It was an exuberant Peter Frampton who took to the Penn's Peak stage Tuesday night.
Wearing a black Martin Guitars T-shirt and jeans, Frampton was loose and comfortable, perpetually with a smile as he served up a dose of the best he has to offer.
Perhaps his disposition was influenced by the release of his latest album, Thank You Mr. Churchill, which, he noted as he displayed it, is available on vinyl, with a gatefold cover - just like a certain other record of his, his tour de force, mega-selling Frampton Comes Alive! double live album, one of the cornerstone LPs of the 1970s.
That 1976 double live album made him a star, but as his record sales gravitated toward more human levels since then, Frampton has focused on what got him going in the beginning, which is his nimble guitar playing. In fact, he won his first and only Grammy Award in 2006 for the instrumental album Fingerprints.
Maybe he was also thrilled just to be back in action, particularly after his band's equipment was damaged during the flooding in Nashville, where Frampton and company rehearsed for this tour.
Backed by a four piece band that included longtime bassist John Regan, who has played with him for 31 years, as well as guitarist Adam Lester, keyboard player Rob Arthur and drumme