“No Woman No Cry,” by Bob Marley, was the next cover in the set, molded by Butler who added an intro vamp of guitar playing and African lyrics. When the song ended, White emerged from the back of the stage playing his rendition of the James Bond theme song, where White threw on some shades for effect – leading into “Get Up, Stand Up,” another tune by Marley.
Elliot stopped the show briefly to thank the musicians, and announced a
raffle winner. The winner took the stage with confidence and interacted with
the crowd openly. Elliot jokingly asked the “raffle winner” if
he had anything else to say – and to everyone’s surprise, he proposed
marriage to his girlfriend while onstage. When the stunned young woman searched
her feelings and said she would marry the man, the crowd went wild and rejoiced
with “When A Man Loves A Woman,” led by Butler.
– Chris Davidson
The refrain s, “God up above” and “Ronnie looking down on us” set a mood familiar to most Skynyrd fans. Any follower of the band knows about the tragic 1977 plane crash killing lead singer and rowdy frontman Ronnie Van Zant, lead guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, back-up singer Cassie Gaines, but many at Westbury did not know from the poignant questions and whispered responses from parents and grandparents.
As the band took the stage, it was filled completely; moving from stage right to left, there was Billy Powell surrounded by a white Hammond B-3 organ with matching white Fender Rhodes piano and Korg synthesizer; new guitarist Bob Jones, who replaced The Outlaws’ Hughie Thomasson after his stint with Skynyrd; Ricky Medlocke, former Blackfoot guitar-burner; Johnnie Van Zant, singing lead vocals; Gary Rossington, the only original member remaining, on howling guitar; bass player Ean Evans; back-up singers Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase; and backing up the band on drums with a strong back-beat was Michael Cartellone. It was stunning how compact the band was with all its assorted gear, instruments, and amplifiers.
When Skynyrd tore into their first song, they were all arms, legs, and hair in motion. The girls were twisting and had a tambourine shaking like a leaf on a tree. Medlocke was playing his trademark Gibson Explorer — a nasty-looking guitar if there ever was one, while Gary Rossington seemed to be trying to shred his usual axe, a sunburst Gibson Les Paul looking resplendent in a white shirt untucked and a black fedora hat pulled low over his eyes. Billy Powell was looking suspicious, wearing wrap-around sunglasses at his wrap-around keyboards covered with a Rebel flag.
From the opening song, the band then kicked into an amazing set beginning with a very perky “What’s Your Name” followed by perhaps the best one-two punch songs of the night, a fast and hot “That Smell” and the emotion-filled, slow and heavy “Simple Man.” No time for the crowd to catch its breath; a medley ensued those sweat-drenched numbers; a great medley which included “Down South Jukin’,” “The Needle & the Spoon,”Ballad Of Curtis Loew,” an incendiary “Gimme Back My Bullets,” and closed with the aforementioned “Tuesday’s Gone.”
“Freebird” closed the show ... of course. And it was the quintessential
evening-capper. There was nothing left to be said or sung.
– Bill Robinson
