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 Original Boston drummer Jim Masdea joined Tom Scholz onstage last night at the Bank of America Pavilion. Masdea performed on the debut album's
If what matters, as Brad Delp once sang, is what you leave behind, then the former Boston singer's legacy is in good hands.
Last night at the Bank of America Pavilion, family, friends, and former bandmates paid tribute to not only the singer behind the microphone for classic rock songs including "More Than a Feeling," but the man they loved and are no doubt still grieving following his death by suicide in March.
Dubbed "Come Together: A Tribute to Brad Delp," the five-hour event was much more celebration than memorial.
Big speeches were shelved in favor of playing the music that meant so much to the vocalist and the fans he so clearly cherished.
The sentiment the musicians felt toward their friend was evident in that playing.
Seemingly every member who ever played in Boston showed up for the hourlong closing set, which found Michael Sweet of Stryper doing his level best to do Delp justice on "Feeling," and other members such as bassist Kimberly Dahme handling "Walk On" and, in a move Delp would have loved, a fan named Tommy DeCarlo ripping through "Smokin'."
Whatever tension still exists among some of the original members of Boston was shelved when guitarist Barry Goudreau and bassist Fran Sheehan joined guitarist and band architect Tom Scholz for the encore, "Don't Look Back." (Drummer Sib Hashian was in the house but did not play).
Delp's post-Boston outfit with Goudreau, RTZ, gave a heartfelt performance that included a new number written after his passing called "Set the Songbird Free."
In addition to their own hits such as "More Than Words," Extreme debuted a piano ballad that singer Gary Cherone and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt had co-written with Delp after his appearance at their reunion show at the same venue last summer.
The night's most poignant and comic moments came during a film that Delp's daughter Jennifer had made for her father called "The Rock Star I Called Dad." Delp's friends and family recalled the man, not the multiplatinum arena rock star, who had a bone-dry sense of humor, who adored movies and making those around him feel special.
"The best thing you can do to honor Brad is to have a great time," said Scholz.
And the crowd did just that, ensuring that Delp's memory won't be left behind.
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