Act: Steve Augeri Venue: Magic City Casino Date: December 21 2013
There was an interesting duality in the air last Saturday night at the Magic City Casino. Two identities snapped at each others’ neck: blaring rock music in English, and the kaleidoscope of Spanish Pop which is everyday and standard at the venue. This and the sounds of grinding machinery from the caravan of food trucks in the parking lot made the scene for Steve Augeri ‘s Miami concert.
The dog-track slash casino opened up it’s on-the-track stage, facing the grandstands. It gave it a feeling of a very compact outdoor festival. It wasn’t filled up, this old Flagler Dog Track hasn’t seen that in generations, but the first three sections closest to the stage were packed. On the track itself, immediately in front of the stage was a section of seats on sale for $70. What little space was behind these seats was available for the free general admission crowd. All walks of life came out; families with young children in black tees; middle aged dudes in collared shirts; dead ringers for Bret Michaels who never sold out; a guy with a shaved head and an impressive scalp tattoo that made his new hairline, including pork chops; and hot rocker girls who couldn’t possibly have been alive when Journey was big.
Augeri and band came out to the thumping Chain Reaction, a foot stomping bit that struck all the right balance of guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, and that voice. That voice of Augeri that has carried him in his career to front a handful of memorable acts. None as far-reaching as that near decade with Journey. Didn’t take long to get into their long discography, and for the most-part stay there. Stone in Love was the second song, again the band showcasing their ability to mix that heavy thunder and sing-a-long choruses that made the mainstream-melodic-metal of the 80s a fascinating creature in time and of it’s time.
Agueri is still the charismatic front-man Journey recruited a decade ago. Dressed in a crowd-seducing full white suit, with a red shirt blazing underneath, he seamlessly dropped in all those crowd-pandering soundbites made cliché with overuse: “I’m glad to be in Miami,” “I’m feeling good, are you feeling good?”
Employed by a veteran these micro conversations don’t seem played out, they become a performance of their own like watching an old radio guy surgically transition from content to a live-read , and then to recorded ads in one swoop. There was plenty.
Even though Augeri has played countless shows, some of which have the near exact set-list as the Miami set-list, the overall performance felt fresh and the energetic. Augeri’s voice was there, and it was there when he went for young-Robert-Plant high pitches.
Probably proving that this free casino show wasn’t on just autopilot sound mixing wise, a couple of songs sounded muddled coming from speakers, but it was corrected and really nobody noticed. For the hand-full of hundreds that were there this was a good show. They danced in the aisles because nobody told them not to; they waved and clapped when lead; and they cheered after feats of musicianship.
With so many hits to choose from, the show went from the mellow Lights, to the rocking Higher Place, and back down to Kiss Me Softly and the acoustic solo of Open Arms. It wasn’t disjointed, it was just the hits, and much appreciated as attested by a river of cellphone screens that echoed backwards tiny copies of the set.
The wooing, clapping, and singing along from the audience masked that stadium-size crowd who didn’t show up. It was hard to disappoint with an hour and a half of classic rock radio mainstays: Wheel in the Sky, Don’t Stop Believing, Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’, and Anyway Way You Want It. Even his solo song Hours In a Day blended in nicely.
The long Encore included Be Good to Yourself, a medley of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love and The Who’s Won’t Be Fooled Again, and finally Separate Ways.
It was a classic rock show worth paying for, but not necessary if you were in Miami December 21st.
“This is the real thing here tonight,” Augeri said.
_Frank Maradiaga, Twitter: @WriterFrank
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