Frampton’s fans f lock to SPAC for farewell tour stop
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> Peter Frampton made a final stop in the Spa City on Sunday as part of his Peter Frampton Finale The Farewell Tour.
Frampton fans flocked to Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Sunday evening to see the Labor Day weekend show, which will likely be his last in the area.
Earlier this year the 69-yearold English rocker revealed that he has been diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, a rare muscle disorder that threatens his ability to play guitar.
Now more than half way into the four-month tour, Frampton is giving followers from around the United States one more chance to hear him play live.
Accompanying him on this farewell tour is Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, with his act Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening.
Bonham and his band kicked off the Sunday night show with a series of Led Zeppelin hits like “Immigrant Song,” “Over the Hills and Far Away,” “Ramble On,” “Black Dog,” “Whole Lotta Love,” and “Stairway to Heaven.”
Nearly 50 years after Bonham’s father and his bandmates made these songs, they’re still resonating with listeners, including audience members at SPAC on Sunday who sang and danced along with the classic Zeppelin tunes.
As the lads in Led Zeppelin were coming into fame in the late 1960s, their fellow Englishman Frampton’s professional musical career was starting too.
After playing in bands such as The Herd and Humble Pie, Frampton went solo in 1972 and has been making music as a solo artist event since, becoming well-known for his impressive guitarwork.
Over the past half-century, Frampton has released more than a dozen albums, from which he pulled some highlights for Sunday night’s setlist.
“Baby (Somethin’s Happening),” “Lying,” “Breaking All The Rules,” “(I’ll Give You),” “Money” and “Show Me the Way” were all part of the main set, which ended with “Baby, I Love Your
Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do.”
Frampton also played material from his recent All Blues album and his 2006 Grammy-winning instrumental album Fingerprints.
Between songs, Frampton shared personal stories about his musical career, giving fans a bit of his perspective.
Toward the end of the performance, Frampton briefly addressed his health problem.
“All I feel the whole night is this immense amount of love,” he told the crowd. “This love you’re sending me, I know it’s going to heal me.”
Following an encore of Humble Pie’s “Four Day Creep,” “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and a beautiful rendition of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” Frampton closed the show by thanking his audience.
“You’ve been amazing,” he told them. “I will never be able to thank you enough.”