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| The Commodores @ Stern Grove (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Another capacity rejoiced a Stern Grove meadow was turned into Commodores country under a foggy afternoon sky. The Commodores Greatest Hits Tour – Live came to the meadow more than 50 years after the original group was formed at Tuskegee Institute and they delivered a tidy 90-minute set of their biggest songs.
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| The Commodores @ Stern Grove (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
A raucous group up front greeted the headliners with a 15-foot long “SF loves Commodores” banner as they took to the stage. Original member William King was joined by core members JD Nicholas (who replaced Lionel Richie all the way back in 1984) and twins Cody and Colin Orange – the sons of co-founder and former lead co-singer Walter “Clyde” Orange – along with “The Mean Machine” of additional horn and rhythm support.
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| Commodores fans @ Stern Grove (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
An opening medley featured a “Wild Thing” interlude, encouragements to dance (“Shake it ladies. All the ladies in the house!”) and choreographed dancing from King, Nicholas and Cody Orange. From there, it was off to the races with the hits. Nicholas took the lead on 1977’s “Easy” as he visited back and forth across the stage before Colin Orange unleashed the song’s fame solo with a ton of flair and King took the trumpet solo. As King told the story of how Commodores were formed and wrote and arranged all of their music in Tuskegee, Alabama, it was interesting to know that Nicholas is actually British – even though his stage voice sounds very rooted in the South.
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| The Commodores @ Stern Grove (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
1979’s “Sail On” followed and indeed – most of the songs of the day were from Commodores’ incredible four-year run from 1976 to 1979 when they cranked out many of the hits that have carried them to incredible statistics such as 75 million albums sold, seven #1 singles and twenty top 10 singles. The energy of the Orange Brothers, combined with the experience of King and Nicholas, helped to keep the modern hits feeling contemporary and the concert feeling like an event unique to Stern Grove vs. another fill-in-the-blank venue on a non-stop tour. Frequent references to the beautiful venue were made and nearly every song had a big ending.
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| William King of The Commodores @ Stern Grove (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Just To Be Close to You” followed with the three frontman well-choreographed out front as Nicholas and Cody Orange traded lead vocals and engaged in fun back-and-forth about searching the crowd for the right woman. Many of the songs featured intermittent banter with the audience. What could have been cringe-worthy in the microphones of many performers felt endearing and retro with the spirit of Commodores. “Sweet Love” from 1976 was yet another example of this feeling as Cody Orange got the crowd up and waving all the way up the hill and even over in the auxiliary meadow. 1978’s “Too Hot Ta Trot” gave a nice spotlight on King’s trumpet playing and Mean Machine bassist Tyron Stanton and was then followed by the very funky “Machine Gun.”
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| JD Nicholas of The Commodores @ Stern Grove (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
A spirited and fast-paced “Lady (You Bring Me Up)” with Nicholas taking lead vocal duties led into an impressive version of the classic “Still” with Cody Orange handling the singing and Colin taking a soaring solo. Nicholas took a stool at the center stage to deliver a touching version of 1978’s “Three Times a Lady” with the crowd singing along lustily to the chorus. “Nightshift” - the band’s Grammy award winner was up next. Their biggest hit beyond the amazing 70’s run got another spotlight recently when Bruce Springsteen included his cover version of the song on his “Only the Strong Survive” album. Finally, the crowd went crazy for 1977’s “Brick House” with the vast majority dancing, waving and singing along as Commodores were all over the stage in a blend of choreography and anarchy before throwing some drumsticks and t-shirts to the crowd and taking a big bow.
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| The Grease Traps @ Stern Grove (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Earlier in the day, Oakland’s The Grease Traps nearly blew down the trees in the Grove with lead singer “the Gata” delivering an unforgettable blend of James Brown and Sly Stone. The band’s energy and power set a very high mark for Commodores to follow and had the crowd energized from the minute he walked on stage. The band has been together for a decade and should not be based. On Sunday, The Gata, was non-stop energy – spotlighting both his invented dances and running side-to-side to connect with the audience. The Gats is a remarkable performer and guitarist Kevin O’Dea was also impressive. This is a local band whose live performances deserve to be sold-out routinely!
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