By Mike McKenney, Rock At Night New England Correspondent
Venue: The Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun, Uncaseville, Connecticut-Saturday October 7, 2017
The Wolf Den was packed to the rafters with even more fans outside straining to experience the musical energy and trademark sounds of the band that is widely regarded as the of the best soul and funk bands in the history of music.
The Average White Band is a funk and R&B group that had a series of funk, soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track “Pick Up The Pieces”, and their albums AWB and Cut the Cake
Starting out as the opening act for Eric Clapton in ’73, the ironically named, Average White Band, are anything but as they were one of the few white groups to cross the color barrier and achieve success and credibility playing funk, soul, and disco with their tight, fiery sound.
Beginning with the jazzy, “I Just Can’t Give You Up”, “The Jugglers”, and “Whatcha Gonna Do”, the AWB’s smooth sound had the Wolf Den crowd of all ages, dancing, and grooving throughout the show.
Sax players, Cliff Lyons and Freddy V. jammed all night while Rob Aries (bass) and Rocky Bryant’s (drums) were especially funky on the low side.
Brent Carter’s voice was a bright light on the hit “Cloudy” While Original band members Alan Gorrie (lead vocals, bass, guitar) and Onnie McIntyre (guitar, vocals) pitched in and led the way for the showstopper hit “Person 2 Person”.
Of course no one would leave without hearing there iconic 70’s hit “Pick Up The Pieces”, and AWB did not disappoint. The fan friendly band had the entire audience signing and dancing through the encore.
Over forty plus years, The Average White Band has multiple gold selling albums and too many Grammy nominations to mention.
This past June, AWB along with Isley Brothers Chris Jasper, dropped a new version of the 1976 hit “Harvest For the World“, proving the music and the message is still relevant today!
Set List:
- I Just Cant Give You Up
- The Jugglers
- Whatcha Gonna Do
- A love Of Your Own
- I’m The One
- Stop The Rain
- Oh, Maceo
- Work to Do
- Schoolboy Crush
- Cut the Cake
- Cloudy
- Put It Where You Want It
Encore
- Person 2 Person
- Pick Up the Pieces
Photo Gallery
Video
Pick Up the Pieces
All photos by Mike McKenney
The images may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission to Rock At Night and the photographer. Use of any image is a violation of the United States and International Copyright laws.
Mike McKenney is an award winning professional photographer and current New England Correspondent for Rock At Night magazine.
With his years of experience and passion for Concert Photography, Mike has photographed many of the famous acts in the world today.
Rock Icons such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, Dave Matthews, and Fleetwood Mac along with Country artist Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney,and Jason Aldean have all appeared before Mike’s camera.
"My goal is always to present the experience truthfully so fans can feel the energy and emotions the Artists convey. It’s a tremendous honor and responsibility to be allowed to create art while blending my two passions, music and photography”
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