Camp Freddy Steven Tyler

New thing of the day, saw the band Camp Freddy.

Very very cool show. Like their bio says, it's a bunch of musicians getting together for the love of Rock and Roll, and playing cover songs with guest musicians. It's the spirit of the show, but also a great way to see some people perform outside their songs and some of their favorites. 

There were two opening bands. The first one, Sabrosa Purr - well I liked their first song and was a bit bored by the rest of it. They had a girl drummer and guitar player and did some funky new hipster stuff where they all played drums at the end of one of their songs, but overall they rocked it out the first song and it was downhill after that for me. I liked the second opening band - Darling Stillettos, just for the fact that they were female and rocking out, a little sex appeal but some fun moves and working it. A good show and some catchy beats. Overall just more fun, sexy and rock.

Highlights for Camp Freddy. Well I'm not familiar with all the guest musicians and the songs, but I loved loved loved the following performances. Franky Perez really caught my ear and I thought his rendition of War Pigs and Surrender were excellent. Surprisingly I also LOVED Juliette Lewis. The eclectic indy actress who I'm used to seeing in movies, has an amazing voice and great showmanship! She went up there, sang like a badass and said something along the lines of "God I forgot how much fun this is - Rock and Roll!". She sang Proud Mary and Dirty Deeds - incredibly well and did both songs a grand tribute. You can tell she loves to sing, she's good at it, and she loved the songs and loves to rock. I am now a fan of her! 

Some low points. The set list started out with "We will rock you" and "Song Two". Although those are fun get you pumped up songs, it felt a little inauthentic, like cheerleaders at a football game. We are pumped to hear rock and roll, you don't need to pump up the crowd. That's what the opening band is for. Just rock it out. The performance wasn't rock out stellar in the beginning so I was like, uh oh this could be a lame show. Later in the show, I was a little horrified when Mark McGrath was the guest singer and sang not just "Fight for your right to party" but also THE KISS song "Rock N Roll all night". More pump up songs, and he did well for them, but I think Mark McGrath is overall sort of a tool especially since he hosts entertainment shows, so it didn't seem right for him to sing a KISS song.

The best part: The best part is that they don't announce who their guest singers/players will be until they come on stage. So the last guest on stage was... wait for it... Steven Tyler of Aerosmith! I am an Aerosmith fan much to the teasing of my coworkers. So this was an extra special delicious dessert of a finale! At first he came up and said he needed to "warm up" so he played the drums for a song. SO COOL. I love how in the show, performers play outside their typical element. Then he went up and sang. I especially liked Sweet Emotion. One of my favorite parts was when he started crooning "I could stay awake, just to hear you breathing" and then said "Nah, let's not that do that fucking shit" and I was like OMG YES!!!! WOOO!!! "Don't wanna miss a thing" is not one of my favorite songs and I'm uber glad they stuck to the rock and roll music that was the show. 

Steven Tyler though, sang well, but you can tell he's an older seasoned and "earned it" rock musician. He played a lot of percussion and maraca things, and sorta showed off here and there, but he didn't rock out with the energy or heart like some of the other performers. It wasn't the best performance ever, but it was amazing to see such a grand rock star fairly up close in a little club called Roxy in Hollywood. He was a real legend though and it was a star-struck end to a very cool concert.

That was the show. We stuck around afterwards to see if we could get photos or glimpses of the musicians, but no luck. The bouncers and security guarded Mr. Tyler like he was the President, but we saw his hair as they rushed him to his car. It was a great great night :) Lots of fun!

We're going to their 3rd show again next Friday night. The husband has been wanting to see this band for a few years now, so got two tickets to two of their shows, one last Friday and one next Friday. Should be interesting to see how they compare, to see who shows up and what they sing. I love the mystery and the spirit in which this band plays. Surprise guest musicians for every show, and a love of rock and roll. You can tell when they get up there - that they're all just having a blast and they're all just doing it for the love of the music. No pretenses, no fluff, just music.

CAMP FREDDY, headed up by Billy Morrison (Billy Idol/The Cult), Dave Navarro (Janes Addiction/The Panic Channel), Matt Sorum (Guns N Roses/Velvet Revolver), Donovan Leitch (son of legendary folk singer Donovan), and Chris Chaney (Janes Addiction/Alanis Morrisette) was created for the sole purpose have having a good time. 

XMAS RESIDENCY #2

December 10, 2010: The Roxy, Los Angeles, CA

SET LIST: We Will Rock You, Song Two, Rock This Town, War Pigs, Helter Skelter, Surrender, Proud Mary, Dirty Deeds, Fight For Your Right, Rock N Roll All Nite, Anarchy in the Uk, Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love, Sex Type Thing, Wipeout, Rattlesnake Shake, Sweet Emotion, Whole Lotta Love 

GUESTS: Slim Jim Phantom , Billy Duffy, Franky Perez, Steve Stevens, Juliette Lewis, Nick Maybury, Mark McGrath, Steve Jones, Corey Taylor, Steven Tyler, Johnny Lang, Mick Fleetwood

Steven Tyler on drums

Steven Tyler at the Camp Freddy show at the Roxy Los Angeles.

The Roxy