The legendary Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd took fans on a weaving train ride through a discography studded with honky-tonk and hard rock at the St. Joe’s Amphitheater Saturday, ripping through mega-hits like “Gimme Three Steps” while highlighting deeper cuts like “Mississippi Kid.”
Over two hours after the doors opened at 7 p.m., The band took the stage after AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” played over a montage of old photos of the band. When the song ended, the video switched to a loop of a record spinning, a fitting backdrop for the show’s opener, “Working for MCA.”
Skynyrd may have taken a while to come onto the stage, but once there, they weren’t wasting any time; not five seconds after the end of the first song, the boys jumped right into “What’s Your Name,” and continued at breakneck pace for the first 20 minutes of the show.
Though the Amp’s lawn section was packed and most seats in the lower sections were filled, the crowd was surprisingly quiet through the first songs. After “Whiskey Rock ‘n’ Roller,” lead singer Johnny Van Zant jolted some energy into the crowd, yelling, “50 years of Lynyrd Skynyrd! Feels like 50 seconds!”
Original lead guitarist Gary Rossington is still recuperating from heart surgery, but told Van Zant to “go up to Syracuse and kick ass and take names.” Damon Johnson of Thin Lizzy filled in for the injured axeman, and fit in nicely with a band accustomed to personnel changes.
Before following Rossignton’s marching orders, Van Zant said, “Diehard Lynyrd Skynyrd fans, you know this one – sing it loud, sing it proud. All I can say is, ‘Been there, done that, and we’re not going back again.’”
The band launched into a moving performance of “That Smell.” They played with the passion of people who have lived through the dark scenes of addiction described in the song’s foreboding lyrics, and made it out to the other side.
This burst of energy was reciprocated by the crowd; Van Zandt encouraged audience members to sing the verse with him, and the amphitheater roared to life.
The band kept up the momentum with a razor sharp performance of “Saturday Night Special,” which sounded even crisper than the original studio recording. Then it was right into “Tuesday’s Gone,” and fans swayed and sang as Van Zant dedicated the piano solo to deceased Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell.
Van Zant calls the shots on stage, everything hinges on his cues and conducting – he is the spitting image of his big brother and Skynyrd founder, Ronnie Van Zant. When Van Zant tells the crowd to cheer, he screams it, furious, demanding his fans to rise to the occasion of a true rock ’n roll show.
And just like the original front man, Johnny’s eclectic personas shift to match the content of the song he’s performing. First, he is a whiskey guzzling, whore-housing highwayman when singing “Mississippi Kid.” Then the next second, performing “Red, White, and Blue,” Van Zant becomes a God-fearing, America loving, military respecting, “Simple Man” – an ironically complex duality, not unlike the ever-perplexing sea of American and Confederate flags waving throughout the amphitheater.
The band saved the best for last: “Gimme Three Steps” had every fan singing their heart out; the loose “Call Me the Breeze” gave each performer a chance to really show off their chops, and the fan favorite, “Sweet Home Alabama,” closed the set, priming the crowd for the inevitable finale.
The band left the stage for about five minutes, then returned for the encore of all encores – “Free Bird.”
A video tribute played behind the band, displaying a candle and the names of all the lost bandmates, friends and family. The candles disappeared one by one, until only the Ronnie Van Zandt candle was left burning at the top of the screen.
Then the second verse began and the video cut to black-and-white footage of RVZ himself performing the song live, and his little brother looked up with love and wonder as the man who started it all belted out the enduring lyrics.
Some rock stars talk about performing the same hit songs decade in and decade out as if it is some sort of trap, but the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd performed like it was the first time they had ever played these songs.
Well, train roll on.
Set list:
- Working For MCA
- What’s Your Name
- Double Trouble
- Whiskey Rock ‘n’ Roller
- That Smell
- Cry For the Bad Man
- Saturday Night Special
- Tuesday’s Gone
- Alabama Bound
- Red, White, and Blue
- Gimme Three Steps
- Call me the Breeze
- Sweet Home Alabama
- Free Bird
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