Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Laying the groundwork for the entire glam rock movement of the 1970s, England’s The Sweet became regarded all around the world, initially breaking up much too soon at the dawn of the ’80s, but catching another wind thanks to placements in the mega movies “Guardians Of The Galaxy,” “Black Phone,” “Suicide Squad” and “Wayne’s World.”

Almost everyone from the peak era is deceased, except for guitarist Andy Scott, who leads an edition overseas, though America also had its own version since 2007 when bassist Steve Priest came out of retirement to reboot a different version of the band.

Now that he’s departed this earth as well, the remaining members make up the modern day Sweet in his honor, at least Stateside-wise, and much like the current incarnations of Foreigner, Kansas or numerous retro soul acts, are maintaining an important legacy, despite not appearing on any of the primary albums.

Even so, this authorized tribute of sorts was handpicked by the co-founder himself and certainly displayed the same defiant spirit, albeit trading an exact replication for a fresh, metallic-edged interpretation at the lovingly restored Des Plaines Theatre, which specializes in the showcasing the legends.

Bassist Stevie Stewart, guitarist Mitch Perry, drummer Richie Onori, front man Paulie Z and keyboard player Dave Schulz commanded the attention of the medium but mighty crowd from the slashing riffs of “Set Me Free,” maintaining their wallop throughout 70-minutes of mania.

Every piece of joyfully piercing ear candy was a winner, including “Action,” “Teenage Rampage,” “Love Is Like Oxygen,” “No You Don’t,” a couple newer tracks and a pair of medleys that gave faithful a deeper look into the earlier catalogue.

Sweet saved the stomping sing-a-longs of “AC/DC,” “Fox On The Run” and “The Ballroom Blitz” until the end, which collectively influenced the enormous likes of KISS, Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses and Mötley Crüe, while retaining their relevance over a half-century later.

Having Prescott Niles’s The Knack share the bill wasn’t only a complimentary continuation of what Sweet set out to do, colored in power pop and new wave contexts, but marked the first time any incarnation of the group came to the Chicago area in 21 years.

Granted the bassist was the sole original member due to the remaining members either prematurely passing or moving on to other projects, yet he more than made up for lost time alongside singer/guitarist Matt Starr, fellow guitarist Rocky Kramer and drummer Thomas Lowrey to barrel through such underground classics as “Your Number Or Your Name,” “Good Girls Don’t, “Frustrated,” and of course, “My Sharona,” keeping right in step with the iconic nature of the night.

For additional information on Sweet and Prescott Niles’ The Knack, visit TheSweetBand.Rocks and Facebook.com/PrescottNilesTheKnack.

Upcoming shows at the Des Plaines Theatre include Terrapin Flyer (Sept. 25); Mr. Speed (Sept. 26); The Jersey Girls (Sept. 30); Michael Lives Forever (Oct. 1); Close Enemies and Steven Adler (Oct. 2); Los Lonely Boys (Oct. 3); Tab Benoit (Oct. 4); Ikons Of Rock (Oct. 7); W.A.S.P. (Oct. 9); Tony Danza (Oct. 11); Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Oct. 15); Taylor Dayne (Oct. 16); The Musical Box (Oct. 17); I Am, He Said (Oct. 18); Lights Out (Oct. 24); Italian Bred (Oct. 25); The Buddy Rich Big Band (Oct. 25); “Rocky” In Concert (Oct. 28) and The Vampire Circus (Oct. 31). For additional details, visit DesPlainesTheatre.com.

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