Review: Big Star in Concert

Chadd Ritenbaugh, bass player from The Phobes and one of the newest members of Tertulia Andaluza, visits the Cervantes Theatre in Malaga to see Big Star find their groove.

By: Chadd Ritenbaugh

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Artist: Big Star Genre: Rock’n'roll, pop, rock Date: 28/04/2009 Location: Teatro Cervantes (Malaga)

Big Star’s leader and co-founder, Alex Chilton seemed a little stiff when he took the stage at the Cervantes on Tuesday night. With no introduction and a lot of preliminary shoe gazing, there was an awkward silence between songs normally peppered with a relaxed wit delivered through his smooth Memphis drawl.

Not only was it their first time in the immaculate Cervantes theatre, it was mine as well. I understood that it could be a bit daunting for a rock band to feel loose in a venue like this one, aside from the fact that it was nearly half-empty. Or was it half-full? It seemed that after running through a few Big Star classics none of this seemed to matter as Alex Chilton and his band found their groove and relaxed enough to deliver their music with gusto to their fans for a very special first time in Spain.

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The current line-up of Big Star consists of Alex Chilton on guitar/vox, Jon Auer on guitar, Ken Stringfellow on bass and original drummer Jody Stephens. All members took turns on vocals during a set that included classics from their definitive early 1970s records #1 Record, Radio City, and Sister’s Lovers, but also In Space from 2005, Chilton’s solo material and some covers.

The band displayed their brilliance by doing what they do best: delivering whimsical melodic pop and no-nonsense rock’n’roll reminiscent of the mid-sixties greats (The Beatles, The Kinks, The Byrds, et. al.). However they managed to achieve this with their own style, polished with chiming guitars and soaring harmonies. The set grew more playful with a cover of The Kinks’ Till The End Of The Day and Todd Rundgrens’s S.L.U.T. as the band joked amongst each other and Alex Chilton loosened his tongue with the audience.

The concert came to a close and the crowd immediately demanded an encore. They re-emerged with Thank You Friends an upbeat power-pop gem off their third album. The perfect ending to their first appearance in Spain.

Thank you friends,
wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you,
I’m so grateful,
for all the things you helped me do,
to the ladies and gentlemen,
who made this all so probable.

By the end of the song, bassist Ken Stringfellow was belting out the chorus “Thank you friends, I want to thank you again!” I think their audience got the message. We were among friends and he was so grateful to give them his all. I was lucky enough to get to chat with Alex Chilton after the show and he remarked: “I learned early on that when it’s a smaller audience than expected, it just gives you more reason to work harder”.