Joey Molland and the Badfinger Band -- a concert review

This past Saturday, May 6, 2017 Joey Molland and the Badfinger Band came to my hometown of Alton, Illinois and performed outside of Mac's Timeout as part of a Kentucky Derby party.    My town is not a place that usually hosts bands (besides local ones) and I was pretty shocked that Joey from Badfinger was coming here.    The week before the concert Alton, which is located on the Mississippi River, flooded.  The concert was outdoors, just one street over from the flooded area, but thankfully the water didn't get closer!

Photo of some of the Flooding taken right before the concert 

I have heard Joey perform at the Fest for Beatle fans, but this is the first time I had ever seen just him on stage.     At the Fest, I thought Joey's voice sounded rough.   He couldn't hit all of the notes in the classic Badfinger songs, but then he also didn't originally sing them.

This time around, Joey's voice was still a little rough, but it didn't sound too bad.   The guys in his band helped with some of the singing, especially when it came to the higher notes.    Joey's played a great lead guitar on all of the songs.   He really seemed to be having a whole lot of fun on the stage and his energy spread out to the crowd on the streets of downtown Alton.

As expected, they performed most of the big songs that you would expect to hear if you went to a Badfinger show:  "Day after Day,"  "Baby Blue,"  "Money,"  "No Matter What,"  "Without You"
and "Come and Get it" plus other songs that I didn't recognize.     There was a very special treat at the encore of the show.    As you know, Chuck Berry recently passed away and he and his family lived 15 miles northeast of Alton in St. Louis, MO.  Berry's daughter came up on stage and joined Joey in singing "Johnny B. Good."    It was a great moment and Joey was extremely happy to share the stage with the daughter of rock royalty.

Joey Molland signing with Chuck Berry's daughter

I don't think the mid-west US folks there really understood the things Joey said between songs because of his Liverpool accent.   I heard some people saying, "What did he say?"   He mentioned before playing "Day After Day" that George Harrison had originally played the guitar on the song, but since he wasn't here, he (Joey) would have to do his best to play it.

After the show, there wasn't a formal meet and greet and none of the Badfinger t-shirts or music was sold.  However, Joey stood behind the stage and was happy to sign autographs and pose for photos with whoever came near him.    Joey is a really nice guy and does not come across as rude or stuck up.  He always is smiling and truly seems to enjoy playing music for people.

Joey and Sara your happy Beatles blogger

The price was right for this concert (free!), and I had a fun time.    I am not sure why Badfinger was playing in Illinois and why they were having an outdoor party for the Kentucky Derby in the first place, but everyone there seemed to be enjoying themselves by dancing and singing along.

Joey has several other dates planned throughout the summer.   He is worth checking out for a fun concert.