York College newspaper reviews Poco Concert 10-72
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 11:01 pm
Found this in my college paper 10-12-1972..............Poco
In
Concert
by Jack Katzanek
Last Sunday, the first day of
October, I had the pleasure of
seeing "Poco" perform at Queens
College's Colden Auditorium. As a
result, I am in a very happy frame
of mind right now, and chances
are I will remain in one for at least
the remainder of October.
The electricity and bliss of a
"Poco"
concert is hard to put into
words. There is such a joy being
emitted by the performers on the
stage, and this feeling is tran-
smitted to the audience who leaves
the show elevated, ecstatic, and
just plain happy. The members of
the group play their special style of
countrified rock music in a tightly
knit band that never fails to lift the
spirits better than any tonic ever
invented.
The show was kicked off with a
set from an up-and-coming group
from the Mount Vernon area
called "Gun Hill Road", who
record under the Kama Sutra
label. They are a three-man-band
consisting of acoustic guitar, bass,
and piano, and they harmonize
quite well. They did original
numbers such as "42nd Street"
and "Back When My Hair Was
Short," as well as a bit of nostalgia
with oldies, "At the Hop" and
"Jailhouse Rock."
But although "Gun Hill Road"
provided an entertaining 40
minutes, it was evident who the
audience came to see. The an-
ticipation grew during the in-
termission and the cheers began to
mount as soon as the hall was
darkened. They built as the
darkened figures could be seen
making their way from the wings,
and when the lights came up, there
was "Poco" front and center with
"Ho-Down."
The group was never better as
they went through their act. Richie
Ruray, the cheerful bespectacled
guitarist who shares the lead with
Paul Cotton, paving the way with
sprightly guitar work, together
with Timmy Schmidt's bass-lines,
providing a solid backbone, the
three of them alternate singing the
lead and backing each other up
with their funky vocal harmony
that has become "Poco's"
trademark, along with its cosmic
country feel. George Gratham
plays drums and also helps out
with the vocals on occasion. Rusty
Young, sitting behind his pedal
steel as expressionless as though
he was typing a letter, gets a
multitude of unbelievable sounds
out of his unique instrument.
They charge through their set
that included "Ol' Forgiver,"
"Bad Weather," "Railroad Days,"
"Grand Junction," "You Better
Think Twice," "Hello To You,"
"Honky Tonk Downstairs,"
"Pickin Up the Pieces," "A Good
Feelin' To Know," and "Restrain
Yourself."
The last two are from a
new album due in November. They
finished with a dynamic 15 minute
version of "C'mon," and left but
soon returned as the wildly ap-
preciative crowd demanded an
encore. Their encore number was a
surprising one, as the group took a
rare dip into the past with "Go
and Say Coodbye" from Furay's
"Buffalo pringfield" days.
All in all, it was an outstanding
90 minutes of music and all the
fans,
me amongst them, went away
happy and blissful and exhilirated,
and also convinced that they had
just seen one of the ts>-~ groups
around.
In
Concert
by Jack Katzanek
Last Sunday, the first day of
October, I had the pleasure of
seeing "Poco" perform at Queens
College's Colden Auditorium. As a
result, I am in a very happy frame
of mind right now, and chances
are I will remain in one for at least
the remainder of October.
The electricity and bliss of a
"Poco"
concert is hard to put into
words. There is such a joy being
emitted by the performers on the
stage, and this feeling is tran-
smitted to the audience who leaves
the show elevated, ecstatic, and
just plain happy. The members of
the group play their special style of
countrified rock music in a tightly
knit band that never fails to lift the
spirits better than any tonic ever
invented.
The show was kicked off with a
set from an up-and-coming group
from the Mount Vernon area
called "Gun Hill Road", who
record under the Kama Sutra
label. They are a three-man-band
consisting of acoustic guitar, bass,
and piano, and they harmonize
quite well. They did original
numbers such as "42nd Street"
and "Back When My Hair Was
Short," as well as a bit of nostalgia
with oldies, "At the Hop" and
"Jailhouse Rock."
But although "Gun Hill Road"
provided an entertaining 40
minutes, it was evident who the
audience came to see. The an-
ticipation grew during the in-
termission and the cheers began to
mount as soon as the hall was
darkened. They built as the
darkened figures could be seen
making their way from the wings,
and when the lights came up, there
was "Poco" front and center with
"Ho-Down."
The group was never better as
they went through their act. Richie
Ruray, the cheerful bespectacled
guitarist who shares the lead with
Paul Cotton, paving the way with
sprightly guitar work, together
with Timmy Schmidt's bass-lines,
providing a solid backbone, the
three of them alternate singing the
lead and backing each other up
with their funky vocal harmony
that has become "Poco's"
trademark, along with its cosmic
country feel. George Gratham
plays drums and also helps out
with the vocals on occasion. Rusty
Young, sitting behind his pedal
steel as expressionless as though
he was typing a letter, gets a
multitude of unbelievable sounds
out of his unique instrument.
They charge through their set
that included "Ol' Forgiver,"
"Bad Weather," "Railroad Days,"
"Grand Junction," "You Better
Think Twice," "Hello To You,"
"Honky Tonk Downstairs,"
"Pickin Up the Pieces," "A Good
Feelin' To Know," and "Restrain
Yourself."
The last two are from a
new album due in November. They
finished with a dynamic 15 minute
version of "C'mon," and left but
soon returned as the wildly ap-
preciative crowd demanded an
encore. Their encore number was a
surprising one, as the group took a
rare dip into the past with "Go
and Say Coodbye" from Furay's
"Buffalo pringfield" days.
All in all, it was an outstanding
90 minutes of music and all the
fans,
me amongst them, went away
happy and blissful and exhilirated,
and also convinced that they had
just seen one of the ts>-~ groups
around.