Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings performed at the Albany Alive At Five evening festival in Tricentennial Park on Thursday, August 9. The park itself is a small parcel with the stage set up on Broadway at the traffic signal intersecting with Columbia Street. By coincidence, this show became my #300th concert.

    Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings greeted the enthusiastic crowd. Jennings mentioned Wyman's last visit to Albany was with the Rolling Stones on April 29, 1965 at the Palace Theatre which is under renovation. He announced the temperature registered at 103*F.

    Two new songs appeared in the Albany setlist; "Good Golly Miss Molly" sung by Gary Brooker (which I saw performed in Europe before) and "I'm Ready" sung by Albert Lee, the final encore. The band's Alive At Five set was slightly shorter due to scheduled time constraints.

    It was hot, but luckily people were not crowding the front stage area. I took up a great position in front of the stage just left of center to take several stage pix. During "Melody", Bill teased Beverley as she sang, playing with her fan because of the obscene heat.

    Once again, Beverley stole the show with "I Put A Spell On You" from their third disc, Groovin'. Albert Lee also sang "Jump, Jive And Wail" which received thundering applause and "Tear It Up", featuring his and Martin Taylor's dueling guitar playing. For the climax, Taylor stood behind Lee as they both jammed together on Lee's guitar! They successfully deliver a sizzling guitar duet together on one guitar.

    After the gig, Bill was under siege by fans. The tour bus for the band was parked behind the stage and gave me a moment to say 'hello' to Beverley who was chatting with fans. An Albany native told me there were over 10,000 in attendance for the Rhythm Kings that day. Keith Richards in performance was my #100th concert on November 27, 1988, at Constitution Hall in D.C. The Rolling Stones were #200 on July 15, 1995, at Wembley Stadium in London.

    Albany Alive At Five is an evening event sponsored by municipal government on Thursday evenings during the summer months. One mega-bummer about this Rhythm Kings performance was that it was a free event - which means I have no ticket stub as a souvenir for my #300th concert. I contacted Albany City Hall's Office of Special Events which graciously sent me some Alive At Five promo material.

    The Rhythm Kings feature leader Bill Wyman on bass, song composing partner Terry Taylor on guitar and backing vocals, Georgie Fame on piano and vocals, Gary Brooker on keyboards and vocals, Beverley Skeete and Janice Hoyte on vocals, Albert Lee on guitar and vocals, Martin Taylor on guitar, Nick Payn and Frank Mead on horns, and Graham Broad on drums.

Albany setlist: Let The Good Times Roll - Gary * Jitterbug Boogie - Gary * Walking One And Only - Georgie * Jump, Jive And Wail - Albert * Baby Workout - Beverley * Anyway The Wind Blows - Georgie * Good Golly Miss Molly - Gary * This Little Girl's Gone Rocking - Janice * Melody - Beverley & Georgie * I Put A Spell On You - Beverley * Mystery Train - Georgie & Gary * Breaking Up The House - Gary * Tear It Up - Albert * band intro's by Bill * brief "Satisfaction" instrumental * Encore: Hole In The Wall - Gary * I'm Ready - Albert

RockonTour   Issue #2
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A Capital Performance
The Rhythm Kings appear in Albany

by Timothy Tilghman