Words & Photos by Rod Snyder

After a thunderous and rainy start to the day, what better way to spend a bright and sunny Sunday evening, than with Steve Miller and Peter Frampton? The two old friends were in town to perform at the Parx Casino’s Excite Center, in Bensalem, PA. Frampton was joking in between songs, telling the crowd he was a little confused as to where he was at. He joked at one point saying “he just gets on the bus.” The casino is located in Bensalem, PA, outside of Philadelphia, and only just opened this year.

The two friends of 50 years have toured together in the past. Frampton came out midway through Miller’s set, to join him on a few blues numbers. During this time, Miller told some stories about the past, and when he first met Peter and they became friends. It was very nostalgic.

Both sets were filled with nonstop classics. Frampton played the radio friendly “Baby I Love Your Way”, “Show Me The Way” and of course his signature piece, “Do You Feel Like We Do”. On a side note, some people may not know the backstory behind “Phenix” – the 3 pick up, 1954 Black Gibson Les Paul – his signature guitar that he had been playing since his Humble Pie days, and the one he currently uses when he plays “Do You Feel Like We Do”. Back in 1980, it was being transported on a cargo plane from Venezuela to Panama while on tour there, when the plane crashed just after take-off and it was thought to have been destroyed. But it had actually survived; only Frampton didn’t know it. Fast forward to 2012 when a local guitar collector spotted it in the Caribbean Islands and got word back to Frampton that it had survived. Gibson refurbished the guitar to get it back into playing shape, “but must retain its battle scars” as per Frampton. So for me, it was great to see this guitar in person as well as seeing the actual one that was used for the classic Frampton Comes Alive! When using it for “Do You Feel Like We Do”, he communicated to the crowd though his “Talk Box”.

Steve Miller came onto the stage a few minutes before 9:00 PM, and gave the crowd what they wanted: hit after hit. His voice was still strong and his guitar playing was excellent. Miller also had a guitar story of his own – he talked about his 19 string sitar guitar, the one he uses for “Wild Mountain Honey”. He told the crowd how he bought it in 1965, after sitting in with the Supremes for a TV show. He was paid $250, and he wanted to buy what the big players at the time were using, but soon realized he didn’t have enough. As he was leaving the New York music store, he noticed a barrel with 12 guitars in it and a sign saying “any one for $125”. He picked up this guitar and purchased it and still had $125 left over. He then mentioned that a collector has recently offered him $120,000 for it – Miller declined.

I’ve seen he may have had offers of close to $800,000, so maybe he keeps the figures low, so people don’t try to steal it! He also had an offer from the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, to purchase it, to which he also declined.

Clearly you can see that these 2 guys are guitar gods and have special relationships with their gear. Sometimes the gear itself needs to be recognized as well – they’re often an afterthought. Think about if we didn’t have Eric Clapton’s “Blackie or Brownie”, Jimmy Page’s “Double Neck”, Jerry Garcia’s “Chinacat”, or Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Number One”. Would we still have these classics? And if we did, would they still sound the same?

The show wrapped up with a blistering version of “Fly Like An Eagle” and “Jetliner” before bidding the crowd goodnight.

These guys may be of the older age bracket, but they can still kick ass!

Peter Frampton Setlist:

Something’s Happening

Lying

Lines On My Face

Show Me The Way

Black Hole Sun

(I’ll Give You) Money

Baby, I Love Your Way

Four Day Creep

Do You Feel Like We Do

Steve Miller Setlist:

The Stake

True Fine Love

Abracadabra

Living In The U.S.A.

Space Cowboy

Same Old Blues (With Frampton)

Stranger Blues (With Frampton)

I Want To Make The World Turn Around

Wild Mountain Honey

Dance, Dance, Dance

The Joker

Serenade

Take The Money And Run

Jungle Love

Swingtown

Rock n’ Me

Encore:

Fly Like An Eagle

Threshold>

Jet Airliner

Gallery +

TheWaster.com | Bensalem, PA
7.18.18