“Off the Hook Wonderful!” Canned Heat LIVE! at the Newton Theatre
By Spotlight Central. Photos by Love Imagery
It’s over 90 degrees on Spring Street in Newton, NJ, this June 30, 2018 evening!
As we enter the doors of the Newton Theatre, we immediately feel cool — not only because of the comfortably cool temperature inside this historic venue, but because we’re here to see one of the coolest blues bands around — Canned Heat!
Inside the cozy auditorium, we chat with several members of the audience about tonight’s show.
First, we chat with Ida, from Byram, who exclaims, “I won tickets to see Canned Heat tonight from a local radio station, so I’m prepared to have a good time!” before declaring, “It’s so hot today, it’s great to be in a beautiful theater like this where it’s nice and cool!”
Next, we talk to Rich from Jefferson Township — a long-time fan of Canned Heat — who says, “I’m seeing the band for the first time since 1969,” noting, “I like the boogie and hard rock music they play, and I’m really looking forward to hearing them play “Going Up the Country” from Woodstock.”
Lastly, we chat with Ernest from Blairstown, a fan of Canned Heat since the 1960s. Recalls Ernest, “I was in the Navy in ’65 and ’66 and stationed overseas in Okinawa, Japan. My friend’s sister used to send us record albums through the mail — they were always wrapped in brown paper, because we weren’t allowed to play rock music on our base.”
Continuing, “One time, she sent us Canned Heat and we loved it,” Ernest exclaims, “And I still love ’em to this day — hearing their music keeps me young!”
Adding, “Tonight, I brought my grandson, Tyler, with me. We listen to all kinds of music together — rock, jazz, fusion. Wherever we travel, I always have good music to listen to like Canned Heat.”
Stating, “I’m sure that after this concert I’ll be listening to Canned Heat all the time,” Ernest explains, “Hearing their music live revitalizes you as you listen to it,” before noting, “and it revitalizes the band, too, because they get to perform for people who enjoy their music!”
Canned Heat was formed in 1965 by two blues enthusiasts — Alan Wilson and Bob Hite. They took the name of their band from a blues number, “Canned Heat Blues,” a song about a man who turned to drinking Sterno — also known as “canned heat.” After appearing at the Monterey and Woodstock music festivals in the late-1960s, the band acquired worldwide fame, touring and recording with group members including Henry Vestine — and, later, Harvey Mandel — on guitar, Larry Taylor on bass, and Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra on drums.
Over the years, numerous personal changes have taken place but, for the past 52 years, one long-time member has remained as the self-described “keeper of the flame” — drummer Fito de la Parra. Before joining Canned Heat, de la Parra played with artists including The Platters, Etta James, Mary Wells, and The Shirelles.
These days, de la Parra is also joined onstage with one of his 1960's collaborators — Larry “The Mole” Taylor on bass; in fact, both of these musicians performed with Canned Heat at Woodstock. Before joining the group, Taylor was a session bassist for artists including The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis and, later, for John Mayall and Tom Waits.
Newer members of Canned Heat include Dale Spalding on lead vocals, harmonica, guitar, and bass. Spalding studied harmonica with the iconic bluesman Sonny Terry and played with Latin bandleader Poncho Sanchez before being tapped by de la Parra to front Canned Heat.
Also rounding out Canned Heat’s current line-up is John “JP” Paulus on guitar and bass — a former guitar student of Pat Metheny and bass student of Jaco Pastorius. JP went on to perform with such blues giants as Albert Collins and Big Mama Thornton before recording and touring the world with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.
The Newton Theatre auditorium lights begin to dim and the members of Canned Heat — de la Parra, Taylor, JP, and Spalding — take the stage to avid applause!
Opening with a bang, the group starts off with the rockin’ “On the Road Again,” de la Parra’s driving drums and Taylor’s solid bass boogieing on as JP handles the lead vocal and Spalding’s harmonica wails. With lights raining down on JP’s and Spalding’s gray ponytails, the crowd cheers for the band’s rendition of this bluesy foot-tapping number.
