Saturday night with the American Troubadour Don McLean

It was a cool Saturday night at Milwaukee’s historic Pabst Theater, and those who entered through the door on Wells Street instantly saw a giant cardboard cutout of American Troubadour Don McLean, with outstretched arms to greet them. What an incredible sign of the meaningful night that was just about to unfold.

           “A long, long time ago
        I can still remember how that music made me smile ”  

  

The majority of the audience also appeared to be long-time fans who were there to enjoy the 50th Anniversary Tour built around the album with the title track being the top 5th song of the twentieth century! Full disclosure: I have enjoyed Don McLean since 1971, from the very first time I heard “American Pie,” and this was my first time seeing him live as well as covering him as a photojournalist. Even my mama, also a long-time Don McLean fan, requested me to get her a tour shirt (something she has never done before).

  “Something touched me deep inside” 

“Vincent,” another Don McLean classic, was the first time the audience stood to show their appreciation, and I also noticed my eyes suddenly became wet with tears of appreciation having experienced him perform this live. My goodness, could this show get any better? The answer, of course, is YES! 

  “Now Do you believe in Rock N’ Roll
    Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul”

The band supporting Don McLean includes pianist Tony Migliore, who has been performing with Don for the past 37 years, guitarist Vip Vipperman, drummer Jerry Kroon, and bassist Kevin Key. The American Troubadour explained they never do the same setlist twice, and they showed plenty of flexibility by performing “Winterwood” and “Homeless Brother,” both of which were requested from the audience.

              “Man I Dig Those Rhythm And Blues”

It was really nice to have such a legendary songwriter and performer express his appreciation to us for being there. He masterfully covered Arthur Crudup, Bob Dylan, Elvis, and of course Buddy Holly.
Vip Vipperman did a perfect slide guitar cover of “Sleep Walk” by Santo and Johnny Farina.

Stories and a Poem

Don McLean is also a masterful storyteller, as his segways between songs were just as charming, relatable, and entertaining as his music, including his sharing what it was like for him to not be on tour for two years due to the pandemic, which met with laughter from the audience.

He also read a wonderful poem “Vacant Luxury” which addressed the lovelessness of emptiness, including during the pandemic. I am not sure if this was written by his bassist Kevin Key or a shared effort between Kevin and Don McLean.

  “We Were Singin’ Bye Bye Miss American Pie”

Fans leaped to their feet immediately upon recognizing the first few notes of “American Pie,” as almost everyone was singing along with him and had wide grins of sheer joy. It is possible we sang along for ten minutes, while it could easily have gone on much longer because everyone was having so much fun, including Don McLean and his band.


We reached that magical place where the shared connection with this songwriting genius had to know he did in fact “make those people dance, and made us very happy for a while.”

“American Pie” the movie 

The release date for his movie, which he described took two years to film, is 7/16/2022. He explained this movie will include how many years it took him to write the song. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be trying to see this as close to the release date as possible!

SetList
Lotta Lovin’ (Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps)
Botanical Gardens
American Boys Invented Rock N’ Roll
Thunderstorm Girl
CrossroadsLiving the Blues (Bob Dylan)
Treat Me Nice (Elvis Pressley)
Winterwood
Homeless Brother
And I Love You So
Castles In The Air
Vincent
I Could Never Say No (Ernest Tubb)
That’s All Right (Arthur Crudup)
Drinking Again (Johnny Mercer)
Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly)
Reading of Poem: Vacant Luxury
Sleep Walk (Santo & Johnny Farina)
American Pie
Encore
Bye Bye My Rosanna
A White Sport Coat and A Pink Carnation (Marty Robbins)

Click Here for the Full Gallery of the Evening!

Click Here for Tour Information!

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see. 

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