Last Friday evening, Merriweather Post Pavilion and the surrounding woodlands of Columbia, MD played host to two rock giants. Both the Steve Miller Band and Peter Frampton are co-headlining a joint US tour, and fittingly both artist’s catalogs are synonymous with summertime gatherings. Yes, powerhouse co-headlining tours seem to be a back as a summer trend and happily for Merriweather’s audience, the pairing of two of rock’s most prolific artists brought them a night of the genre’s most celebrated songs.
Kicking off the evening, Peter Frampton primed the crowd with his clean and precise guitar tones, his well written rhythms, and his signature voice box that still gets cheers from fans after all this time. Frampton played a solid set and sounded quite fantastic—his solo breaks on his signature Gibson Les Paul ringing through the hills. He even threw in a solid cover of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” as a tribute to the late Chris Cornell.
When Steve Miller took the stage, he did so quite gracefully with a rather calm walk to the microphone. Apparently Miller’s a man of very few words, short of a brief hello and introduction a few songs into his set. Getting right to it, Miller’s unassuming approach and humble stage presence contrasts with the caliber and reach his songs have attained through the years.
Miller’s guitar tone is certainly the star of the show and his lead guitar breaks rose perfectly above the mix while his band provided his wonderful signature grooves. Peter Frampton sat in with Miller for a few covers early in the set for “All Your Love” by Otis Rush and Elmore James’ “Stranger Blues.”
One thing that’s nice about the woodlands’ at Merriweather, and most amphitheaters for that matter, is that the grounds themselves evoke the feel of a music festival. There’s an obvious sense of community in the air during the show and attendees seem familial. Whether they’re singing along in their seats in the pavilion or camped out on blankets on the lawn, the audience for Frampton and Miller certainly had the impulse to dance. Dance, dance, all night long…
STEVE MILLER BAND
PETER FRAMPTON
STEVE MILLER SETLIST
The Stake
Swingtown
Abracadabra
Living in the USA
Take the Money and Run
All Your Love (Otis Rush Cover)
Stranger Blues (Elmore James Cover)
True Fine Love
Dance Dance Dance
I Want to Make the World Turn Around
Wild Mountain Honey
Serenade
Space Cowboy
Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma
The Joker
Space Intro
Fly Like an Eagle
Rock’n Me
Jungle Love
Threshold
Jet Airliner
PETER FRAMPTON SETLIST
Something’s Happening
Lying
Lines on My Face
I Saved a Bird Today
Blackhole Sun (Soundgarden Cover)
I’ll Give You Money
Baby I Love Your Way
Do You Feel Like We Do
Four Day Creep
STEVE MILLER BAND AND PETER FRAMPTON TOUR DATES:
June 24—Mashantucket, CT—The Grand Theater At Foxwoods Casino
June 30—Verona, NY—Turning Stone Resort and Casino
July 1—Sterling Heights, MI—Michigan Lottery Theater at Freedom Hill
July 14—Hollywood, FL—Seminole Hard Rock Live
July 15—Estero, FL—Germain Arena
July 16—Alpharetta , GA—Verizon Wireless Amp
July 18—Rogers, AR—Walmart Amp
July 19—Kansas City, MO—Starlight Theatre
July 20—Aurora, IL—River Edge Park
July 22—Walker, MN—Moondance Jam
July 23—Welch, MN—Treasure Island Resort & Casino
July 25—Park City, KS—Hartman Arena
July 28—Tulsa, OK—River Spirit Casino
July 29—Thackerville, OK—WinStar World Casino
July 31—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks
August 2—Salt Lake City, UT—USANA Amp
August 4—Bend, OR—Les Schwab Amp
August 5—Auburn, WA—White River Amp
August 6—Troutdale, OR—McMenamins Edgefield
August 8—Las Vegas, NV—The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
August 9—Costa Mesa, CA—Pacific Amp
August 11—Los Angeles, CA—Greek Theatre
August 12—Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amp
August 13—Murphys, CA—Ironstone Amp
