The Southern-rock-with-a-pop sound of .38 Special got the crowd at Saltair rocking into the night Wednesday. As the concert went on, the energy and the nostalgia just got better.
After the houselights dimmed, the band, featuring guitarists Jeff Carlisi and Danny Chauncey, drummer Scott Meeder, bassist Larry Lundstrom, vocalists/guitarists Don Barnes and Donnie Van Zant stepped to the microphones and chugged out "Somebody Like You."At first, the mix sounded like mud. Meeder's drumming muffled the guitars, and Barnes' vocals could barely be heard. The mix cleared up after the third song, "If It's the Last Thing I Do." Van Zant kept the audience of about 5,000 alive by leading it into a waving frenzy as the song's honky-tonk grinding bump popped through the speakers.
"This year marks the 20th anniversary of .38 Special!" Barnes yelled into the microphone. "And you've been with us every minute. So get ready to have a party."
The party's set featured the Jacksonville, Fla., sound that sparked .38 Special's older brother Lynyrd Skynyrd and colleague in the business Molley Hatchet. While .38 Special's sound leans more to the pop mode, there was no denying the band's blood is rebel red.
The hits began to pour with the twangy intro to "Back Where You Belong." Barnes and the boys jumped around and sang the chorus with the audience. "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys" featured Van Zant on lead vocals as he slung a guitar low across his hips.
A mellow refrain of "If I'd Been the One," an MTV staple during the mid-1980s, followed.
"We want to dedicate this next song to my brother Ronnie," said Van Zant of the late Skynyrd frontman. "And to all those who are rebels at heart."
With that, the acoustic guitar picking of "Rebel to Rebel" filled the pavilion as members of the audience held up Bic lighters, dotting the darkness with flames.
A new hit, "The Squeeze," with its yanking guitars, broke the reverent mood. The band also played "Fantasy Girl," "Caught up in You" and the breakthrough skip of "Rockin' Into the Night."
Meeder brought back the '80s-arena-style drum solo when he pounded the skins with flaming drum sticks.
A medley including "Teacher, Teacher" and "Paradise" got the crowd two-steppin' on the floor before the megahit "Hold on Loosely." And by tipping its hat to the rock-a-billy blues, .38 Special ended the show with a cover of Credence Clearwater Revival's "Traveling Band."
During each song, Carlisi bent his strings with melodic leads as Chauncey chimed in with fifth-note harmonies. And when Van Zant and Barnes blended their vocal drawls, the music came alive.
The old and young attending the show left with happy memories of a band that's played the hits for over 20 years.