Moving on to “Time Was,” Spalding’s soulful voice echoes throughout the auditorium as he sings, “I’ve got time, things will work out fine/Trouble will not wreck my life.” Featuring a cool bass riff by Taylor, JP plays an electrfying guitar solo for the enthusiastic crowd.
After thanking the audience, Spalding says “We’re gonna do a love song — is that alright?” When the audience responds in the affirmative, he says, “Can I get an amen for love?” before dedicating the group’s next song to his wife who just happens to be here in the Newton Theatre crowd tonight.
Performing the blues ballad, “I’m Her Man” — a number Canned Heat performed at Woodstock — Spalding cries his way through the song, deftly alternating between singing and playing the harmonica before JP plays a stunning guitar solo and Spalding impresses with a bluesy harmonica solo.
Taylor switches over to guitar and JP takes over on bass as the group launches into “Night Hawk.” On this fast blues shuffle, Spalding rides his way up and down his blues harp like a runaway railway car, taking the audience on an exhilarating ride! As the musicians takes turns soloing, audience members can’t help but move to the groove in their seats before hooting and hollering their approval.
Before performing the classic Canned Heat number, “Amphetamine Annie,” Spalding introduces Daniel Fagan on bass as Taylor plays guitar and sings, “I wanna tell you all a story/About this chick I know/They call her ‘Amphetamine Annie’/She’s always shoveling snow.” Heads bop to the infectious rhythm of this bluesy boogie as Taylor’s and JP’s guitars duel.
Spalding tells the happy crowd, “This next song was a little part of this thing that happened 50 years ago — called Woodstock — about peace and love,” before declaring, “We need peace and love more than any other time now.”
Here, the group performs their 1969 Top 20 hit — considered by many the unofficial anthem of Woodstock, “Going Up the Country.” On this number, JP sings lead and Spalding handles the flute part on his harmonica which tunefully jumps up and down as he plays. As de la Parra’s drums propel the happy tune forward, Spalding entices the audience to clap along before he joins in on the vocal and the entire crowd leaps to its feet cheering!
Right before intermission, the band has the audience joining in on the rollicking blues number, “Same All Over,” as they echo sing, “It’s the same all over (Same all over)/Well, it’s the same all over (Same all over)” before Spalding concludes by stating, “And that is the truth!”
After intermission, Canned Heat commences Act II of tonight’s show with the bouncy and upbeat “Future Blues.” On this number — which recalls Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” —de la Parry shines with his creative drum fills and Gibson Les Paul guitars rule.
Before the next tune, Spalding tells the audience, “We’re gonna bring it down a notch and dedicate this song to band member Harvey Mandel who, currently, isn’t with us due to illness.” On this slow and sensual blues number, each of the melody instrumentalists takes a turn in the spotlight as audience members dance and sway to the music. The crowd cheers for Spalding’s sensitive harmonica playing, JP’s soulful guitar solo, and Taylor’s bass solo in which he impresses by finger picking with his right hand before playing chords on his bass in an extended jam.
JP introduces the next number stating, “This next song is a psychedelic environmental boogie which was written 48 years ago, but is just as important today.” On “So Sad, (The Whole World’s In a Tangle)” Spalding laments, “This ole world’s in a tangle/Dark clouds most everywhere/Gotta free this air/But no one seems to care.”
De la Parra keeps the shuffle beat driving and JP punctuates with his distorted guitar sound, the song ending with flashing lights to emphasize its ecological message.
Following cheers and applause, Spalding asks, “Larry — you got some blues?” to which Taylor picks up his guitar and sings lead on “Too Many Drivers at the Wheel.” His voice ringing out strong and clear, he plucks his guitar strings with his fingers while JP plays bass on this funky blues tune.
