Concert Review
Chuck Negron
The Bears Den
Inside Seneca Niagara Casino
8 pm Show
December 31, 2012
Review/Photos: Joseph Suto
Sometimes you head to a show not expecting anything extraordinary but leave feeling more satisfied than you would have expected. Case in point, the Chuck Negron New Year’s Eve extravaganza that took place inside The Bears Den at Seneca Niagara Casino Monday evening. Negron has had his share of ups and downs as he experienced drug addiction and multiple divorces among other downfalls over the years. Chuck played selections from his old band, Three Dog Night, that showcased how integral of a part he played in his old band as he sang lead on four of the seven singles that went gold, during their peak.
At a youthful seventy years old, Chuck demonstrated that he can still perform at a more than acceptable level. With both Negron out there still performing, as well as Three Dog Night themselves, it gives the fans two great options to see one of America’s most revered bands of the seventies.
Kicking off with “The Family Of Man”, quickly followed by “Shambala” Negron showed he could tackle the songs in which he did not sing lead on, just fine. The main highlights were “An Old Fashioned Love Song”, “The Show Must Go On” with its carnival themed music and the song that closed the show “Joy To The World”, arguably the bands biggest song. Those songs, more so than the others sounded the best with Negron at the helm just like he was on the studio recordings.
During “Chest Fever” organist Howard Laravea put on quite a show as he dazzled the crowd on his B3 organ. Laravea wasn’t the only member of Negron’s backing band that deserves mentioning as keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Mishkit, guitarist Terrence Elliott, bassist Berry Duane Oakley and drummer Frank Reina all were formidable players.
One thing Negron and the current version of Three Dog Night do well, unlike other bands that split apart and still attempt to tour in a non flattering manner, is focus on playing the songs in the manner which fans remember. There are far too many bands who tour for all the wrong reasons. Even to this day at seventy years old, Negron employs a vocal coach to help keep his voice in the best shape it can be. Perhaps others need to catch a show to see how it should be done.
Set List
Family Of Man
Shambala
Liar
Out In The Country
An Old Fashioned Love Song
Chest Fever
Never Been To Spain
Eli’s Coming
One Man Band
The Show Must Go On
One
Encore
Joy To The World
Very special thanks to Tony Astran from Seneca Casinos for granting us the opportunity to review the show.
