Third Stage Brings The Legendary Music Of Boston Alive To Local Fans

Tribute bands fill an important niche in our music scene. The classic songs of our past don’t need to lie buried in the CD case or on the record shelf. Bands who share the same love for this music as we do are coming forward now in larger numbers, to share this experience on stage. In some cases, the original band is far too expensive to see now. Or, most of the original members are gone, so the experience isn’t the same.

Boston, 1976 – Fran, Sib, Tom, Brad, and Barry. Photo by Ron Pownall

Sadly, some of the original bands have passed on.

But the music of Boston is very much alive today – thanks in part of the audio efforts of Third Stage and their tribute to Boston’s classic catalog! The band consists of Dad Brelp on Lead Vocals/Guitar, Schom Tolz on Lead Guitar/Vocals, Garry Boudreau on Guitar/Vocals, Shan Freehan on Bass/Vocals, Hib Sashian on Drums/Vocals, and TKP on Keyboards/Vocals.

Band members switched the first letters of the original artists’ names to create their own stage names (Schom Tolz = Tom Scholz). Launched in 2014, Third Stage plays many shows each year. The members are also in other bands – seasoned musicians for sure.

I caught their recent October 14th show at the Tulalip Casino.

The band brought all the hot Boston hits to the stage. The show started with a space-opera opening that moved straight into “Rock & Roll Band” from the first album. After that, the hits just kept coming!

They performed all the favorites and more – Smokin’, More Than A Feeling, The Man I’ll Never Be, Cool The Engines, Amanda, Foreplay/Long Time, Don’t Look Back, It’s Easy, Something About You, and Let Me Take You Home Tonight.

The two “Characters” in the group are Hib and Shan. Hib Sashian is based on Boston’s original drummer – the late Sib Hashian. Hib wears a giant afro wig and aviator sunglasses to complete the authentic look of Boston’s the animated original percussionist. His rapport onstage is punctuated by lots of 70s slang, to give the audience a better feeling for what this band was like.

Shan Freehan – whose stage persona pays homage to bassist Fran Sheehan – is the slef-proclaimed “troublemaker” of the group. His overly confident swagger, and self-indulged social media status, makes “The Shan” a hero of unbridled male chauvinism.

For the weekend’s worth of concerts the band was playing, Shan was on “Work Release” according to his posts, which explained why he performed that night in a Department Of Corrections jumpsuit!

Third Stage knows how to have fun, and their love for Boston’s music comes through loud and clear in concerts!

Third Stage is certain to bring out the inner Boston fan in anyone, and fulfills that need some of us have to see this legendary music performed live. To keep tabs on their show schedule, check out their website, or follow their page on Facebook!