Music lovers are ready and waiting this Monday, July 29, 2024 evening at the Ocean City Music Pier in Ocean City, NJ for a long overdue Jersey Shore concert by the British band, 10cc. One of the most inventive groups in pop, 10cc's current Ultimate, Ultimate Greatest Hits Tour is the band's first in the USA in over four decades.
Opening act Robin Taylor Zander of Cheap Trick takes the stage with his 12-string guitar. Zander — the son of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Robin Wayne Zander — opens tonight’s show with a rendition of Cheap Trick’s “If You Want My Love.”
Zander follows up with a selection of original tunes including the rhythmic “Golden Rule,” the folk-rocking “High and Low,” and the upbeat “All She Wrote,” all featuring his smooth lyrical voice and sturdy guitar accompaniment.
After performing his dad’s favorite song, Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” Zander concludes his set with a rockin’ unplugged rendition of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” which has concertgoers reacting with avid cheers and applause.
Following a short intermission, the members of 10cc — guitarist Rick Fenn, keyboardist Keith Hayman, bassist Graham Gouldman, drummer Paul Burgess, and multi-instrumentalist Andy Park — take the stage to rousing applause.
They open their set with the lyric-heavy rocker, “The Second Sitting for the Last Supper,” which features Andy Park playing electric guitar and singing, “The greatest story ever told/Was so wrong, so wrong,” in his clear high voice.
Music lovers whistle and applaud, and Gouldman switches from bass to guitar and Park moves from guitar to keyboards for “Art for Art’s Sake.” With his resonant tone, Gouldman croons, “Gimme your body/Gimme your mind/Open your heart/Pull down your blind,” on this funky rocker.
Gouldman welcomes the crowd announcing, “It’s been 46 years since our last tour! It’s good to be back!” Four-part vocals are featured on the rhythmically-shifting “Life is a Minestrone” where dedicated fans in the crowd sing along on the tune’s “Life is a minestrone/Served up with parmesan cheese” refrain.
Gouldman switches to guitar and keyboardist Hayman moves over to bass on the electric rockabilly number, “Good Morning Judge,” which features the ultra-catchy “He couldn’t do it/He wasn’t there/He didn’t want it/He wasn’t there” refrain. The audience then sings along on the “Hum drum days and a hum drum ways” background line of the appealing 10cc pop tune, “The Dean and I.”
Gouldman sings and plays guitar with Park on the contemplative ballad, “Old Wild Men,” as drummer Burgess plays keys along with Hayman. Audience members smile upon hearing the fast-paced novelty number, “Clockwork Creep,” which features Park on mandolin and guitarist Fenn singing lead on this song about an airplane and a time bomb.
Top-notch musicianship is on display on the rock suite, “Feel the Benefit,” where Park handles the lead on the piece’s slow opening movement before it shifts into a reggae mood and he cries, “You can walk on the water/You can dabble in the mumbo jumbo.”
Fenn’s guitar sings on the piece’s instrumental interlude and Gouldman plays a funky and fast-picking bass solo which elicits hoots and hollers from the crowd. Finally, concertgoers react with a standing ovation as Burgess’s rolling drums bring this symphonic rocker to a conclusion.
“Thank you so much!” responds Gouldman, before revealing, “This next song was inspired by a street in a city not too many miles from here.” Launching into “The Wall Street Shuffle,” four-part harmonies soar on this shuffling rocker which has Hayman’s Wurlitzer keyboard accompanying Park’s lead vocal and audience members dancing in their seats while lights twirl.
Gouldman introduces a song he recently recorded with Queen guitarist Brian May. A choir sound and slide vibrato guitar open “Floating in Heaven,” a sweet celestial ballad where Gouldman plays acoustic guitar as he sings, “I’ve never seen the light so clear/I’ve never seen the stars so near,” to wild cheers and applause.
Announcing, “Here’s one you’ll recognize!” Gouldman plays bass and sings lead on 10cc’s 1976 hit, “The Things We Do For Love.”
