LIVE REVIEW: SURVIVOR – August 30, 2014 (Morgan Hill, CA)

Venue: Morgan Hill Downtown Amphitheater

City: Morgan Hill, CA

Date: August 30, 2014

Review and Photographs by: Robert Kitay

Having only seen Survivor with Robin McAuley, I was really excited when I saw that Survivor was going to be playing this concert with both original singer Dave Bickler, who sang their biggest hit “Eye of the Tiger,” and Jimi Jamison, who sang “Burning Heart” along with most of Survivor’s remaining hits. This is something I’ve never seen before, both legendary singers for the band singing their own songs. This clearly was a show I wouldn’t miss, but little did I know at the time that this would be Jimi Jamison’s last concert, having suffered a heart attack and passing away the following day.

This concert was a benefit for the fight against cancer, and although it had lighter attendance than I might have expected, several celebrities were in the house including former NBA player Dennis Rodman, who was polluting the air with his nasty cigars, and Y&T drummer Mike Vanderhule.

After waiting 1 hour and 20 minutes for Survivor to come on after the Robert Berry Band finished their excellent set, Survivor finally took the stage at 9:00 pm and immediately complained that they will have to cut their set short because the venue has a 10:00 pm curfew, stating “Don’t blame us, it’s your city.” Umm, maybe if you would have been a little faster with the changeover, we could have got a full set.

The shortness of the set, however, was really the only disappointment of the concert. Original guitarist Frankie Sullivan and the rest of the band were excellent, and both singers were in fine voice. The set opened with “Feels Like Love” featuring both Dave Beckler and Jimi Jamison singing together, after which each singer took turns in a back and forth manner singing the songs from their time in the band. Dave Bickler sang “Take You on a Saturday” and Rebel Girl” while Jimi Jamison sang ‘Broken Promises,” “High on You” and “I Can’t Hold Back.” Both singers sang together on a beautiful version of “The Search is Over,” which was one of the highlights of the concert. Both singers, appeared fit and in fine voice, which made Jimi Jamison’s death the following day even more of a shock to me. After an hour long set, and notably missing “Rockin into the Night” and “Burning Heart” due to the shortened set, the show closed with a scorching version of “Eye of the Tiger” with Dave Beckler singing most of the song, but Jimi Jamison singing a chorus as well. I really can’t express how powerful and magical this song sounded with both Beckler and Jamison singing together. The show absolutely flew by, and even missing a couple standout songs, the show was fantastic and memorable. I’m truly disappointed that I’ll never again get to witness Survivor with both of these great singers together. Jimi definitely went out on top with his voice every bit as strong as it was when he recorded these amazing songs. Rest in Peace Jimi Jamison, and thank you for all the wonderful music.

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Category: Live Reviews