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Cheap Trick Review At Ravinia: Cheap Trick Meets The Beatles!

This past Saturday evening at Chicago's best outdoor venue, Ravinia hosted the venerable Cheap Trick.

Led by original bandmates and future Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petersson, Rockford's Cheap Trick opened their live set with The Beatles Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band beginning with the title track from the classic LP!

With the Chicago Philharmonic plus four male backup singers supporting the group, Nielsen, Zander, Petersson and guitarist Nielsen's son Daxx on drums (in place of long-time drummer Bun E. Carlos), the stage was set on every front. 

With lead singer Robin Zander dressed like a "Mad Dog & Englishman," with his long blonde hair slyly tucked under a Dream Police hat, Zander belted Sargent Pepper to the delight of the sold-out Ravinia faithful. Cheap Trick, otherwise known as "The American Beatles of Japan," were treated to the Beatles during set one and "Live At Budokan" during the second set, with Zander calling out "Hello Tokyo." 

Cheap Trick brought an energy to the stage that belied their (average age of 66) years as the local legends rocked their loyal followers. Nielsen was his usual quirky self, combining his trademark herky-jerky moves with random leaps into the air with his bevy of guitars (he owns 400!) that he brought for Saturday's show. Nielsen, who writes most of Cheap Trick's songs, also had some amazing history with John Lennon: Rick worked with Lennon on the "Double Fantasy" album and in fact, on the day they recorded together, his son Daxx was born, August 12, 1980! The guitar he gave Lennon as a gift now resides in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

When asked about the obvious Hall of Fame snub to Cheap Trick, Nielsen comments on the oversight: "No kidding. It's a shame. It's a travesty. But I think if we get in, great. If we don't get in, great." Considering that Cheap Trick has over 5,000 gigs under their belt, has continued to do 175-200 live concerts a year (the band has been together since 1974), has sold over 25 million records, and has been ranked #25 by VH1 in their "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock," to remain unrecognized by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is more than a "travesty." It's disrespectful to the fans who continue to identify and honor Cheap Trick's music. 

Ravinia continues to march out crowd favorites like Cheap Trick and Chicago, two world-class live acts who continue to garner the respect and adoration of both fans and critics, and, yet insufferably, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame steadfastly refuses to induct these legends of their respective genres. 

This critic nominates Chicago as a new destination for a brand new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Better city (than Cleveland), a better music history with so many great rock groups originating out of the Chicago area, not to mention our history of blues and jazz, and versatility in all music genres, not simply rock. Dare I say it? The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is a complete and utter joke. And a bad one at that. Where are the Doobie Brothers? Deep Purple? 

In the meantime, on yet another gorgeous evening in Highland Park, Ravinia's staff worked tirelessly to ensure that its happy patrons had a seamless night. Even the parking was stress-free. Getting in and out of Ravinia's lots was smooth sailing. The concessions were well run at a snappy pace and security was well organized, making seating simple and easy. 

Cheap Trick, normally known for the "less is more" philosophy, incorporated some new wrinkles by adding the Philharmonic and backup singers to the mix, fattened their classic melodic sound, and emphasized the catchy hooks to their famous hits: "I Want You To Want Me," "Surrender," "Big Eyes," "Hello There" (which put the crowd into a frenzy) to open up the second set and more.

The only slight disappointment was Trick not performing an encore and leaving the title track from "The Dream Police" and "The Flame" out of their repertoire Saturday night. Surprising, considering that Robin was adorned in "Dream Police" fashion for the duration of the concert. 

Otherwise, Highland Park's own Billy Corgan (who was down the row from us) of the Smashing Pumpkins and the rest of the audience witnessed an unforgettable night of classic rock at Chicago's favorite outdoor venue, Ravinia.

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