Badfinger; Sellersville Theater 1894 3/28/10

[jimmy19029]

I saw Joey Molland last summer at Hippiefest coming out to play his handful of Badfinger biggies, but it had been 21 years since I last saw he and Badfinger do a full show. Back then Mike Gibbins was still playing with him in the group. But that tour back in 1989 proved to be Mike's last with them and he pretty much retired to his home in Florida after that and passed away quietly in his sleep back in 2005.

Since this most recent Badfinger lineup came together 10 years ago, I'd been hoping for an opportunity to catch them live after hearing mostly stellar reviews.

Sellersville Theater 1894 was the perfect little intimate spot to finally catch them. A group called Smash Palace, that I've heard of but never seen before, did the warm up honors and I enjoyed their blend of 60s/70s psychedelia, power pop and the fine guitar stylings of Steve Butler.

After the brief 30 minute opening set, Badfinger took the stage 15 minutes later but ran into problems. First, Steve Wozny's keyboards were not working properly, then Billy Davis's guitar went out. Joey Molland, always the smiling, upbeat and professional front man, joked around to pass the time, then went right into a solo version of his beautiful Sweet Tuesday Morning(from their classic Straight Up album). This one had not originally been in tonight's setlist and was a treat to hear before the glitches were corrected and the group swung into their big 1972 hit Baby Blue.

Joey's voice is a bit weaker now than it was but he sounded surprisingly strong tonight and was always on point, never wavering out of tune. Steve Wozny and Billy Davis, however, were a bit raspy on their leads(Steve sang Take it All while Billy handled Day After Day and Meanwhile Back at the Ranch. I recall Billy singing for hard rockers Foghat back in the early 90s and his more bluesier voice was better suited for them IMHO) and Billy was not turned up loud enough. And the group harmonies in this version, and other touring versions I've heard over the years, were nowhere near as good as they were when the late founders Pete Ham and Tom Evans led the band. But I'll quickly add that rockingwise this grouping did not disappoint and was very enjoyable to hear. I'm glad that Joey has decided to continue the legacy of Badfinger.

Jovial Joey regaled us with stories from the stage: recording Meanwhile Back at the Ranch at the legendary Caribou Ranch in Colorado back in 1974 and connecting it to Should I Smoke to make one "long hippy style song", combining Tom's song Money with his own Flying, following their manager Bill Collins's suggestion for Pete and Tom to put together two song ideas they had to make Without You, which went on to be a HUGE hit for Harry Nilsson, then again 20 plus years later for Mariah Carey and Joey's solo song Moolah Ray, which Joey explained was his dad's slang term for money(moolah!). "Back in the hippy days we didn't worry or care about money, " laughed Joey. "All we cared about were tight pants and some girls.." Bassist Mark Healey sang Midnight Sun and sounded pretty good. And it was one of Joey's solo faves Vampire Wedding and their big hit No Matter What that ended the regular set before their encore of No More.

After the show I didn't hang around long enough to talk to Joey(as I'd done back in 1989 in the Saloon Club in Berlin, New Jersey when we'd sat in the club's basement and spoken for more than a half hour after the concert, just the two of us) but did say a quick hello to Steve Wozny to compliment him on the show and the prowess of their new drummer Mike Riccardi. I asked him if Mike was to be the permanent drummer going forward now but Steve said he didn't know..."It's not my job. I'm only the piano player. Not my decision", He laughed.

Setlist:

Sweet Tuesday Morning
Baby Blue
I Don't Mind
Suitcase
Come and Get It
Money/
Flying
Midnight Sun
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch/
Should I Smoke
Take It All
Day After Day
I Got You
Without You
Moolah Rey
Vampire Wedding
No Matter What

Encore:
No More