Jimi Jamison with Fergie Frederiksen and
Headliner
Friday, March 1, 2013
Minnesota Music Cafe, St. Paul, MN
This was not a
typical performance from Jimi Jamison, vocalist extraordinaire for AOR
superstars Survivor, due it being a one-off special fundraising event for the
Herb Brooks Foundation. Herb Brooks was a legendary hockey player and coach
from St. Paul, immortalized as coach of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team. Jimi was flown into St. Paul just for this event, and his band for the night
was the local Headliner, who has played as Jimi’s band at previous area shows.
In this context, mistakes were to be expected and cues would likely be missed.
I expected a short set of Survivor’s biggest hits, but Jimi and Headliner put
on a long, two-hour show that delivered on its purpose – to have fun for a good
cause. In addition to a healthy dose of Survivor songs, a number of covers were
played and the band was joined by former Toto vocalist (and St. Paul resident)
Fergie Frederiksen (who sang on 1984’s Isolation
album).
Click on any of the pictures to see more photos of Jimi Jamison, Fergie Frederiksen, and Headliner (48)
Jimi got the crowd
worked up immediately with show opener “High On You”, followed by more Survivor
classics: “It’s The Singer, Not The Song”, “I Can’t Hold Back”, and “Is This
Love”. Fergie was then introduced to the crowd, and he took over and sang great
renditions of the Toto classics “Hold The Line”, “Africa” (as a duet with one
of the guitarists), and “I’ll Be Over You”. Jimi returned to the stage and
after singing mega-smash “Burning Heart” from the Rocky IV movie soundtrack, he focused on some solo material,
including “I’m Always Here” (the Baywatch
theme song), “Crossroads Moment”, and his cover of Gary Wright’s “Love Is
Alive”.
Fergie Frederiksen
Jimi and Fergie
The second half of
the show focused more on some fun cover tunes, starting with a batch of Bad
Company. Fergie sang lead on “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad”, while Jimi took over for
“Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Gone, Gone, Gone”. While the keyboards were a weak
point, Fergie then sang a great rendition of “Separate Ways” by Journey. Some
more Survivor was in order, and Jimi sounded his best on “The Search Is Over”
and “Rebel Son”. A revved up version of “Gimme All Your Lovin’” (Jimi sang
background vocals on many ZZ Top albums, including Eliminator) that evolved into an extended, impromptu jam on “Some
Kind Of Wonderful” and “Roadhouse Blues”. Fergie returned one more time to sing
“Rosanna”, and Jimi closed the night with Survivor’s biggest hit, “Eye Of The
Tiger”, from the Rocky III
soundtrack. The exhausted crowd roared with approval at what everyone knew what
a special performance.
Not everything was
perfect, but this didn’t distract much from the fun, loose vibe of the evening.
If you’ve heard Jimi’s outstanding new solo album, Never Too Late, you know that his voice remains strong, and he
still sings with all of his characteristic strength and power. Despite his long
public battles with hepatitis C and liver cancer, Fergie still sounds great and
did an impressive job on his songs. He was a great addition to the show, and
everyone on stage was clearly enjoying playing. Headliner did a suitable job
playing with Jimi, and the show benefitted from excellent stage rapport between
Jimi and the band. The only disappointment was that the title track from Jimi’s
new album was cut from the set list (I was personally hoping to hear “Street Survivor”
or “The Air That I Breathe, which should be a major pop radio hit) as was
“Isolation” from the lone Toto album on which Fergie sang. Nevertheless, the
concert was enjoyable and fun. Hopefully Jimi returns to town while Never Too Late is being promoted to play
more of his solo material.
