GARDENSTOCK PLUGGED IN CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
Bud and Tom's big adventure winds up with a plug for Gardenstock from the Chicago
Sun-Times.
On a Ravinia adventure to Chicago for the 40th Anniversary Celebration of Woodstock, a
reporter interviewed Bud on the concert and one thing lead to the next...
..."I found Bud LeFevre wandering around the pavilion and the "World's Largest Lawn
Party." LeFevre, 49, and his buddy Tom Prendergast, 58, drove a 2007 Volvo to Highland
Park from Dixon, Ill., the birthplace of President Ronald Reagan."...
-excerpt from the "Joe Cocker plays Ravinia, man" article by Dave Hoekstra, staff reporter Chicago
Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times article:
Joe Cocker plays Ravinia, man
REVIEW | Woodstock vet, rock icon does his thing on the North Shore June 30, 2009
BY DAVE HOEKSTRA Staff Reporter Chicago Sun-Times
There was some bad stuff going around the Ravinia Festival Sunday night as the North
Shore institution celebrated the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. The chardonnay was
flat, man. » Click to enlarge image Joe Cocker was backed only by dual keyboards and
bass for "You Are So Beautiful." Headliner Joe Cocker -- who was making his Ravinia
debut before a nearly sold-out house -- performed at the 1969 Woodstock music festival,
flying through his whacked-out cover of the Beatles "With a Little Help From My Friends."
But he assured the Ravinia crowd he was the only person at Woodstock who wasn't on
acid. Whatever you say, Joe.
The idea of the tony Ravinia celebrating old hippies is a tripped-out case of incongruity,
like Chris Rock playing the Catskills. Attendees of the "World's Largest Lawn Party" paid
$38 for lawn admission and a buffet dinner. They also were able to lounge around hot
pink and orange Ottomans, lava lamps and a hippie hand-painted 1969 Volkswagen
bus. (The retro decor was assembled by Kehoe Designs, a Chicago-based event
planner.)
Cocker took the stage in a black shirt, black slacks and polished black shoes. His face
was a crinkled map depicting every road of his 65 years.
Backed only by dual keyboards and bass, Cocker did a measured, spot-on version of his
hit "You Are So Beautiful," which would have been even more beautiful had he not
coughed at a couple points of the ballad. His soulful vocals pay homage to Ray Charles
and his ability to make cover material completely his own is what made Sunday night
more of a pop culture event than a compelling rock concert.
My favorite Cocker cover is Randy Newman's "You Can Leave Your Hat On." Cocker was
fueled by Norbeto Fimpel's driving saxophone and Nick Milo's bordello piano strides, but
his raspy vocals and air guitar licks are so accessible I thought to myself, "Hey, I could do
this, too." And not long after WXRT-FM emcee Frank E. Lee warned fans to "stay away
from the brown potato salad," Cocker and his six-piece band (with two backing vocalists)
kicked into a searing version of Dave Mason's "Feelin' Alright," the song that resurrected
Cocker's career after he dueted with a spastic John Belushi on a 1976 airing of "Saturday
Night Live."
I found Bud LeFevre wandering around the pavilion and the "World's
Largest Lawn Party." LeFevre, 49, and his buddy Tom Prendegrast, 58,
drove a 2007 Volvo to Highland Park from Dixon, Ill., the birthplace of
President Ronald Reagan. He was not at Woodstock. LeFevre owns
Distinctive Gardens nursery and greenhouse in Dixon. Ironically, on Aug. 22
he is throwing his own Woodstock party called the Gardenstock Music
Festival. Six bands will play from noon until 11 p.m. in what LeFevre hopes
will become an annual event. "Its kind of different than Woodstock since the
minimum $3 donation supports a rehabilitation program for people in trouble
with alcohol and drugs," LeFevre said.
Tom Clark of Lisle was kicking back in a big orange bean bag chair provided by Kehoe.
Clark, 60, is a creative director at a Chicago ad agency and he designed the catalog for a
touring exhibition of photographer Baron Wolman's Rolling Stone magazine covers.
"Baron was the guy Rolling Stone sent to cover Woodstock," said Clark, an Arlington
Heights native. Clark met his wife, Patty, at the old Cellar teen club in Arlington Heights.
She was proud to point out that Van Morrison tried to pick her up after a gig at the Cellar.
She was 16. Van was 24.
Patty Clark also wore a 1968 presidential campaign button for Eugene McCarthy. "That
was the first election I voted in," she said. "I'm surprised people haven't commented on it.
I'm wondering if its a different crowd tonight." Actually, the crowd wasn't all that different.
The vibe was fueled by familiar songs, dimming memories and lawn candles that
flickered long into the promise of a beautiful summer night.
Bud and Tom's big adventure winds up with a plug for Gardenstock from the Chicago
Sun-Times.
