Mark Farner at the Arcada Theatre (1/25/2020)

Where I’m from (Chicago), January is a slow month for shows. Everyone is getting over the holiday season. Once that passes, it’s the never ending battle between man and cold which seems to last until April. It’s no surprise my concert year (and decade) began so late in the month with a trip to the Arcada Theatre to catch Mark Farner. As the voice, guitar, songwriter, and driving force behind the hard rock juggernaut (and Homer Simpson’s favorite band) Grand Funk Railroad, he sold tens of millions of albums, scored multiple Billboard hits, and sold out arenas all over the world. To see him in such an intimate setting is always a treat.

This was my third time seeing Farner. He played a shorter set than usual as the show was a co-headline with former Three Dog Night singer, Chuck Negron, who was alright. The fact of the matter is, no matter how good you are, following Farner on stage is a near impossible task. Once he hits the stage, the energy level goes from 0 to 100. Tonight was no exception.

Farner and his American Band took to the stage a little after 8:00, opening with none other than the 1973 anthem, “We’re an American Band”. This classic ode to rock n’ roll debauchery has usually been reserved for the end of his set, but works perfect as an opener too. It was followed by “Rock N’ Roll Soul” and “Footstompin’ Music”; two songs that sum up the Farner ethos. This isn’t music to despair over life’s hardships to. This is music to turn up and dance to. Life’s too short to be down and out. We may as well have some fun while we’re here!

The evening rolled on with hit after hit: “Bad Time”, “The Locomotion”, “Some Kind of Wonderful”. The list goes on. The highlight of his set was when he busted out “Aimless Lady”. A deep track off Closer to Home (1970), it’s a ripping and heavy song. I always felt the first three Grand Funk albums were the missing link between Zeppelin and Sabbath. “Aimless Lady” is indicative of this.

Another surprise was the debut of a brand new song entitled “Hoochie Mama”. With its suggestive lyrics and similar riffing to “Time Machine”, it sounds like classic Grand Funk. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come. Considering his former band hasn’t released any new music since his unceremonious departure, it’s as close as we’ll get to a new Funk album.

Most rockstars of Farner’s era who are still going at it today put on a happy face, go through the motions, yell “Thank you *insert major city here*”, and head off to the next market to do it all over again. Not Farner. There’s a feeling of sincerity that can’t be faked. It can’t be faked as he stands on stage every night, gazing into an audience of hundreds as they sing “I’m getting closer to my home.”, before going to his merch booth and personally greeting those hundreds with autographs and handshakes.

I could use this review to complain about the downright unfair treatment Farner has received from his former bandmates for the past 20 years, but I won’t. By going out and playing his music faithfully to the way it was recorded 50 odd years ago says it all. Farner is the bigger man, but more importantly, a class act in the purest sense of the term. Long live Farner! Long live Funk!

Setlist