Purity Power High Performance House Concert – Rhonda Mackert, Steve Rivera, Michele McLaughlin

Purity Power High Performance House Concert – RHONDA MACKERT, STEVE RIVERA, MICHELE MCLAUGHLIN: Ha! Ha!  I know, you’re saying “If this is an article about a House Concert, why is the photo of hot rods?“… believe it or not, they tie quite well together with the kind of music I witnessed from Rhonda, Steve and Michele on the 2nd of August, 2019… let me explain…

I got my 1966 Pontiac GTO rebuilt in June of this year, & had been wanting to show it off to Howard Mackert (Rhonda’s husband)… I arrived (as usual) a bit too early, & while I was grabbing a last cigarette by the side of the road leading up to the Mackert’s home, who should cruise by but Howard and Michele’s friend Matt Soujourner… in Howard’s ULTRA-hot Callaway Camaro… so, the timing was PERFECT for us to do a series of rides…

Howard went first in the goat, then Matt & when we returned after that second ride, Howard took me for a spin in his Camaro… WOW, talk about purity in power and high performance. 

Right after that series of rides, I was introduced to Michele, and Steve and his daughter Samantha, an aspiring young dancer… Steve & Samantha wanted a ride, too, lol… when I spun the GTO engine up for some of that POWER, Steve’s daughter screamed with delight… all this is to say that what makes Rhonda’s house concert series so unique is that there’s always a chance to meet & mingle with the players a bit prior to the show… I thoroughly enjoyed some time with them before their stellar performances.

To get the show off to a proper start, Samantha did a brief introduction for the audience…

The main players, Rhonda, Steve and Michele, then took the stage (in Rhonda’s living room) for a bit of pre-show chatter…

What all this is leading up to, of course, is a wonderful show that was full of purity, packed with power and the kind of performances that please both audiences and musicians alike… Rhonda led off with some songs from her albums… here’s a short clip of one of them…

Rhonda’s playing is always full of the spirit of life… some excellent keyboard work, to be sure!

Another excellent thing about house concerts like this is that the audience gets some personal insights into why (& sometimes how) a song was created… Steve helped us to understand his means & methods with his performances… here’s one of them…

What I particularly enjoy about Steve’s playing is his “pacing”… not only is he very sensitive about the playing, but he interjects some very fresh time signatures… lovely, lovely!

I captured a few words that Michele had to offer up about her part of the set below…

Again, it’s just SO nice to have that intimate setting, where the audience gets to hear/watch the performers “up close & personal”… here’s the clip I captured for Michele’s part of the first set…

Michele’s music always “tells her stories”… she is indeed one of the most personal and powerful players I have ever had the pleasure to watch!

It’s just SO wonderful to have the venue Rhonda and her husband Howard offer up for music lovers… I look forward to many more shows there during the coming seasons… a fine time, full of purity power and high performance, was had by all!  MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.99.

#Purity #Power #High #Performance #House #Concert

Dick Metcalf, editor, Contemporary Fusion Reviews
Dick Metcalf, editor, Contemporary Fusion Reviews
Dick Metcalf (aka Rotcod Zzaj) is a globe-hopping musician and poet who spent many years roving the world until he finally settled in his current abode, Lacey, Washington... just down the road from Seattle. He started IMPROVIJAZZATION NATION magazine in 1990 (still being published), and Contemporary Fusion Reviews magazine in 2016. He also was a keyboard player & singer for many years... you can hear (and download for free) many of those works at his "Internet Archive Collection". If you'd like to support our efforts and get something in return, there are also a few of these albums for sale on the Rotcod Zzaj BandCamp site"

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