Richard Marx unplugged

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Added: Sun. Dec 19, 2010 12:52pm
Posted in: Music

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Last night I sat through a truly remarkable acoustic concert by rocker Richard Marx and had to share!  He's still on tour for anybody who's lucky enough to be in the neighborhood of his shows and get a ticket.  That would include both sides of the Atlantic in 2011.

We watched him last night at the Hamilton Fine Arts center in Sussex, Wisconsin, which is near Milwaukee.  Richard Marx is a familiar name to anybody who's been listening to rock radio over the past three decades, with standards like "Hazard," "Right Here Waiting," "Now and Forever," and "Endless Summer Nights."  They're still on the radio ALL THE TIME.  Yes, I sing along in the car.

I bought tickets because 1) I like the music and 2) with all the snow and cold weather we've been having I really needed a night out.  Oh, what a surprise.  Instead of the rocker-with-a-band experience that are pretty much the standard for acts that first got famous in the 80s, this was Richard Marx out there alone with an acoustic guitar, and occasionally a piano, and his sense of humor and flair for storytelling.  His three sons appeared with him on stage and sang with him toward the end, and his oldest two sons were Marx's opening act.  There was a beautiful video montage toward the end where the images on screen and background music playing was of his sons on piano, guitar and drums singing backup, while Marx provided the lead vocal on the stage before us.  Wow!

So often performers sound not...quite as grand and polished...on a smaller stage instead of in a recording studio, but this sure was not one of them.  His voice, aided only by a microphone, was absolutely pitch-perfect splendid and powerful and soaring.  And who knew, before sitting down in the audience that night, that Marx had written "Dance with My Father" for Luther Vandross, or "This I Promise You" for N Sync?  Or that his own parents in Chicago had such rich and colorful musical roots?

Check out his tour info, and don't pass up this opportunity for a great evening if you've got the chance!

www.runningwithstilettos.com