Mark Farner Brings Funk to Atwood

Mark Farner Brings the Funk to Atwood Stadium in Flint
by Ed Davis The Flint Journal
Saturday August 15, 2009, 11:18 PM
The crowd of approximately 3,000 Saturday at Atwood Stadium, gave Mark Farner the hometown welcome he's been waiting 40 years to get.
Despite Farner's Flint roots, Grand Funk Railroad never played Atwood Stadium.
When Farner took the stage, he looked and played like it truly was a dream come true, as he kicked off the show with the Grand Funk classic "Are You Ready." The crowd clearly was.
But the evening was just getting started as he and his band jumped into the rave-up "Rock & Roll Soul" and rocked it right into "Footstompin' Music," where Farner handled vocal, guitar and organ duties.
The band, made up of keyboardist Karl Propst, bassist Lawrence Buckner and drummer Hubert Crawford is tight and sounds like they've been playing Grand Funk songs all their lives.
"It's good to be home!" Farner said. "The city of Flint is really the city of funk!"
And the crowd, made up mostly of Grand Funk Railroad fans from the early days -- many of whom brought not just their children but their grandchildren -- definitely agreed.
Dennis Bellinger, who played bass with Grand Funk in the '80s, sang back-up vocals on many of the tunes.
Farner still works the fret board with such blistering ease that many up-and-comers would do well to get their hands on some Grand Funk records to learn a lick or two.
Keyboardist Karl Propst ably handled lead vocals on "We're an American Band," as Farner danced around the stage, having the time of his life and never missing a note.
When Farner asked the audience if these songs were bringing back memories, the crowd answered with an enthusiastic "Yes!
The heady days of Grand Funk were illustrated in fan favorite "Mr. Limousine Driver."
Farner said it was "a night for friends" as welcomed old friend and former Grand Funk keyboardist Craig Frost to take over the keyboards on an epic version of "The Railroad."
As Farner tuned up for a beautiful version of "Bad Time," he mentioned that it won the BMI Award for most radio airplay in 1975. "It didn't get to No. 1," Farner joked, "but it got played more than the number one song."
Bobby Jean Colwell and Curtis Johnson, both veterans of The Pack, a Flint band led at times by Terry Knight, came onstage as Farner announced that he hoped everyone brought their dancing shoes. It's a good thing that everyone had because "The Loco-Motion" got everyone up and dancing around on the stadium's turf.
Colwell and Johnson stayed onstage for an extended version of "Some Kind of Wonderful" that kept the crowd on their feet and singing along. After which, Farner and the band said good night.
Farner dedicated the encore "I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home" to all of U.S. troops serving everywhere, but especially to Vietnam vets, because, as "The Rock Patriot" reminded everyone, "They're somebody's brother." The song led to an extended sing-along, which lit up the entire stadium as the memories flowed back.
The hour-and-a-half performance of Grand Funk favorites garnered a standing ovation from the appreciative crowd. Farner stayed on afterwards to sign autographs.
The day-long event at Atwood Stadium also featured a full day of local bands. Many of Flint's finest were on-hand to honor Farner and showcase their best material. Hypyr, Lil' Miss Dangerous, Forte and Dr. Payne played half-hour sets of mostly classic rock covers, with some originals mixed in for good measure.
A particular standout was Pac-O-Mojo, which features Curt Johnson and Dennis Bellinger. Lead vocalist Eric Gentry thanked the crowd for the positive response to "songs you've probably never heard before." Pac-O-Mojo, a rock, soul and blues band from Byron, has been working on an album of original material for over a year and hopes to release it soon.
On their way out, many fans expressed hope that there would be more concerts at Atwood Stadium, a plan that the Stadium's new team of organizers and promoters hopes to bring to fruition.


see
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/flint/index.ssf/2009/08/mark_farner_brings_the_funk_to.html



comments


Posted by Lazybones921 on 08/16/09 at 8:31AM
We went down and really enjoyed ourselves. Thanks to all who worked hard to bring this together.
That being said, there were two things that irked me.
One was the parking. It was 10.00 to park in the lot at Atwood. That's a steep price considering our tickets were only $15.00. Thank you to the Shelton family for providing affordable parking.
Also, walking up on the north side of the stadium, the sidewalks were littered with broken glass. The city should have sent a crew down to spruce the place up, especially in light of the fact that there were many out of towners that attended the concert.
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Posted by behindblueye on 08/16/09 at 11:33AM
This was an awesome concert, had a great time - thanks so much to the organizers - Flint needs more of this!!! And thanks to Mark Farner for coming home and doing this, he embraced the fans like we were all his personal friends. I'm sorry more people did not come out for this, but on the other hand, the smaller crowd created a more intimate setting. The renovated Atwood looks great, which makes me think that this could be a GREAT summer concert venue, like Clio used to be. Would be nice not to have to drive to DTE. Thanks again for this special event.
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Posted by kearsley72 on 08/16/09 at 3:44PM
What a wonderful night for old friends to unite to greet and welcome our home town brother Mark Farner. It was like a Kearsley high school reunion backstage in the V.I.P. room!!!! Mark is still so humble and gracious, greeting all his friends/fans with a hug!!!!!He STILL has it....."Rock and Roll SOUL"!!!!!! We love you Mark!! Thanks for coming home!!!!God Bless you, brother!!!!
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Posted by JustMy2Bits on 08/16/09 at 6:34PM
Ah, it was great to be part of a party in Downtown Flint again, a wonderful time was had by all. Kudos to the organizers / sponsors for bringing a home town guy to this venue and seeing him enjoy one of his lifelong dreams, to play Atwood Stadium! The renovations, so far, are good, please fix the lower steps to make it easier getting down to the field and back up into the stands again. It was awesome feeling the music reverberate through the evening air and move the crowd to join in singing and dancing the night away. The event was very enjoyable, and I echo thanks to the Shelton family for safe parking at a reasonable price.Let's utilize this facility and keep bringing the people back...wasn't that a party!?! Excellent, rock on!
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Posted by farnerupdate on 08/16/09 at 10:13PM
Thanks to all that attended the Mark Farner Concert at Atwood Stadium! What a day! I wished I could have personally thanked each person in attendance . From every possible perspective of Atwood Stadium it looked like everyone was having a great time. Rhonda from Grand Blanc brought her air guitar and jammed with Mark’s every song. Go girl! Locomotion- how can anyone take that sitting down? Great performance by everyone! I appreciate all your positive comments! This was an incredible feat. Thanks to everyone for all the help. Sponsors, vendors, VIP caterer, thanks. Security, CSSI from Grand Blanc did an outstanding job!
A local company was initially contacted to provide the sound and stage for this event. However, per Mark Farner’s contract it could not be met locally. But, to set the record straight, that attempt was made. There is much more to planning an event like this than the poster has knowledge.We have already been contacted regarding making this an annual event. Who should be the next performer at Atwood 2010?
Lynn M SorensonPresident Flint Revival Inc.
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Posted by bobjgumby on 08/16/09 at 10:58PM
Loved the concert and had a great time. Didn't pay the ridiculous price for parking because I walked from downtown. Could have done without the armed security guard warning us not to take anymore pictures. If you don't want pictures taken you should have posted it at the entrance. Stadium is looking great can't wait to see how it looks completed. I think there would be a lot more people there if you didn'y do it on the final day of Back to the Bricks. Perhaps you could do it the weekend between Back to the Bricks and the Crim. Why not keep the party going?
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Posted by cretin on 08/17/09 at 8:56AM
It was Soooo funny when Mark Farner turned his back on that Karen Smith when she tried to hug him-left her standing there on stage with her arms all outstretched-Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!