Last night I went to the first concert of the Nightfall on the River concert series at the Simon Estes Riverfront Amphitheater in downtown Des Moines.
Back a couple of months ago when they announced the lineup for this summer’s series – which runs Thursdays, June 7 to August 2 – I didn’t see a single night that looked interesting. Then yesterday, while I was looking through the paper, I noticed the performer of last night’s show, Emerson Hart, was once the lead singer for the band, Tonic.
Tonic was never a huge band, but I liked them. A lot. They were at the height of their popularity in the late nineties, just as I was finishing high school and starting college. They had a couple of Grammy nominations and a couple of hit songs, “If You Could Only See” and “Open Up Your Eyes.” Needless to say, once I realized who Emerson Hart was, I wanted to go. I’m a sucker for nostalgia. And at $8 a ticket, it was cheap.
I actually enjoy concerts at this venue, on the Des Moines River, out in the fresh air and sunshine, quite a bit. I bring a collapsible captain’s chair and a bottle of water, and can watch a show sitting down, with the city skyline behind the stage, and no smoke. Also, I can hear after the concert…always a big plus. While the rest of this year’s series doesn’t look interesting, I may be surprised like I was yesterday, or I can always pay a bit more and enjoy the same stage and experience with the Alive concert series on Friday nights, all summer long.
The opening performer was dude named Scott Leger out of Austin, Texas. Joined by a bass and drums, Leger put on a great show. The sound reminded me a bit of Lifehouse, The Calling, and The Nadas. While the music was good, even Leger recognized and apologized for the awkward banter between songs.
Two songs of note: “Maybe Tonight, Maybe Tomorrow,” a song written for the Lance Armstrong Foundation with his band Wasteland, and available for download on iTunes with all proceeds going to the foundation (there have already been 10,000 downloads = $10,000 raised), and “I’m Not So Far Away,” (? title) the show-closing song. This last song was their best. Everything clicked and the vocals were fantastic.
After a short break, Emerson Hart took the stage. After fumbling around for a lost guitar pick, Hart got right in to it. From the very first song, this show was rocking. Hart was aided by a second guitar, a bass, drums, and keyboard. There was no awkward banter here, the interaction between songs connected with and engaged the audience. “Note to self,” Hart joked, “don’t take up the courtesy and friendship of these locals because they’ll drink you into a hole before you take the stage.” Apparently his last visit to Des Moines went very well.
Emerson Hart owned the stage for the entire hour and a quarter he was up there. After playing “If You Could Only See,” Hart mentioned that while he was traveling around the Southeast trying out new songs for his upcoming album, Cigarettes and Gasoline he would play “If You Could Only See” for the crowd. After one performance he was talking with a guy back stage who told him he sounded, just like that guy who sings that song. Hart joked that he heard that a lot. The guy wouldn’t let up. He said, "No man, your other songs are great, but it might hurt your career sounding so much like that guy." Hart could only shrug and say, “Welcome to my life.”
The best song of the night had to be “It Takes A Little Bit of Love” (? title). Hart mentioned that his inspirations for the song were The Beatles and Queen, “without the weird mustache or unitard.” It was a rocking song with audience participation that even managed to get a hot blonde up dancing in front of the stage.
The set ended with Hart’s new single, “If You’re Gonna Leave.” It was a great song, great performance, and stellar night to be out listening to live music.
I wholeheartedly recommend checking out the single “Maybe Tonight, Maybe Tomorrow” from Scott Leger, and the purchase of Emerson Hart’s CD Cigarettes and Gasoline when it arrives in July.
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