A Night Of Yacht Rock At The Hollywood Bowl!
Ready for a night of “Yacht Rock” Classic? Wants to know what the hell “Yacht Rock” even is? Well, one will post take care of both itches!
As you can see, it was a gorgeous night to set sail at The Hollywood Bowl, for a night of classic “yacht rock” – something I had never heard of, although I knew all of the songs!
I did some research to find out exactly what this phenomenon was…according to wikipedia:
Yacht rock is a broad music style and aesthetic identified with soft rock. Its name, coined in the 2000s by the makers of the online video series Yacht Rock, was derived from its association with the popular Southern Californian leisure activity of sailing.
“Yacht rock” was coined in 2005 with the online video series of the same name created by J.D. Ryznar. Some of the most popular acts included Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan and Toto. In part, “yacht rock” refers to the stereotype of the yuppie yacht owner, enjoying smooth music while out for a sail. Additionally, since sailing was a popular leisure activity in Southern California, many “yacht rockers” made nautical references in their lyrics, videos, and album artwork, particularly the anthemic track “Sailing” by Christopher Cross.
Let’s Get Yachting!
With “yacht rock” defined, let’s head to The Hollywood Bowl!
As you can see, the monitor doesn’t say a thing about “yacht rock”, but inside it was clear that everyone knew what was going on, as evidenced by the “Captain’s Attire” all around us and Alex’s Instagram post to capture it:
Christoper Cross “Sailing!”
Of course, one of the most well known songs of the genre comes from Christoper Cross, and he performed it and a half dozen other hits before turning the stage over to Kenny Loggins, who gave us some of the genre’s biggest hits:
Loggins gave a spirited live rendition of the “Caddyshack”movie theme, “I’m Alright” as well as this beautiful rendition of his classic song “Celebrate Me Home”:
As it got darker, the Bowl got more beautiful, and Loggins ended his set by performing one of his biggest hits “This Is It!”, joined by McDonald!
Here is the clip:
Next up was Michael McDonald, who gave us a strings of hits like “What A Fool Believes”, “Minute By Minute” and the classic “I Keep Forgettin'”:
He was in perfect form on this night, as were Loggins and Cross…while not my favorite brand of music, it was a great night…and the next day, when I needed an Uber, I got in and THIS was on his radio – NO KIDDING:
Not sure what kind of sign this was, but hilarious nonetheless….now, if you are a fans of McDonald’s it might be because of his work with The Doobie Brothers in the 80’s:
And while their music of that era is terrific, just a few years earlier they were a much harder-rocking outfit:
What happened? Well, click on my story of “A Tale Of Two Dobbies” and find out:
https://johnrieber.com/2015/05/24/black-water-what-a-fool-believes-a-tale-of-two-doobie-brothers/
Hope you enjoyed the night of “Yacht Rock!”