Peter Frampton knows the end of his guitar-playing days are looming, but they are not yet here. He proved that, without a doubt, as he wowed a packed crowd for more than two hours at Robinson Center Performance Hall in Little Rock on Thursday night. He briefly mentioned his diagnosis of IBM (inclusion body myositis), but fans shouted "No! No!" as if they could help him overcome it.
The show was a tidy trip through his extensive catalog of songs, not just his solo career but his days in the bands Humble Pie and Frampton's Camel. Not only that, there were few times when his smile left his face as he shared his good vibes with his adoring fans, who sang along with him on such beloved Frampton hits as "Lines on My Face," "Show Me the Way," "Do You Feel Like We Do" and "Baby, I Love Your Way."
Opening the show with "Baby (Somethin's Happening,)" a non-hit single from 1974, he swiftly swung into his version of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)," a Top 20 hit for Frampton in 1977. Electric guitars dominated, with only a couple of acoustic numbers included in the show.
Frampton was most gracious in thanking his crack band of musicians, especially keyboard ace Rob Arthur and guitarist Adam Lester. Drummer Dan Wojciechowski and bassist Steve Mackey laid down impressive grooves for Frampton and Lester to skip around on, which they did most impressively, playing what appeared to be identical red Gibson electric guitars. The guitars were once referred to as long and amazing guitar duels (which were made famous by Duane Allman and Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers Band and Allman and Eric Clapton in Derek and the Dominos).
Much to the audience's delight, the "Talk Box" came into play a couple of times, and while there were few concert frills, such as large video screens, lasers and not even an opening act, it was a superb concert by a 69-year-old young-at-heart, still trim, though gray of hair and tending to bald, Englishman, who has lived in America for, lo, these many years.
There was a nice tribute to the late Chris Cornell of Soundgarden with one of his songs, and Frampton did a tasteful version of Hoagy Carmichael's legendary "Georgia on My Mind," off Frampton's latest album, All Blues.
As if there was no end to his tasteful performances, for an encore, Frampton and band chose a Beatles classic, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," which Frampton's guitar will surely do the day the man hangs it up for the last time.
Metro on 06/21/2019