Good Music and Good Lovin'

It was like seeing the entire history of rock 'n' roll condensed into a two hour concert.

Hall of Fame performer Felix Cavaliere took the stage at Burns Park on Saturday  and proceeded to perform music from several different decades in a variety of different styles.

Cavaliere, best known for his stint as a keyboardist and vocalist with the 60's group, The Young Rascals, performed with his new band dubbed Felix Cavaliere's Rascals.

The early part of the concert was dominated by Young Rascals hits such as "A Beautiful Morning" and "Groovin.'"

Many in the crowd felt nostalgic and happy.

"I love him," said Gina Vorlack, 41. "They don't make music like that anymore."

"It brings me back to my youth," said Marty Isolano, 63. "It makes me think of my own band. I used to have a garage band."

In each set, Cavaliere's Rascals mixed in music by other artists. They covered Wilson Pickett's  "In the Midnight Hour" and "Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."

They played Santana's  hit "Black Magic Woman" and the Temptations' "Papa was a Rollin Stone." In many cases the band played snippets of songs as part of a larger medley.

"It's a wonderful concert," said Chuck Burdman, 71. "He hasn't lost anything over all these years . His voice is still strong, and his voice is still beautiful."

Jim Pasanello, 61, Thought that Cavaliere has improved with age.

"He's very good, with the youth he's got behind him. Even more so than the 60's and the 70s.

The veteran rocker never let up despite extreme heat of the day. Most in the crowd were appreciative of the performance, but one concertgoer complained, "I wish he'd play his hits the way he recorded them."

Cavaliere dedicated his performance of "People Got to Be Free " to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, before going to to the final part of the show.  

He wrapped  his classic hit, "Good Lovin" around yet another medley that included riffs from Led Zeppelin and the Jimi Hendrix hit "Purple Haze."

Cavaliere continued to play a good 10 minutes after the park lights were switched back on to allow the crowd to leave.

As he put it earlier in the show, "Rock 'n' roll is still around."