opera races
Senior Member
June 6, 2012
Plaza Live
Orlando, Florida USA
John Waite - lead vocals, guitar
Shaun Hague - guitar
Tim Hogan - bass
Rhondo - drums
First the boring introductory stuff but that is part of the O.R. concert experience. I drove to Orlando from Tampa for this show ... on a cloudy, wet late afternoon/early evening. You don't need Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney when you can drive on I-4 to Orlando - even on a good day! Fortunately I had the B-52's blaring on my car stereo to help me retain my sense of humor - and sanity!
I think this is the first time I'd been to Orlando proper (not Disney or Universal which are actually NOT in Orlando but that is another story ...) in over 10 years. Interesting to me only I'm sure - the venue is actually located not too far from a house where a great aunt of mine lived and who we visited pre-Disney so an older part of town.
The Plaza Live is an older movie theatre (opened 1963) that was renovated some years ago for live performances. It's on the edge of a larger shopping center with all the usual big box stores you run across in the urban sprawl of Florida. The Plaza still retains much of the movie theatre vibe and is a nice venue.
I was lucky enough to get a ticket for a seat in the 4th row - one of the reasons why I decided to drive all the way to Orlando to see this show in the first place.
Another side note - this is probably one of the first what I call "normal" live shows I've attended in I don't know how long. Mainly I've been seeing hard rock and metal acts and I was a feeling a bit like "closet metal head sees John Waite". New habits die hard I guess ... I realized I was actually head banging at Styx the previous Sunday ... but that is another story!
The opening act was an Australian (originally from New Zealand) singer called Jackie Bristow. She is a very charming and engaging live performer in the singer/songwriter vein.
I didn't take down the set list for John Waite ... I was too into enjoying the show (just me and my eyes and ears - no cell phone!
). But I'm pretty sure these are all the songs that were performed and except for the first and last are not listed in order. I was very gratified that John Waite performed a number of songs from his latest album Rough & Tumble. He also included the songs which I sort of assume "everyone" wants and almost demands to hear ... more on that in a bit ...
Rough & Tumble
If You Ever Get Lonely
Mr. Wonderful
Better Off Gone
Sweet Rhode Island Red
Isn't It Time
Every Time I Think Of You
Head First
Bluebird Cafe
Downtown
Just Like A Woman (???)(it was a Bob Dylan song ...)
Imaginary Girl
Drum Solo
Whenever You Come Around
Missing You
When I See You Smile
By the time John Waite and his band came on stage I noticed that most of the first 12-15 rows of the venue were fairly full but the rest of the theatre was sparse with attendees and the balcony was empty. In a way that's too bad as I will explain but those in attendance were definitely an enthusiastic audience.
In a nutshell I thought it was an excellent show and well worth the aggravation I went through in getting there lol.
First it's GREAT to see a band with a singer who can actually sing and musicians who can actually play their instruments and play them excellently. The setup is pretty simple: it's just John and his band rocking out. There's no special effects, nothing fancy at all. These guys are for REAL. They are definitely NOT simply going through the motions and phoning it in for a paycheck as I think a few too many performers are these days especially those that have been around for awhile.
John Waite sounds just as good live as he does on his records which tells me there is no auto-tune or any kind of studio or production trickery happening on the album Rough & Tumble (which I'll add has a refreshingly raw and NOT "shiny" overproduced sound). I'll even go as far to say that John Waite sounds AMAZING live and better than ever. This is coming from someone who is usually more into guitars and music than vocals. You can tell John Waite, and the rest of the band too, are having a good time on stage.
The lead guitarist, Shaun Hague, is not one of the musicians on Rough & Tumble but is a regular member of John Waite's current touring band. Shaun is a younger guy who can rock a Gibson Les Paul like you wouldn't believe. I think I was paying almost as much attention to him at times as I was to John Waite.
Tim Hogan, the bassist; and Rhondo, the drummer; are as good a rhythm section as you can ask for to have backing you up, IMO.
Ok, this next bit is a bit more personal but I'm wanting to speak out publicly and it's not a bad thing (and it's NOTHING to do with my cell phone rant!)
I think I've sort of mentioned that my least favorite song that John Waite has performed is When I See You Smile but not gone into the specific reasons and I still won't here. Ok, let's not sugar coat it: I downright despise that sappy song. In the past I've done everything I could to avoid hearing it. Recently I bought a cheap & used copy on CD of the first Bad English album to replace the one I had on cassette but pitched years ago mainly due to not being able to deal with When I See You Smile. This time I came to notice that the song is actually written by Diane Warren. The rest of the songs on the Bad English album are by John Waite & Company so right there that puts Bad English back into my good graces ... as long as I hit the skip button for ... you know ...
I'd been reading that John Waite usually does When I See You Smile as an encore albeit a little differently than the Bad English version and as a sing-along. I admit I was dreading it but I also have the strength to be a very polite audience member. I stayed for the When I See You Smile encore/sing-along ... and it didn't kill me. I can't say I didn't magically like the song all of a sudden ... but I survived.
While going for a swim today I reflected on the When I See You Smile situation some more. This whole thing has been very weird for me in a way because a few months ago I would not have imagined going to see John Waite in concert - and I don't mean that in a bad way. Then I wound up buying tickets for two shows in three days. Maybe this is one of those things where you decide you just have to GET OVER IT and that is what is going on with me right now, with a little help from ... We'll see what happens on Friday
Anyway, I would say if John Waite & band is playing at a venue near you and you're into having a rocking good time, go see this show!
To be continued ... I am seeing John Waite again on Friday in Clearwater!!!
