Grand Opening Celebration of “The Sound” at Clearwater’s Coachman Park
Between the Florida heat & humidity and rockers Cheap Trick, it was a hot one for the premiere of Clearwater’s newest music venue! Starting the festivities on Cleveland Street, Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst kicked things off with accolades for everyone involved in the 10-year revitalization project and a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the beautiful new park. All Tampa Bay sports teams were represented by their mascots and Buccaneer team cheerleaders. Walking down to the park with its view of Clearwater Bay and bridges that lead to the beach recently voted “The Best Beach of the South” by USA Today. Food trucks with a variety of cuisine were available for the foodies in the crowd and inside the venue; there were plenty of drink stands wherever you turned to stay hydrated. Everything from beer, soda and water (Liquid Death) was served in cans.
The Sound seating capacity is 4,000 with a maximum of 5,000 for the lawn, although for opening night they kept the lawn to 3,000. It was probably a good idea for the first run to not push it to the limit. There was a lively crowd out on the lawn. There were no big screens and I think they are needed for the fans further back from the stage as viewing isn’t very good unless you bring binoculars. Hopefully, they will look at that issue for future shows. Speaking of future shows, there are concerts going on all week to celebrate The Sound!
Opening the show was Robin Taylor Zander and his band. He has his first solo CD out entitled “The Distance”, which is on mega-producer Jack Douglas’ label. Mr. Douglas is a legend in the music business having produced such iconic names as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Patti Smith, John Lennon and of course, Cheap Trick! Robin’s sound is a mixed bag, you can certainly hear Trick influences but also his own style. It is well-known that he and dad Robin are huge Beatles aficionados, so he played a cover of “Dear Prudence” which sounded great! He closed his set with the title track “The Distance” and brought out his sister Robin Sailor to sing background vocals. Music appears to be in the veins in the Zander household. Be sure and check out Robin Taylor’s CD on all the streaming music services.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Cheap Trick took the stage on time at 8:00pm with their classic opener “Hello There” to rousing applause from the Clearwater crowd. Lead Singer Robin Zander drove over for the gig from his house about 20 minutes away in Safety Harbor and has been a resident for some thirty years. It was fitting that Cheap Trick would be the first band to christen The Sound stage. Zander, the man of many hats, wore a tall top hat and feathers for this occasion, lead guitarist Rick Nielsen was dressed one of his many Trick suits with a zillion guitar picks to throw to the crowd. Bassist Tom Petersson was dressed in white with a neckerchief. Daxx Nielsen, son of Rick was on drums and Robin Taylor did double duty of opening the show and as second guitarist for Cheap Trick.
They played an 18-song setlist sweating the asses off. “He’s A Whore” and “California Man” rocked it. The audience was up out of their seats for the Fats Domino cover of “Ain’t It a Shame” that became a hit for them from their million seller “Cheap Trick, Live at the Budakon” album! Tom moved to front stage for his solo on his 12-string bass. Robin stepped to the mic in white light to bring Trick’s number one hit “The Flame” to the fans who sang along to the rock ballad. Lighting and sound were in sync. The band was drenched in sweat, Rick was running to the side stage for water and running back to the stage and they didn’t miss a beat, pure professionals. They concluded the set with a triple run of hits, “I Want You To Want Me”, “Dream Police” and “Surrender”. A great, fun show by one of our great rock bands. The Sound is a great new addition to the Clearwater landscape and will be bringing more great live music and events to Tampa Bay! For info on Coachman Park check out My Clearwater.
Vicky Sullivan Photos