level was high,as over 1,500 fans tried to
forget about their electric power being out at home, or tree limbs littering
their yards or falling on their cars, after some powerful thunderstorms caused one of the biggest outages the Chicago area has seen in some time.
The "Shames" rocked the house,and a slimmed down Tom Doody was in fine voice,
and sure was able to hit the high notes on Carole King's classic Up on the
Roof. Tom's two year old granddaughter sat in the front row cheering him on.
Here're some of the more memorable moments. Dennis took the stage and played harp
as the Cryan' Shames did a rousing version of George Harrison's If I Needed
Someone. Later on, Dennis would really blow that harp on Darin's Chicago Blues
styled Funny What Love Can Do. Following a moment of silence, Dennis would
dedicate that song to the recently deceased Rob Grill of the Grass Roots.
Dennis did a seldom heard solo on Mercy Mercy Mercy, a song that he usually does with a
partner sharing the vocals. Sonny Geraci & Tim Walkoe better watch out.
Greg Brucker, bassist for the "Shames, almost stole the show with his
melancholy take on John Lennon's Jealous Guy.
Dennis took one right off his I Remember Darin cd with the Dream Lover Medley.
Also off the same cd was the beautiful ballad My Funny Valentine, and the Tim
Hardin written and Bobby Darin covered If I Were a Carpenter, which featured
Dennis on acoustic guitar.
Dennis finished his Buckinghams' songs off with Kind of a Drag, a song that had
1,500 stalwart and soggy fans rise with applause.
The final song of the night was The Star Spangled Banner which saw everyone on
stage doing their salute to American Servicemen, past and present. Thanks guys, for
remembering!
