EVERETT – The lighters came out early and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s flame burned bright Friday night at the Everett Events Center.
The lights went down at 9:30 p.m. and the Bics were blazing for a couple of minutes before stage lights went up and Skynyrd set the night off with “Saturday Night Special.”
The band visited as part of a three-night swing through the Pacific Northwest that included stops in Spokane on Thursday and tonight in Portland.
Confederate flags – which are as likely to be found at a Skynyrd concert as is a Christmas tree at Bill O’Reilly’s house – went flying as the band rocked a near-full arena in a modified stage setup that used about three-fourths of the usual concert space.
Pinkeye D’Gekko, a Southern rock band from St. Louis, opened the show with a spirited 25-minute set for a half-empty arena.
Skynyrd fans were still out in the concourse, internally debating whether Miller Lite actually tastes great or is less filling and trying to make sense of Washington state’s new smoking ban.
The ban, combined with the Everett Event Center’s policy against re-entry after you’ve left the building, ensured that every pack of Nicorette gum in the building went home empty.
Denim, cowboy hats and handlebar mustaches were the order of the night as the working man’s band treated more than 5,500 of its fans to more than 90 minutes of freedom from life’s everyday stresses.
The Jacksonville, Fla., band will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year for providing three decades of the kind of rock that kept the arena shaking Friday night.
Guitarist Gary Rossington and keyboardist Billy Powell are the only original members of the band left, with Johnny Van Zant providing lead vocals on behalf of his deceased brother, Ronnie. But the band’s spirit is very much alive by way of live performances since 1987.
Guitarist Rickey Medlocke, a one-time Skynyrd drummer, bassist Ean Evans, drummer Michael Cartellone and backup singers Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase complete the current lineup. The band also had a three-piece horn section sharing the stage.
Skynyrd powered through 80 minutes of music before leaving the stage, capped by the rousing trio of “Gimme Three Steps,” “They Call Me the Breeze” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” the song that still gets ‘em riled up after some 30 years.
Powell returned to a sea of lighters in the darkened room to fill the space with some inspired piano playing that set “Free Bird” in flight for nearly 12 minutes to end the show.
Spike and the Impalers, an offshoot of the Bob Rivers morning show on KZOK 102.5 FM, nearly stole Skynyrd’s thunder.
The band, fronted by the charismatic Spike O’Neill, played a raucous 30-minute set of cover tunes.
Ian Crawford, a 17-year-old guitar protege, proved to be the highlight of the set. Crawford wowed the crowd with a squealing three-minute solo leading into a rendition of “You Really Got Me” reminiscent of Van Halen’s version.
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