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Concert review of Ambrosia's concert at The Coach House

in San Juan Capistrano, CA  on October 3, 1998/by Robert L. Mercer

Robert Mercer is a great Ambrosia Fan from California! Along with his  lovely wife Roberta,
they have consented to share their memories with the Travellers!

As the sound waves from the various stops on the current Ambrosia tour
dissipate into outer space, more advanced civilizations in distant galaxies
are capturing them and cranking out the extraterrestrial equivalent of CDs
entitled “Ambrosia Live,” a product not yet available here on primitive Planet
Earth. The only thing better than Ambrosia in the studio is experiencing them
live, as they proved once again in San Juan Capistrano, California, on October
3, 1998.

Ambrosia hit the stage to an enthusiastic reception from a Coach House packed
with Ambrosiacs. To the uninitiated, Ambrosia is a band that defies musical
classification and therefore tends to befuddle music critics. They deliver up
a musical banquet, blending multiple genres and styles into their own
distinctive sound with their formidable song writing abilities.

Joined by Tollack and Shem, they opened with a rocking version of “Kid No
More” with Dave Pack soloing on acoustic guitar, followed by “Time Waits For
No One” and “Livin’ On My Own.” Next came the heart-melting ballad “You’re the
Only Woman” with Pack on lead vocals complimented by Joe Puerta’s walking bass
line and Chris North’s classic understated organ solo. Throughout the set, the
lush vocals and backing harmonies that Ambrosia fans have grown to expect were
flawless. They hit their stride with “Mama Don’t Understand,” “Nice, Nice,
Very Nice,” “ I Wanna Know,” and “How Much I Feel.” At times it was difficult
to tell who was having more fun, the audience or the band. Jumpin’ Joe was all
over the stage.

                         Roberta meets  Jumpin' Joe

It can be annoying when bands change the format of favorite songs. But “Life
Beyond L.A.” began with Pack giving an emotional solo vocal and acoustic
guitar performance with the band thundering in to provide a powerful musical
contrast. It actually gave the song more depth while it still packed plenty of
punch.

                        Robert/Tollack (chick-magnet!)/Roberta
But perhaps the brightest surprise of the evening (if you haven’t seen
Ambrosia recently) was “Hopes and Dreams,” currently a #1 hit in the
aforementioned distant galaxies. After a Byrdsesque 12-string intro, Puerta
provides the lead vocals in a song writing masterpiece about striving for your
dreams in life before it is too late. I could use a thesaurus full of
superlatives to describe its style and substance. It has a hook so hypnotic
that you absolutely don’t want it to end. Tollack (looking snappy in his
argyle vest) did a terrific job with the high notes in the middle eight. If
this song were available as a single, my Christmas shopping would be easy this
year. What a nice change it would be to hear new music like this on the radio
between the usual pap and pablum to which we are subjected. The audience
reaction was phenomenal for a tune that most of them had never heard before.

   Robert meets Joe & Dave.

“Danse With Me, George,” the always fun “Angola,” the bluesy “Holdin’ On To
Yesterday,” and “Biggest Part Of Me” rounded out the set, and Ambrosia left
the stage to a screaming standing O.

                        Robert & Joe

For the encore, they performed their ode to psychodelia “Mama Frog,” a
synchronized cacophony of celebration. Burleigh Drummond, the best beat in the
business, set the pace as Dave used every trick and effect at his disposal to
create guitar-driven chaos while Chris, looking like a mad scientist, joined
in the bedlam of the “Jabberwock” as the band riffed with precise timing. The
plaintive and haunting “Drink of Water” ended the evening and Ambrosia took
their final bow despite futile cries for more. Let’s face it, Ambrosia would
have to do a 6-hour set to perform all the songs the crowd wanted to hear.
Hey, I’ve heard of worse ideas – I hereby volunteer to write the song list!
                        Roberta meets Burleigh

                        Coach House set list

Concert review of Ambrosia's concert at The Coach House

in San Juan Capistrano, CA  on October 3, 1998/by Jeff D'Amato

Jeff D'Amato is a great Ambrosia Fan from Missouri! Along with his wife Debbie,
they have consented to share their memories with the Travellers!

