Rock 'n' roll fantasy lives on

Bad Company turned back the clock for its adoring fans Saturday at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

By RICK GERSHMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 16, 1999

CLEARWATER -- It is presumptuous to assume he was hurt in a motorcycle accident, though the signs suggest it: the black, sleeveless "muscle" T-shirt, the used-and-abused blue jeans, the barbed-wire tattoo encircling his right bicep.

Whatever happened to this forty-something Bad Company fan, his left arm was immobilized in the most God-forsaken contraption you've ever seen, replete with boards and straps and hooks that wound over his shoulder and around his back.

But injuries be damned, because Saturday night, BadCo was cranking up Shooting Star, in the group's first performance in almost two decades with Paul Rodgers, its original -- and to many fans, only true -- vocalist.

And Ruth Eckerd Hall's stringent regulations be damned too, because there was no way this guy was going to let the ultimate classic-rock ballad play its course without him holding his lighter up to the heavens, its flame flickering bright like the doomed life of Johnny, the shooting star.

So off came this elaborate apparatus, straps and buckles flying, landing with a thud on the floor, a disc breaking free, falling and bouncing, rolling into the aisle.

And out came the lighter, signaling the love and appreciation for Rodgers, whose voice was as powerful as ever. Signaling passion for Mick Ralphs, whose lead guitar tore through the legendary riffs like it was 1976 again. Signaling respect for drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell, a tight rhythm section that laid down a tough groove.

And signaling the usher, a tiny woman old enough to be the man's mother, who kindly asked the man to put the lighter away. Which he did. No hard feelings, though. Before the song was over, she had retrieved the disc and was helping him put the brace back on. That allowed him to dance, shake and groove the rest of the show.

How does such an ancient act inspire such energy? Bad Company did it by giving the sellout crowd exactly what it wanted: the classic hits of its youth, from opener Can't Get Enough through 13 more songs, closing with Rock "n' Roll Fantasy. The crowd called for an encore, and the band -- wisely realizing many of its fans can't stand and scream quite as long as they used to -- returned quickly for a couple of new songs.

For the reunited band's tour opener, the show came off pretty well. The sound was fine, and while the group seemed a touch stiff early on, it was plenty loosened up by the time Rodgers banged out the opening notes to its eponymous tune on the piano.

Rodgers is pushing 50, but his voice is as strong as the sturdy biceps he showed off in a clingy white tank top -- a look most veteran rockers should not attempt, but he pulled off. Shakier was the group's harmonies on Feel Like Makin' Love, but otherwise, Bad Company put on a show it could have been as proud of in 1979 as 1999.

© Copyright 1999 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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