TOAST: The Ultimate Bread Experience at the Adler Theatre -- September 25.
Thursday, September 25, 7 p.m.
Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
Paying tribute to the soft-rock pioneers who were number-one sensations on Billboard's Adult Contemporary, the touring musicians of TOAST: The Ultimate Bread Experience bring their tour to Davenport's Adler Theatre on September 25, performing from a repertoire that includes such smashes as "Baby I'm-a Want You," "Everything I Own," "If," and the chart-topping "Make It with You."
Composed of Jeff Clark (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard), Brett Hart (drums, percussion, vocals), Rich Bischoff (lead guitar), Ken Shumway (bass, vocals), Troy Jolley (keyboard, percussion, vocals) and John Hanson (guitar, sound engineer), TOAST: The Ultimate Bread Experience is dedicated to performing with a fidelity rarely heard from a live tribute band, their inspiration being, as stated at AllMusic.com, "one of the most popular pop groups of the early 1970s, earning a string of well-crafted, melodic soft rock singles, all of which were written by keyboardist/vocalist David Gates. A session musician and producer, Gates met in 1968 guitarist/vocalist James Griffin, who had already released a solo album called Summer Holiday. Griffin hired Gates to produce a new album, and the pair soon became a group, adding guitarist/vocalist Robb Royer from the band Pleasure Fair, whom Gates had produced early in their career. The trio soon signed with Elektra Records, becoming one of the label's first pop bands. Naming themselves Bread, the group released their self-titled debut album in late 1968.
"With their second album, On the Waters, Bread established themselves as hitmakers. 'Make It with You,' the first single released from the album, became a number-one hit, which led to 'It Don't Matter to Me,' a song taken from Bread, becoming a top-10 hit. With On the Waters becoming a gold record, the group embarked on a tour, adding a full-time drummer, Mike Botts, to the lineup. Manna, released in the spring of 1971, wasn't as big a hit as the previous record, yet it launched another top-10 single with 'If.' Royer left the group after the album and was replaced by Larry Knechtel, a Los Angeles session musician who played on records by the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and the Monkees, among others. The new lineup released its first single, 'Mother Freedom,' in mid-1971; the song scraped the top 40 at number 37. Bread's next single, "Baby I'm-a Want You," became a number-three hit at the end of the year. After 'Everything I Own' reached number five in January of 1972, an album called Baby I'm-a Want You was released. Peaking at number three, the record became the group's most successful album. The group's fifth album, Guitar Man, followed in October 1972.
"At the beginning of 1973, Bread disbanded after a dispute between Gates and Griffin. Griffin claimed that, when the group was conceived, the pair agreed that the singles would be divided equally between the two songwriters; Gates wrote most of Bread's hits and wanted to continue to compose the singles. The two parted ways, with each of the musicians pursuing solo careers. Bread reunited in 1976, releasing Lost Without Your Love in early 1977. The title track became their last top-10 hit, peaking at number nine."
TOAST: The Ultimate Bread Experience brings their tour to Davenport on September 25, admission to the 7 p.m. concert event starts at $29, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 and visiting DavenportLive.com/the-adler-theatre.
