When I read that Donavan Frankenreiter was coming to town, I thought “Man, I’ve heard that name. I think I just saw a YouTube video of him recently.” Sure enough, I had been watching his Jack-Johnson-ish videos of surfing and easy-going, laid back song called “Free.” Frankenreiter not only has a similar sound but he is friends with Jack Johnson. The story is while he was traveling the world as a professional surfer he used to rent a room in Hawaii from Jack Johnson’s parents (how lucky is this?). They are good friends and you can find videos of them collaborating on various songs.
So, I thought seeing Donavan Frankenreiter might be a nice mellow concert to attend. Sure enough, it was. Frankenreiter’s mucis has kind of a retro 70’s funk feel as he sang in his raspy, bluesy voice and was accompanied by two really talented musicians. Frankenreiter played mostly rhythm guitar but and threw in a lick here and there but I was really impressed with his fellow musician who played a combo bass-electric guitar, switching between the two within the same song. The drummer was phenomenal too with impeccable timing and added just enough pizzazz with Latin percussion accessories.
Don’t get me wrong. The concert was really enjoyable and the tunes were catchy but from a musician’s standpoint, very repetitive. The songs consisted of chanting the same anthemic phrases over and over. The crowd could easily singalong and the crowd which consisted of mostly 30-somethings bopped in time. The concert was actually a nice change of pace from the loud, hard rock I usually listen to.
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
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