Plaza Live
Orlando, Florida USA
John Waite - lead vocals, guitar
Shaun Hague - guitar
Tim Hogan - bass
Rhondo - drums
First the boring introductory stuff but that is part of the O.R. concert experience. I drove to Orlando from Tampa for this show ... on a cloudy, wet late afternoon/early evening. You don't need Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney when you can drive on I-4 to Orlando - even on a good day! Fortunately I had the B-52's blaring on my car stereo to help me retain my sense of humor - and sanity!
I think this is the first time I'd been to Orlando proper (not Disney or Universal which are actually NOT in Orlando but that is another story ...) in over 10 years. Interesting to me only I'm sure - the venue is actually located not too far from a house where a great aunt of mine lived and who we visited pre-Disney so an older part of town.
The Plaza Live is an older movie theatre (opened 1963) that was renovated some years ago for live performances. It's on the edge of a larger shopping center with all the usual big box stores you run across in the urban sprawl of Florida. The Plaza still retains much of the movie theatre vibe and is a nice venue.
I was lucky enough to get a ticket for a seat in the 4th row - one of the reasons why I decided to drive all the way to Orlando to see this show in the first place.
Another side note - this is probably one of the first what I call "normal" live shows I've attended in I don't know how long. Mainly I've been seeing hard rock and metal acts and I was a feeling a bit like "closet metal head sees John Waite". New habits die hard I guess ... I realized I was actually head banging at Styx the previous Sunday ... but that is another story!
The opening act was an Australian (originally from New Zealand) singer called Jackie Bristow. She is a very charming and engaging live performer in the singer/songwriter vein.
I didn't take down the set list for John Waite ... I was too into enjoying the show (just me and my eyes and ears - no cell phone!
). But I'm pretty sure these are all the songs that were performed and except for the first and last are not listed in order. I was very gratified that John Waite performed a number of songs from his latest album Rough & Tumble. He also included the songs which I sort of assume "everyone" wants and almost demands to hear ... more on that in a bit ...Rough & Tumble
If You Ever Get Lonely
Mr. Wonderful
Better Off Gone
Sweet Rhode Island Red
Isn't It Time
Every Time I Think Of You
Head First
Bluebird Cafe
Downtown
Just Like A Woman (???)(it was a Bob Dylan song ...)
Imaginary Girl
Drum Solo
Whenever You Come Around
Missing You
When I See You Smile
By the time John Waite and his band came on stage I noticed that most of the first 12-15 rows of the venue were fairly full but the rest of the theatre was sparse with attendees and the balcony was empty. In a way that's too bad as I will explain but those in attendance were definitely an enthusiastic audience.
In a nutshell I thought it was an excellent show and well worth the aggravation I went through in getting there lol.
First it's GREAT to see a band with a singer who can actually sing and musicians who can actually play their instruments and play them excellently. The setup is pretty simple: it's just John and his band rocking out. There's no special effects, nothing fancy at all. These guys are for REAL. They are definitely NOT simply going through the motions and phoning it in for a paycheck as I think a few too many performers are these days especially those that have been around for awhile.
John Waite sounds just as good live as he does on his records which tells me there is no auto-tune or any kind of studio or production trickery happening on the album Rough & Tumble (which I'll add has a refreshingly raw and NOT "shiny" overproduced sound). I'll even go as far to say that John Waite sounds AMAZING live and better than ever. This is coming from someone who is usually more into guitars and music than vocals. You can tell John Waite, and the rest of the band too, are having a good time on stage.
The lead guitarist, Shaun Hague, is not one of the musicians on Rough & Tumble but is a regular member of John Waite's current touring band. Shaun is a younger guy who can rock a Gibson Les Paul like you wouldn't believe. I think I was paying almost as much attention to him at times as I was to John Waite.
Tim Hogan, the bassist; and Rhondo, the drummer; are as good a rhythm section as you can ask for to have backing you up, IMO.
Ok, this next bit is a bit more personal but I'm wanting to speak out publicly and it's not a bad thing (and it's NOTHING to do with my cell phone rant!
)I think I've sort of mentioned that my least favorite song that John Waite has performed is When I See You Smile but not gone into the specific reasons and I still won't here. Ok, let's not sugar coat it: I downright despise that sappy song. In the past I've done everything I could to avoid hearing it. Recently I bought a cheap & used copy on CD of the first Bad English album to replace the one I had on cassette but pitched years ago mainly due to not being able to deal with When I See You Smile. This time I came to notice that the song is actually written by Diane Warren. The rest of the songs on the Bad English album are by John Waite & Company so right there that puts Bad English back into my good graces ... as long as I hit the skip button for ... you know ...
I'd been reading that John Waite usually does When I See You Smile as an encore albeit a little differently than the Bad English version and as a sing-along. I admit I was dreading it but I also have the strength to be a very polite audience member. I stayed for the When I See You Smile encore/sing-along ... and it didn't kill me. I can't say I didn't magically like the song all of a sudden ... but I survived.
While going for a swim today I reflected on the When I See You Smile situation some more. This whole thing has been very weird for me in a way because a few months ago I would not have imagined going to see John Waite in concert - and I don't mean that in a bad way. Then I wound up buying tickets for two shows in three days. Maybe this is one of those things where you decide you just have to GET OVER IT and that is what is going on with me right now, with a little help from ... We'll see what happens on Friday
Anyway, I would say if John Waite & band is playing at a venue near you and you're into having a rocking good time, go see this show!
To be continued ... I am seeing John Waite again on Friday in Clearwater!!!
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