TOWER OF POWER PLAYS TO HUGE CROWD AT THE
WEST OAK LAVE JAZZ FESTIVAL
6/20/09
Tower Of Power played to a crowd of about 30,000 people, closing the Saturday night
portion of the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival. Ogontz Avenue was definitely the place to be Saturday evening. The bill was Average White Band, War, and
Tower of Power.
All three bands Came To Play for sure.
All three bands Came To Play for sure.
-June 23, 2008, Philadelphia, Pa.
Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods. West Oak Lane is located in the northwest portion of the city. The main street running through this neighborhood is Ogontz Avenue. Philadelphia, like every other large US city has gone through a lot of changes as neighborhoods get older, and the demographics change over time. Through the efforts of a lot of good people, West Oak Lane has enjoyed a renaissance over the past 15 years or so. OARC (Ogontz Ave. Revitalization Corp) and State Representative Dwight Evans are largely responsible for the revitalization of the entire area, and bringing the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival to Ogontz Avenue for the past 6 years.
This year, the Saturday night theme was 70's Soul, and it could not have been represented any better with AWB, War, and Tower of Power on the stage.
The weather was pretty dreary all day, with heavy rains predicted and gusty winds. Certainly not conducive to a pleasant outdoor performance. Heavy rain fell in the afternoon, but by the 6:00 scheduled start time of AWB, the sun was shining and all was well. AWB's show was excellent, as usual, and we were treated to our own Tom E. Politzer joining AWB for their encore, "Pick Up The Pieces". He and Freddy V sounded great together, and traded licks back and forth during the tune.
(Stay tuned to this post for photos and a full video Tommy's jam with AWB)
War's show was very energetic, and they played the majority of their numerous radio hits. During the set, they featured all of their members on different solos, and their musical journey included some snippets of other 60's and 70's hits from Sly, Cream, and even Ozzy Osbourne. Quite a ride... Great stuff from War.
Then after a brief break, Tower of Power took the stage. After a quick sound check, they began their set, and there was a little bit of light rain coming down here and there. The crowd wasn't going anywhere, and the rain slowed and stopped. Highlights for TOP fans included 4 songs played by TOP for the first time in our area. "Loveland", "You Met Your Match", "Me and Mrs. Jones", and "Startime-Tribute to James Brown".
Here is the complete set list:
We Came To Play
Soul With A Capitol "S"
Loveland
To Say The Least, You're The Most
Can't Stand to See The Slaughter
On The Serious Side
Only So Much Oil
Only So Much Oil
How Could This Happen to Me
I got To Groove
Me and Mrs. Jones
You Got To Funkafize
You Met Your Match
So Very Hard to Go
Diggin On James Brown/Startime-Tribute to James Brown
What Is Hip
Encore:
Encore:
You're Still a Young Man
I was able to shoot a lot of video. The plan is to add YouTube links right here in this post
when they are uploaded. For now, please enjoy the photos below:
Doc, Tommy, and Emilio
Adolfo Acosta and Mike Bogart
"LB", Larry Braggs
Roger Smith
Several members of WAR look on as TOP delights the crowd
Mark Harper, Rocco Prestia, and David Garibaldi on the rhythm side of things
Emilio Castillo and Larry Braggs working the crowd
And then, just like that, it's over...
A few friends of mine, Al Cannon, Bobby Eli, and John McGarry.
Bobby Eli is a true Philadelphia soul guitar legend. He was the studio guitarist for Philly International Records, playing on all of the Stylistics songs, Blue Notes, and ton's of other Philly International bands. He also wrote "Love Won't Let Me Wait" made popular by Major Harris. Emilio gave Bobby a shout out from the stage and dedicated "Young Man" to him.
When TOP or AWB are in town, you will see Bobby there.
As far as TOP shows go, this one was a knockout. The band was playing brilliantly, Larry sounded fantastic, and when he did his version of "Me and Mrs. Jones", the crowd went wild. After all, it was originally recorded by Philly's own Billy Paul, so playing this tune to a Philly crowd was a special moment.
So, please check back over the next few days for edits and additions of the videos. There will be YouTube links coming soon.
Best Regards From the Soulful City of Brotherly Love,
Brian
