There are no headliners at the benefit concert except the victims and survivors of the Station fire and their families in "A Night of Healing."

04/23/2003

PROVIDENCE -- Last night marked the first time Walter Castle Jr. ventured to a crowded concert space since Feb. 20, as he ran through flames and toxic smoke to escape the Station fire.

"I am totally glad. I'm so happy about this," said Castle as he waited at the Providence Performing Arts Center for "A Night of Healing," a benefit concert for fire victims and their families.

Castle, 29, of North Kingstown, who sustained severe burns to his lungs, said, "I hope this raises a lot of money."

Karen and Paul Gordon, of Coventry, also felt compelled to go to the benefit concert -- all proceeds of which will go to The Station Nightclub Fire Relief Fund.

Karen Gordon wore the same nylon jacket that her husband tugged on to pull her from a pile of people at the fire. She was injured when she was trampled. He suffered a burned cornea and facial burns.

"We feel we should be here," said Paul Gordon. "I had some psychological problems -- I pulled her out from under those people and for a while I kept seeing their faces, screaming and yelling . . . " But now, he said, he's feeling better and "this is comforting."

Kenneth Botelho, president and CEO of Century Productions, Inc., of Warwick, promised that the night would hold "positive curative powers."

"I've told all the bands there are no headliners," Botelho said as he sat in a production trailer, just 20 minutes before the concert began.

"The only names in headlines are the families," said Botelho. "That's what this is all about," said Botelho.

IT WASN'T
quite a sell-out, and the concert -- organized just within the past few weeks -- experienced a few minor glitches getting acts on and off the stage.

But "A Night of Healing" had a positive spirit that began with a local Christian group, Servants and Saints, from West Warwick and Coventry, and moved into hard-core rock 'n' roll.

Attendance figures varied: Botelho said PPAC informed him just 350 seats went unfilled out of 3,250. Alan J. Chille, PPAC general manager, at 9:30 p.m. estimated that less than 1,700 people were in the house, but people were still arriving, and some had left after early acts.

Of the gradual increase in tempo, Botelho said, "We choreographed it that way. It's like you're an old jukebox. First a choir, then to take them through a little bit of emotion -- soul, gospel, a little bit of rock, then to pure rock 'n' roll. So when they leave tonight, it will be a high-five."

Co-promoter Wayne Morrison, of Morrison Music Production, of New York, said he decided to get involved because "I was at the fire. I was lucky enough to get out."

"But I have a friend who is still in the hospital," said Morrison. "I understand 35 percent of his body was burned."

Governor Carcieri and his wife, Sue, appeared on stage just before a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" as the West Warwick Fire Department Honor Guard stood at attention.

The governor urged donors to "please open your pocketbooks."

"This was a great, great tragedy in our state, and so many people were affected so deeply," he said. "But out of that, the whole state is continuously coming forward to help, and I think that's what tonight is going to be about."

Among the more well-known performers were Billy Gilman, BlackHawk, Blue Oyster Cult, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, and Vanilla Fudge.

At midnight, people were dancing in place to Cafferty and the Beaver Brown band, joined by James Montgomery and several other performers.

"I thought it was awesome," said Chris Blacklock, of Newport, who came with Patti Clarke, of Newport. Both had escaped the fire. "I thought Blue Oyster Cult was awesome. Everybody was great. If it cost $100 to get in, I would have paid the price" because the money was going to benefit the survivors and the families.

Late last night, Phoebe Snow was still en route from New York by car, after her flight was canceled.

Other performers included Justincase; Mark Farmer; John Anthony; James Montgomery performing with local artists; Larry Hoppen, of the band Orleans, with former member Fly Amero; Randy Jackson; Rick Derringer; Paul Shortino; Lennon Murphy; the Southern Rock Allstars; Andrew Douglass from Berklee College of Music; Gary Angelin and the CCCM Choir.

The concert will be broadcast Saturday by Comcast CN8, Channel 10, Channel 12, Channel 6 and and Fox Providence, from 1 to 4 p.m. Comcast subscribers can see the show on April 26 from 7 to 10 p.m. Viewers will be able to pledge or make donations during all of the telecasts.

The concert was hosted by Vanessa Olivarez and A.J. Gil, of American Idol I and II fame, and by Gianine Marie Teti, the reigning Miss Rhode Island, whose between-acts patter had a decidedly Rhode Island flair.

BILLY GILMAN
, of Hope Valley, the 14-year-old with the huge voice who has hit national stardom, went on at about 9:15 p.m. As roving purple spotlights lit the stage, Gilman said, "I think everyone knew someone in the fire. So, this new one, this song kinda says it all."

Among the lyrics, "The color of hope is rainbows, and the color of peace is people together."

Backstage, drummer Carmine Appice, of Vanilla Fudge, a '60s white soul band whose biggest hit was a slowed-down version of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," was pondering what he wanted to say to the crowd before he played.

Appice represented rock 'n' roll history: Though he was scheduled to play at Woodstock, "we blew it off," he laughed. "Who knew? We didn't know there were gonna be half-a-million people."

But here's a tidbit for rock 'n' roll fans.

"In 1966, in April, we played at the Venus de Milo," he said. "We were called 'The Pigeons' then. The Pigeons went on to be Vanilla Fudge."

Like Appice said, who knew?

The Rhode Island Foundation and Comcast New England each contributed $5,000 toward free tickets for survivors and immediate families of the victims last night.

All artists donated their time, and various local businesses supplied transportation, lodging and catering for last night's event. PPAC also donated the use of the theater.