Music lovers clap along on the tune’s famous “Ooh, you made me love you/Ooh, you’ve got a way” refrain. Then, Fenn, Gouldman, and Hayman dance with their guitars in a line as Andy Park mimes playing a “drumstick guitar” while singing the operatic rocker, “Silly Love.”
Fog swirls as the band plays the intro to “I’m Mandy Fly Me,” a ballad in which Park, Fenn, and Gouldman sing, “She led me, she fed me/She read me like a book,” before shifting into a rhythmic instrumental interlude where Fenn shreds a guitar solo and the band engineers a live fade out ending.
Moving on to their 1975 hit which became popular again in 2012 when it was featured in the film, Guardians of the Galaxy, 10cc sails into “I’m Not in Love.” Acoustic guitars, hand-held percussion, and three-part harmonies accompany Park as he cries, “I’m not in love/So don’t forget it/It’s just a silly phase I’m going through.”
The crowd stands and applauds, and Gouldman thanks the audience before announcing, “This next song was a massive hit all over the world except for here.” He invites the audience to sing along on the infectious 10cc reggae number, “Dreadlock Holiday.” Lights float over the crowd as they happily cry, “I don’t like reggae (No no!)/I love it (Eh!),” before the group changes the lyric at the end to “I don’t like Ocean City/ I love it!” and the crowd responds with a spirited standing ovation.
After leaving the stage, the musicians return for a doo-wop a cappella interpretation of the group’s 1972 debut single, “Donna.” The crowd cheers, and Gouldman exclaims, “Thank you! I hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed playing for you!” For their final number, the band plays wild and free on the rockin’ “Rubber Bullets.”
Rock fans clap along before responding with another standing ovation as the musicians take a group bow and wave goodnight.
As concertgoers exit the auditorium, several comment on tonight’s performance by 10cc. Exclaims Joe from Mullica Hill, “I loved this show! I’ve been following 10cc since the ’70s and it was absolutely fantastic. All the voices were really strong and the musicians had such stamina, God bless them!” Missy from Mullica Hill agrees, revealing, “I’ve been a fan for a long time, too, and I thought the show was awesome!”
Acknowledges Tony from Port Norris, “My wife and I just saw 10cc in Glenside, PA on Friday night so this is our second time in a week seeing this show and it was amazing!” Declares Karen from Eldora, “I knew almost every song! I was singing along and dancing in my seat to this excellent performance which more than exceeded my expectations.”
Whereas Susie from Ocean City remarks, “I thought 10cc was incredible — their young singer, Andy Park, really impressed me,” Tammy from Ocean View exclaims, “It was definitely worth waiting 46 years for! The sound was awesome and the band was tight — they amazed me!”
Ben from Cape May reveals, “I’m a long-time fan. The first time I heard 10cc was back in 1972. I have all their albums but I’d never seen them live. I waited a lot of years for this and was floored by it; everything about the show was beautiful — it was remarkable!” Paul from Delran concurs, maintaining, “The sound was amazing and the lighting was impeccable. I have a brand new respect for 10cc — they’re wonderful, they’re fun, and they’re living life to the fullest. It was a great show!” Adds Paul’s friend, Gene from Elmira, “Ditto!”
Michele from Sewell insists, “I thought 10cc was great — they put on an amazing performance! Their musicianship is wonderful. I loved the way they switched instruments, and their vocals were strong, too; I especially enjoyed the a cappella number at the end.” Paul from Elmer agrees, exclaiming, “The show was awesome! I knew every song from ‘The Second Seating for the Last Supper’ to ‘Rubber Bullets,’ and the harmonies and the overall sound knocked me out.” Recalling, “I started listening to 10cc on 8-track tapes,” Paul concludes by asserting, “This concert was way overdue — it’s the first time I’ve gotten to see them live and it was a dream come true!”
To learn more about 10cc, please go 10cc.world. For more info on Robin Taylor Zander, please click on robintaylorzander.com. For information on upcoming performances at Ocean City Music Pier — including Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone on August 12, The Machine Performs Pink Floyd on August 19, and Graham Nash on August 26 — please go to ocnj.us/SummerConcertSeries.
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