On This Day in History

On this date in history, 8/4/1995, an interesting little tour came to Deer Creek in Noblesville, IN, by the name of H.O.R.D.E. This eclectic mix of artists featured The Black Crowes, Blues Traveler, Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers, and G. Love & Special Sauce. I didn’t see enough of the G. Love set to make a proper opinion on it, so if he is one of your favorites, I apologize for my lack of interest on the day of the concert. Ziggy Marley was quite excellent, and it was nice to see one of Bob Marley’s sons carrying on the family tradition of quality reggae music. Actually, this was the first true reggae performance I ever witnessed, and the vibe was purely blissful and amazing. Anyone who could be angry or depressed when Ziggy is playing his music should probably not be allowed out in public. Blues Traveler didn’t move me nearly as much, but John Popper proved beyond a doubt that he is the Jimi Hendrix of the harmonica. I just didn’t hear a lot of songs that reached out to me, but every harp solo was razor sharp. Popper’s singing voice is average at best, maybe even a little on the annoying side when he gets in his high register. Just a tad too whiny for my taste. The reason I went to this show in the first place was to see The Black Crowes for the first time and I was definitely impressed. The Crowes are a total road warrior live band and they were in beast mode for sure that night. Chris Robinson and company brought the goods and had us all dancing, singing and rocking out for the duration of their set. It is good to see a show outside of your comfort zone from time to time and this was one of those trips out of the ordinary for me.

Written By Braddon S Williams aka The Concert Critic