On a Ravinia adventure to Chicago for the 40th Anniversary Celebration of Woodstock, a
reporter interviewed Bud on the concert and one thing lead to the next...
..."I found Bud LeFevre wandering around the pavilion and the "World's Largest Lawn
Party." LeFevre, 49, and his buddy Tom Prendergast, 58, drove a 2007 Volvo to Highland
Park from Dixon, Ill., the birthplace of President Ronald Reagan."...
-excerpt from the "Joe Cocker plays Ravinia, man" article by Dave Hoekstra, staff reporter Chicago
Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times article:
Joe Cocker plays Ravinia, man
REVIEW | Woodstock vet, rock icon does his thing on the North Shore June 30, 2009
BY DAVE HOEKSTRA Staff Reporter Chicago Sun-Times
There was some bad stuff going around the Ravinia Festival Sunday night as the North
Shore institution celebrated the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. The chardonnay was
flat, man. » Click to enlarge image Joe Cocker was backed only by dual keyboards and
bass for "You Are So Beautiful." Headliner Joe Cocker -- who was making his Ravinia
debut before a nearly sold-out house -- performed at the 1969 Woodstock music festival,
flying through his whacked-out cover of the Beatles "With a Little Help From My Friends."
But he assured the Ravinia crowd he was the only person at Woodstock who wasn't on
acid. Whatever you say, Joe.
The idea of the tony Ravinia celebrating old hippies is a tripped-out case of incongruity,
like Chris Rock playing the Catskills. Attendees of the "World's Largest Lawn Party" paid
$38 for lawn admission and a buffet dinner. They also were able to lounge around hot
pink and orange Ottomans, lava lamps and a hippie hand-painted 1969 Volkswagen
bus. (The retro decor was assembled by Kehoe Designs, a Chicago-based event
planner.)
Cocker took the stage in a black shirt, black slacks and polished black shoes. His face
was a crinkled map depicting every road of his 65 years.
Backed only by dual keyboards and bass, Cocker did a measured, spot-on version of his
hit "You Are So Beautiful," which would have been even more beautiful had he not
coughed at a couple points of the ballad. His soulful vocals pay homage to Ray Charles
and his ability to make cover material completely his own is what made Sunday night
more of a pop culture event than a compelling rock concert.
My favorite Cocker cover is Randy Newman's "You Can Leave Your Hat On." Cocker was
fueled by Norbeto Fimpel's driving saxophone and Nick Milo's bordello piano strides, but
his raspy vocals and air guitar licks are so accessible I thought to myself, "Hey, I could do
this, too." And not long after WXRT-FM emcee Frank E. Lee warned fans to "stay away
from the brown potato salad," Cocker and his six-piece band (with two backing vocalists)
kicked into a searing version of Dave Mason's "Feelin' Alright," the song that resurrected
Cocker's career after he dueted with a spastic John Belushi on a 1976 airing of "Saturday
Night Live."
I found Bud LeFevre wandering around the pavilion and the "World's
Largest Lawn Party." LeFevre, 49, and his buddy Tom Prendegrast, 58,
drove a 2007 Volvo to Highland Park from Dixon, Ill., the birthplace of
President Ronald Reagan. He was not at Woodstock. LeFevre owns
Distinctive Gardens nursery and greenhouse in Dixon. Ironically, on Aug. 22
he is throwing his own Woodstock party called the Gardenstock Music
Festival. Six bands will play from noon until 11 p.m. in what LeFevre hopes
will become an annual event. "Its kind of different than Woodstock since the
minimum $3 donation supports a rehabilitation program for people in trouble
with alcohol and drugs," LeFevre said.
Tom Clark of Lisle was kicking back in a big orange bean bag chair provided by Kehoe.
Clark, 60, is a creative director at a Chicago ad agency and he designed the catalog for a
touring exhibition of photographer Baron Wolman's Rolling Stone magazine covers.
"Baron was the guy Rolling Stone sent to cover Woodstock," said Clark, an Arlington
Heights native. Clark met his wife, Patty, at the old Cellar teen club in Arlington Heights.
She was proud to point out that Van Morrison tried to pick her up after a gig at the Cellar.
She was 16. Van was 24.
Patty Clark also wore a 1968 presidential campaign button for Eugene McCarthy. "That
was the first election I voted in," she said. "I'm surprised people haven't commented on it.
I'm wondering if its a different crowd tonight." Actually, the crowd wasn't all that different.
The vibe was fueled by familiar songs, dimming memories and lawn candles that
flickered long into the promise of a beautiful summer night.
Copyright 2005-2009 Distinctive Gardens, Inc. Dixon, IL
Bud and Tom at Ravinia's Joe Cocker concert, picture courtesy of
the Chicago Sun-Tiimes
the Chicago Sun-Tiimes