People from all walks of life, of all sizes and colors came together on a soft, moonlight night recently to be charmed by the soulful stylings of the world renowned Average White Band. "Pick up the Pieces" is a familiar, chart-topping soul and jazz song from this 1970's band, AWB. Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre are still in the band, which tightly plays a combination of funk, dance music, rhythm & blues, and rock. They started in 1972, with several members coming from the University of Dundee, Scotland. 46 years after their formation, band members have come and gone, but the group is still together and are happily playing venues.Trumpets, saxophone, percussion, guitar and great vocals come together for a seamless meld. Original members in Dundee, Scotland played venues here and there, but finally gelled in London after a Traffic concert. Jamming together, a friend remarked, " they're just too much (or too good) for the average white man." This was the origin of their name, legend says.
At the concert at Sweetwater mid-August, they were graced by brilliant vocalist Brent Carter (from Tower of Power) and percussionist Rocky Bryant. Horn players Fred Vigdor and Cliff Lyons help make up the band's impressive lineup. At Sweetwater, the crowd could not stay in their seats and were so moved to dance in place and in the aisles.
"Walk on By" was one of their ballads that got the crowd to sing, as did "School Boy Crush." Another crowd pleaser was "Put it Where You Want It," and people in Fort Wayne seemed to know all the words. The sound system at Sweetwater is state-of-the-art, so audiences members could hear band members' words distinctly. "A Love of Your Own" also got lots of vocal "back-at-yous" from the crowd. They responded so brightly to this band they seemed to unabashedly adore.
The outdoor performance pavilion at Sweetwater opened in August of 2017. 24,000 square feet of venue includes the canopy, free parking, and amazingly clean, air-conditioned restroom trailers. In a photo above, one can see a fire truck converted to a Whip and Chill food truck. Other food trucks that night offered pulled pork barbecue, Thai food, crab cakes and more.
The sound system at this venue is truly impressive. Although chairs are folding, apparently it allows for some versatility with room for 2200 seated or 3500 standing audience members. Beer and wine were also available for purchase inside the venue.
Sweetwater itself is, of course, the Fort Wayne business that is one of the largest US dealers in musical equipment. They sell instruments, music technology, and have a beautiful, state-of-the-art campus in Fort Wayne. With 1200 employees, the company started as a remote recording studio out of the founder's VW microbus. Now there's a 44-acre corporate campus, warehouse and retail store on site. The company headquarters is a tourist destination in town, with features such as a lovely cafeteria, hair salon, indoor theater, recording booths and shop. Their website is a resource for upcoming acts and online ordering for musical equipment. Sweetwater itself is a shining star in the mix of what's great about humble Fort Wayne, Indiana.
