Totally Unrelated to Horseracing but..........

[P-Dub]

I am a HUGE Tower Of Power fan.  Just noticed they are playing tonight at Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes, NY. I have no idea where that is but perhaps its close to some of you.

Also playing Nov 17 at BB Kings in NY, and the following night in Westbury at the Theater in Westbury,NY.

They are from the Bay Area and I\'ve seen them many times. Just phenomenal. Going to see them early January in Oakland. I would strongly recommend my East Coast friends to see them if you get the chance.

Banditbeau I think you\'re from Minnesota.


Date   Venue   Location           
    Nov 10   COHOES MUSIC HALL   Cohoes, NY       
    Nov 11   Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom   Hampton Beach, NH       
    Nov 12   Twin River Event Center   Lincoln, RI       
    Nov 13   Cary Hall   Lexington, MA       
    Nov 15   Jergel\'s Rhythm Grille   Warrendale, PA       
    Nov 17   BB Kings   New York, NY       
    Nov 18   Theatre at Westbury   Westbury, NY       
    Nov 19   John Lyman Center For The Performing Arts   New Haven, CT       
    Nov 20   Turning Stone Resort & Casino Showroom   Verona, NY          
    Dec 02   Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant   Minneapolis, MN       
    Dec 03   Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant   Minneapolis, MN       
    Dec 04   Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant   Minneapolis, MN       
    Dec 05   Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant   Minneapolis, MN       
    Dec 15   Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino   Chandler, AZ       
    Dec 16   The Rose   Pasadena, CA       
    Dec 17   The Saban Theater   Beverly Hills, CA       
    Dec 30   BB Kings   New York, NY       
    Dec 31   Infinity Hall   Hartford, CT       
    Dec 31   Infinity Hall   Hartford, CT       





Back to racing.....

[johnnym]

Saw them when they open up for Dave Matthews not to shabby

[FrankD.]

Paul,

A beautiful very old historical venue that just re opened in September, a small house with incredible acoustics for the 70 something old rockers, hipsters, blues tour. The Casino in Hampton Beach is another classic venue from times gone by.
The really hot old rockers hit it during the beach season, not much going on there in November. Tower of Power did put out some really good stuff back in the day.
God bless them, they can still command $50-$80 per ticket, seats still available!

http://www.albany.com/whatsnew/2016/08/cohoes-music-hall-reopening-after-major-renovations.html

[magicnight]

Paul, I saw them only once, but it was memorable.

It was 1973 or thereabouts. I was 16 and had a front row seat to see Tower of Power and Santana at the Academy of Music on 14th Street (a 3,000-seat movie theater built in 1927). New Yorkers of a certain age will remember the Academy for its bathrooms, which - by comparison - would make visiting an opium den a wholesome experience.

It was the best concert I ever saw. At that time, ToP was still fronted by Lenny Williams, who is one of the most underrated soul singers of all time. Click on the link below to check out their (1973) live version of \"So Very Hard to Go\" on Soul Train.

Two great multi-ethnic Bay-area bands at their peak on one bill. 43 years ago, but the music is still as fresh as ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APlwRR9IO_E

[Dick Powell]

Actually, they are kind of related to horse racing. Their bass guitarist was none other than Victor Conte of BALCO fame; one of the great juicers of all time in sports.
Dick

[P-Dub]

Dick Powell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Actually, they are kind of related to horse
> racing. Their bass guitarist was none other than
> Victor Conte of BALCO fame; one of the great
> juicers of all time in sports.
> Dick


Huh?

Their bass player is Rocco Prestia, he\'s the original bass player and still with the band to this day.

Magic,
Couldn\'t agree more. Their early stuff with LW phenomenal. Lots of great videos on YouTube.

Santana AND TOP?? Hard to top that.

[Tavasco]

That\'s some esoteric stuff, Mr. Dick Powell

Facts checked and verified!

1972 when two members from Loading Zone were merged into ToP  Bruce Conte (guitar), Lenny Picket (Sax), along with Lenny Williams (Vocalist) a single artist connected via Fantasy Records.

Victor Conte (also a musician when young) is the brother of Bruce Conte. But I know nothing about BALCO.

Re: Santana and his group at the time (1972) I lived on Church St. S.F. just above Dolores Park band members, fringe elements and occasionally Carlos & Gregg R. (w/portable amps) would come and set up around 11:30 a.m. Sundays (which was after mass at the mission and play open air until the sun dipped behind twin peaks and it began to cool. The percussion section was unbelievable as was the pall of smoke.

[richiebee]

Know that TG resident musicologist TGAB is loving this thread, unrelated or not,
so be patient with me while I add:

WARNING: Concert redboards follow.

Saw exactly one concert at Academy of Music, the venue mentioned by Magicnight:
Allman Brothers Band, probably 1972 or 1973, after they released \"Eat a Peach\".
The Allman Brothers showed up late and played late; this may have been their
first concert tour after the death of Duane \"Skydog\" Allman.

Santana: Again 1972 or 1973, saw them at the Miami Beach Convention Center, also
home to the ABA\'s Miami Floridians. Basically a three hour instrumental jam, for
a good idea of the music played at this concert, check out Santana\'s \"Lotus\", a
1974 triple album originally released exclusively in Japan, I think now available
as a two CD set.

[Dick Powell]

From The Guardian,

Guitar man who gave sport the needle
Duncan Mackay on Victor Conte, self-taught pharmacist at centre of drugs scandal
Saturday 4 December 2004 19.03 EST Last modified on Tuesday 5 April 2016 01.48 EDT
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Victor Conte used to be a session musician who played bass guitar. His laid-back style with, among others, the 1970s cult band Tower of Power, and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, earned Conte the nickname \'Walkin\' Fish\'. He collaborated on 15 albums between 1965 and 1983. That was then.

Now, in his new career, Conte is in the spotlight. He is the man threatening to ruin the careers and reputations of some of the most recognisable names in world sport, including Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, Dwain Chambers and America\'s biggest baseball stars.

\'Victor wasn\'t just a three-chord, rock \'n\' roll blues player,\' fellow-musician Harvey Mandel said. \'You could play any type of song, he\'d be right there with you.\' He was always destined to be more than just a back-up musician.

\'He was too smart to do any one thing,\' said Mandel. \'You could see Victor being anything.\' As it turned out, Conte became a self-taught pharmacist who will forever be associated with the biggest doping scandal in sport. \'Want to know how this part of my life started?\' the 54-year-old Conte said in a magazine interview published in the United States last week. \'It wasn\'t with drugs. When I played bass for Tower of Power in the \'70\'s, I was one of the only band members who weren\'t using drugs. Believe it or not, I\'m very conservative. I ran track in school in Fresno, so I\'ve always believed in fitness.\'

[P-Dub]

He wasn\'t the main bass player, but I\'ll give you he played some study sessions with them.  Rocco Prestia was the original bass player and is still with them today.