Hard Rock turns five with soul of Stephanie Mills, Shalamar, post-grunge of Marcy Playground

Photos by Andy Argyrakis

In the five years since the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana opened its doors with a customary guitar smash, it welcomed over 11.5 million visitors, paid out 411,057 jackpots totaling $1,044,820,373, generated $665.5 million in tax revenue, donated another $9.4 million and created 1,317 jobs.

Musically speaking, it’s hosted everyone from hometown heroes The Jacksons and fellow Motown icon Diana Ross, to stadium-fillers The Killers and Def Leppard, plus numerous other A-list artists and comics, ranging from Rod Stewart to Pitbull, Jerry Seinfeld and Kevin Hart, totaling 1,275 total concerts, 235 of which took place in the Hard Rock Live venue.

Those trends continued throughout an anniversary weekend that was as diverse as ever, starting with symphonic deathcore band Lorna Shore, followed by R&B legends Stephanie Mills and Shalamar, alongside alternative rockers Marcy Playground, prior to the finale of rapper Gucci Mane and pop/punk/emo act The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

As far as the middle occasion was concerned, Shalamar kicked off the ticketed portion of the festivities, bringing the soulful vocal stylings of main members Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel, the latter of whom taught Gary’s own Michael Jackson the “moonwalk,” in addition to longtime co-singer Carolyn Griffey picking up where Jody Watley left off.

Together, they grooved to the delectable disco, pop and new wave beats of “Make That Move,” “Sweeter As The Days Go By,” “Dancing In The Sheets” and “The Second Time Around,” while slowing it down for the dusty “This Is For The Lover In You,” ensuring this would indeed be “A Night To Remember.”

Singer/songwriter/actress Mills, who interestingly enough, briefly dated Jackson and was once married to Daniel, was next to make her way to the classy stage, which the Grammy Award-winner flawlessly commanded from the very first note of “What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'” through the next hour.

“(You’re Puttin’) A Rush On Me,” “I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love” and “Never Knew Love Like This Before” were a mere few of the many gems on the way to belting out “Home,” the Broadway standard from “The Wiz” she originated and still slays today.

Meanwhile, the Hard Rock Cafe filled up fast for a completely free concert by Marcy Playground, the platinum-plus band who initially found fame in the 1990s, thanks in part to “Sex And Candy” and its record-breaking 15 weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock chart.

That was certainly a cornerstone of their post-grunge meets power pop performance, which also included such follow-up singles as “Saint Joe On The School Bus” and “Sherry Fraser,” injecting some edge into the otherwise smooth centerpiece of the Hard Rock celebrating a humongous half-decade thus far.

For additional information on Stephanie Mills, Shalamar and Marcy Playground, visit IAmStephanieMills.com, Shalamar.Info and MarcyPlayground.net.

Upcoming shows at Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana include Gucci Mane (May 16); Northwest Indiana Symphony: The Music Of Tina Turner (May 22); Foghat and Nazareth (May 23); Stephen Pearcy: The Voice Of Ratt (Jun. 12): Cameo, Atlantic Starr and The Mary Jane Girls (Jun. 20); Dwight Yoakam (Jul. 30); Air Supply (Aug. 2); The Concert: A Tribute To ABBA (Aug. 14); Theory Of A Deadman and Sevendust (Aug. 21); Wiz Khalifa (Aug. 28) and “The Price Is Right” Live (Oct. 17). For additional details, visit HardRockCasinoNorthernIndiana.com.

Chicago Concert Reviews

We’ve got the Windy City covered.

Hard Rock turns five with soul of Stephanie Mills, Shalamar, post-grunge of Marcy Playground

Related Articles