CHIC - RUMSEY PLAYFIELD - 6/15/00

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the fifteenth anniversary bash for summerstage got off to a fairly well start with a dj set by frenchman and one-time air associate, alex gopher. for most of his set, the music acted as wallpaper as he was playing too many rarities. my rule on rarities: in order for one to move a crowd, it's got to be at least three times better than even a mediocre "classic." he reached a peak early by seguing funkadelic's "red hot mama" into zapp's "more bounce to the ounce," but then destroyed all of that momentum with another obscure track. it did end very well, though, with a trio of prince's "controversy," skyy's "call me," and indeep's "last night a dj saved my life."

a couple of opening acts filled the void, but i didn't pay much attention to them. we had another interesting crowd on hand last night with people of all ages and races gathered together: the strangest was an old woman in a plaid skirt and leather jacket who shook her shit when the band came on, and the most pathetic were all of the guys who at one time fancied themselves their neighborhood's tony manero. apparently, the band was late which forced the organizers to talk more than anyone wanted them to, bringing up pretty much anyone who had something to say.

finally, they arrived and stormed the stage. "le freak" started the show off, and it was somewhat of a disappointment. maybe they weren't really warmed up at that time or maybe it's just so perfect in its studio version that it couldn't help but pale in comparison; either way, i was feeling a bit worried.

i'd soon realize that there was nothing to worry about as they found their groove and just took off. hit after hit followed and they sounded as good as ever. the billing says chic, but it's really nile rodgers and a back band. a very good backing band, but a backing band nonetheless. there was obviously no bernard edwards who sadly passed on several years ago (more on that later), no tony thompson, hell, not even an alfa anderson, but the band was still top notch. the percussionist damn near stole the show. according to nile, he was one of the percussionists jimi hendrix employed at woodstock. he was this little puerto rican guy and his musicianship was just as good as his showmanship, which was excellent. the rest of the band were nearly as good, with the horns and bassist particularly impressive.

highlights were many: the false start to "dance, dance, dance"; the medley of "i'm coming out," "upside down," and "he's the greatest dancer"; the band spotlight on "chic cheer." nile had a great rapport with the audience, but i guess that comes with all of the years in the biz. he and the band cleverly referred to the songs that used chic samples: "na, na, na"s from "gettin' jiggy with it" in "he's the greatest dancer" and singing the chorus of faith evans' "love like this" to "chic cheer." after they finished with a rousing rendition of "we are family," nile thanked the audience and said good night. YEAH RIGHT. like anyone believed they were leaving before playing "good times." so they returned to the stage and did a fabulous version of that all-time classic; unlike "le freak," this one perfectly translated to the live setting, and during the song's break, nile led the audience into the first verse of "rapper's delight," which everyone knows sampled "good times." hearing "good times" was just one of those great moments that i'm likely to never forget.

a couple of complaints: one, the name of bernard edwards was not mentioned once during the evening. considering that his stake in chic was as great as nile's, i thought it was a miscue not to talk about him. also, while the rest of the band sounded great, nile's guitar was lost in the mix. when he got a solo, he showed that he's still one of the very best rhythm players out there, but too often he was drowned out. end of complaints. it was a free show and a fun night out and i can't wait to see what other good times are to be had at upcoming summerstage shows.