In order for you to fully appreciate how this show
affected so many people,I'll have to take you back a couple
of years to 1996. While driving and listening to the radio, I heard what
I thought was the sound of a clock being hand wound. That very sound at
that very second was the happiest and yet at the same time, the most
depressing sound I've heard in a long time. For what I heard was indeed
a clock, but not the "right clock', not Ambrosia's clock.

Fans will know, I am referring to the clock that begins one of
the greatest Rock &Roll songs ever written, Ambrosia's "Time Waits For No One"
The depression came from realizing I might never hear that song, or see
Anbrosia live in concert again. As a musician and a fan, the music of
Ambrosia has given me and many others a great deal of joy. Never
released on CD, I thought Ambrosia's five albums were gone forever
(having lost my L.P. collection years ago!) So, I went hunting. I
finally found two Japanese imports (One-Eighty and Life Beyond L.A.).
Hearing this band again was what could only be described as "magical".

Then last year, finally, "Anthology" was released. Songs such as
"Somewhere I've Never Traveled" "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" and of course,
"Time Waits For No One" were in my life again. My wife (who is an
Ambrosia fan as well)  connected  us to the Internet and there they were
Ambrosia music.com. We clicked on to the web site and there it was!
Ambrosia was together and playing live in Southern California (where I'm
originally from). Four phone calls later (for concert tickets, T.W.A,
Marriott, and Budget Rent-A-Car) my wife and I were flying to Orange
County California to see Ambrosia live.

We met up with my brother (who still lives in California) and we were on
our way to the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano! When we arrived, the
first thing that we saw while getting out of the car, was a ticket
scalper (boy was it nice to be home). During the obligatory warm up act,
while waiting for Ambrosia to come on stage, I was thinking of the three
other times I've seen the group live.  The first being over twenty years
ago with Natalie Cole at (if you can believe it) Disneyland! The first
Ambrosia album was climbing the  charts, and my group had just cut it's
first single. We were to  play at Disneyland two weeks after Ambrosia so we
went to hear them perform. After listening to them we realized how much
we had to learn , and how big Ambrosia was going to become.

I'll always remember another concert at a club in Orange County. What I
remember most was Ambrosia's surprising oncore. They performed a mind-blowing
version of the Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour". Some of the people in the
audience got so excited I thought they were going to have a collective
heart attack!

Now back to the Coach House. As Ambrosia entered and walked on stage,
everyone stood up. You could certainly tell they had been missed. I
didn"t  recognize the first song but I definitely enjoyed it. Then it
happened, that sound, the clock. AMBROSIA"S CLOCK. My wife and I had
smiles from ear to ear. "Time Waits For No One" was absolutley fabulous.

Note after note, song after song, the audience"s energy level   moved
right where the band directed it. David Pack was, as always, the
perfectionist. Joe Puerta always looks like he"s enjoying himself so
much on stage, he makes everyone catch his infectious smile. Christopher
North was just like I remembered , as passionate a keyboard player as
there is. Burleigh Drummond as always,the consummate professional.
Tollack Ollstead and Shem Scheck won the audience over with their vocals
and versatile talent, along with great  harmonica and bass solos.

 
You could tell everyone there felt wonderful knowing Ambrosia  was back in
our collective lives again. The energy level kept getting higher and
higher. Old songs, new songs, and old songs with new twists(for
example,"Nice Nice Very Nice") I think they mess with classics just to
screw with our heads. I can just see David and Joe laugh at the audience
trying to lipsync to it! (Just kidding guys). At one point the band had
three young children come up on stage to participate. The children
developed stage fright, but the audience loved it.

Maybe it is wishful thinking on my part, but the most excitement came when  played
Ambrosia their newest material such as "Mama Don't Understand" from Anthology or
an unreleased  new song. We can only hope that we had just witnessed
the beginning or should I say a new beginning.No one wanted the evening
to end, but end it  did.

THANK YOU GENTLEMEN

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