Just under four years ago Marisa and I attended Peter Frampton's Farewell tour at Madison Square Garden.  Following his diagnosis with Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM), Peter expected not to be able to play much longer.  According to John Hopkins, IBM "causes muscle weakness that may worsen over time and damage the muscles. The rate of this decline varies among individuals. This degenerative muscle condition is more common in older adults, especially men over 50." Somehow, Peter has found an ability to still play guitar (and sing) at his superior level and thus embarked on his "Never Say Never" tour this summer.  He did walk on stage assisted by a cane and sat in a swivel chair (that looked ergonomic) but the playing remained at the level when this superb guitarist stood on stage.  The show's intimacy recalled nearly 47 years ago when I sat front row in Queens College just before Frampton Comes Alive got released.I certainly found it memorable not because of Frampton's condition, but because of the playing.

The set included two songs that I really like but never experienced in concert, "The Crying Clown" from "Frampton," the studio release (which includes versions of "Baby I Love Your Way," "Show Me the Way" and "Money") before the iconic live LP, and "I Got My Eyes on You." a really great tune that started off his 2nd studio LP, "Frampton's Camel."

My daughter said she enjoyed the 2019 Farewell concert because most attendees stood throughout the performance swaying the to music.  I mentioned that back in my heyday attending shows in venues of this size, we did not always standard other than for ovations at many shows, as I recall at the February 1976 show mentioned in the first paragraph. I certainly experienced the energy.  After it concluded, Peter stated he hopes to play a Never Say Never - the Sequel tour.

Check out the setlist:

* Lying 


* Shine On (Humble Pie song) 


* I Got My Eyes on You 


* Lines on My Face 


* Show Me the Way 


* Georgia (On My Mind) (Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra cover) 


* The Crying Clown 


* Nassau 


* Baby, I Love Your Way 


* All I Wanna Be (Is by Your Side) 


* Can't Take That Away 


* Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover) 


* (I'll Give You) Money 


* Do You Feel Like We Do 


* Four Day Creep (Ida Cox cover --  Humble Pie) 


* I Don't Need No Doctor 
(Nickolas Ashford cover -- Humble Pie) 


* While My Guitar Gently Weeps 
(The Beatles cover)