Spalding follows up by stating before the band’s next song, “This is the real blues when Larry gets that open tuning going!” Here, Taylor plays slide guitar while de la Parra slaps his sticks on the rims of his drums as the band vamps into “Red Hot Mama.” Feet tapping, heads bopping, and hands clapping, many in the crowd get up and dance to this blues number before responding with fervent cheers and applause.
Spalding announces, “We had a few hits back in the day. This one is from 1970, and it talks about working together — about not separating ourselves from each other.” Diving into their Top 40 hit, “Let’s Work Together,” Spalding’s vocals are soulful and Taylor’s slide guitar work is featured on this pop rocker — a song which foreshadows Bachman Turner Overdrive’s 1973 hit, “Taking Care of Business.”
After introducing the members of the band, the entire group bows together. Spalding thanks the audience for coming tonight, asserting, “You are definitely our people — we can feel that!” before asking, “Do you want to boogie?” When the crowd responds with a hearty “Yeah!” the band launches into one of the highlight numbers of the evening — another tune Canned Heat played at Woodstock entitled “Boogie.”
Changing the words to “We’re going to the Newton to boogie tonight/People in Jersey know how to boogie all night,” Spalding entertains the crowd as folks dance at their seats and in the aisles!
The crowd takes notice when three of the musicians leave the stage to feature long-time band member Larry Taylor as he picks his way up and down his bass fretboard, the music flowing from his fingertips to fill the theater with his authentic Woodstock sound.
Next, Fito de la Parra returns for a drum solo, rat-a-tat-tatting alone on the stage as he fills and chills with precision and speed.
Eventually, the entire group is reunited, at which point Fito joins in humming along, cymbals crashing as these blues masters boogie their way into audience members’ hearts and souls!
With the entire crowd lifted to its feet, Spalding gives a heartfelt concluding message — “Bye bye — with peace and love to you all!”
As happy audience members make their way out of the auditorium and back out into the warm summer night, we chat with several members of the crowd who share their opinions of tonight’s concert with us.
Exclaims Joe from Newton, “Canned Heat was as good tonight as they were when I last saw them back in 1970!”
Lisa from Hawley PA agrees, commenting, “They were wonderful — it was a very ‘present’ concert — very intimate, where you felt like you were right there with them.”
Mike from Metuchen — who retrieved tonight’s setlist from the stage as a memento of the evening’s performance — says, “I loved this show.”
Explaining, “My dad was a Marine who was killed years ago when he was in the military,” Mike adds, “When they sent back his uniform, they also sent back his favorite Canned Heat record,” noting, “I’ve always had a special connection to the band. That album is a prized possession in my family — they’re a great group that can really play.”
Charles from Hondsdale PA remarks, “This was one great show — and I actually saw Canned Heat perform at Woodstock!”
Explaining, “I was 15 years old and I hitchhiked from outside of Philadelphia to New York with my tent, some camping equipment, and my supplies,” Charles reveals that another favorite performer at Woodstock was Janis Joplin. Adding that he’s still a music lover nearly a half-century later, Charles declares, “I love coming to the Newton Theatre,” stating, “I’m looking forward to seeing John Mayall here in the fall.”
Craig from Andover is here with his teenage daughter, Angela. Explaining,“I like to expose my daughter to different kinds of music — and I’ve always wanted to see Canned Heat,” Craig echoes Charles’ sentiments when he says, “The Newton Theatre is such a great venue — it’s small, it’s close by, they get great acts, and every seat is good.”
Comments Angela, 15 — who, we learn, has been to the Newton Theatre with her dad to see The Glenn Miller Orchestra and Al Stewart’s Year of the Cat Tour — “I usually listen to hip-hop, but Canned Heat is different… and good!”
Joan from Audubon agrees, exclaiming about tonight’s exceptional performance by Canned Heat, “It was just off-the-hook wonderful!”
To learn more about Canned Heat, please go to cannedheatmusic.com. To find out more about upcoming concerts at the Newton Theatre — including BJ Thomas on July 21, violinist Jean Luc Ponty on August 23, and John Mayall on Sept. 6 — please click on thenewtontheatre.com.
