Annual Newport Beach Benefit Concert That Rewires Your Brain-to-Heart Connection

Welcoming and upbeat in his salutations, Eric Marienthal’s authentically happy energy was consistent from his greetings toward the gracious crowd to delighting us with his musical introduction. Playing with cohesion and familiarity, the first song of the night, the “Lo Lo Shuffle,” felt like a jazzy “Cheers-esque” theme song you might later have stuck in your head. And it was like Cheers in other ways, as the players were all recognizable faces from previous events–Mitch Forman on the Keys, Tony Pulizzi on the guitar, Joel Taylor on drums, and Andre Berry on bass. Quickly capturing the heart of everyone in attendance, Marienthal’s Granddaughter, Ellie, bounded down the aisle and jumped into his arms, letting us know from the beginning that it was indeed an all-are-welcome-here family affair. As a returning patron to this very special High Hopes Head Injury Program charity event, I can tell you that it feels like a homecoming to arrive at the well-designed grass amphitheater after walking through a vivacious walkway of smiling, kind-hearted locals who frequent this event because of the compelling cause. (You can learn more about High Hopes in last year’s feature, “An Evening of High Hopes with Eric Marienthal & Friends” here.)

Marienthal has earned numerous accolades, and they are reflected in his performance. A true crowd pleaser, he instinctively played in the center aisle, then charmed the front row, adopting a slightly more expressive style, seemingly letting himself feel the music while he grounded himself in his craft before our very eyes. They didn’t skip a beat and jumped right into a fan-favorite, “Two in One,” which showcases bassist Andrew Berry energetically slapping the guitar strings and neck to create yet another layer of sonic excellence to witness. The way that Marienthal and Berry both get low and funky as they attempt to outplay each other in this song awakens every crowd.

Marienthal’s 26th annual event, “An Evening of Hope,” wouldn’t be the same without all his quippy insertions and relatable humor. As they prepared to play a song he hadn’t done for a few years from an older record, Marienthal jested that it was “From a while ago… Because I’m from a while ago…” then shined his lovable smile at the audience, and we all laughed in good humor. The special song he joked about was a beautiful, serious dedication for his bride, Lee Ann Marienthal, on their 42nd year of marriage, appropriately named after her.

The song developed over the next few minutes, a metaphor of how love evolves. Its overall essence was lovely, romantic, and sweet. Like a love story, the song started slow, then built in undeniable intricacy and complexity, traversed an abundance of subtle layers, then balanced out into a state of softness, revisiting some of its original notes with new dimensionality as it continued to unfold. Experiencing music live evokes emotions –and in this case, a journey into and through love—alluding to feelings of allure, intensity, longevity, passion, and commitment. Marienthal translated the indescribable energy of long-lasting love into musical notes and continuously built around the essence of the piece organically, like a blanket of time around something precious and always fleeting. Contemplating their 42 years, I can imagine the stage they are in now as grandparents, as he brought the music back to softness, ending with the same base tune—the same, but also different. There was something intimately comforting about how tangibly committed his values of marriage and his deep love for his wife were, which was emphasized in his promise to each note, the arch of the song, and its relevance in the moment.

Katie Marienthal-Smith graced us with her picturesque, almost movie-star beauty, only to outshine her physical presence with her soulful voice. Marienthal’s daughter, who was 11 when the High Hopes benefit first started, was one of his first backup singers. She went on to formally learn music before discovering her unique career passion and has only just returned to the stage alongside her father, announcing right then and there that they are making an album together soon.

She shares her father’s sense of humor and ease on stage, as she made a joke about being ready to “Do a sexy song next to my dad, so we’ll see how it goes…” then led right into Nina Simone’s legendary “Feeling Good.” Seeing the two of them on stage makes you wonder what family events like campfires and birthday parties might have looked like. They must’ve had playful contests like who could hold their breath underwater the longest because they can equally hold their high notes on vocals, and the saxophone. There must have been many family opportunities to practice that perfectly-synced skillset. She cheekily inserted “Daddy’s feeling good” in the well-known song lyrics, gesturing to her father next to her, bringing it back to the live performance moment. Then, in good sport, challenged him when he was already bringing his infamous stellar performance, “Is that all you got, Dad? Come on!”  All jokes aside, these two broke it down for us as true artists of their crafts with a little bit of a battle of the sounds and air capacity, proving that healthy lungs run in the family for sure.

Tony Pulizzi & Eric Marienthal

After things got a little heated with the father-daughter duo attempting to match each other’s extravagance, Mitch Forman cooled us off with “Rio Frio,” a song he famously composed with Chuck Loeb. Much like the exhilarating wakefulness and swirling vortex of currents you might feel when jumping into a Rio Frio, or cold river, the song offered a living electricity to the air around the amphitheater. Polished and gleaming, the notes danced all around us as though we were in a watery flow of untamed power slated in a clear direction.

With this much talent on one stage and so many great hits, it has to be difficult to design the set list, but these guys are pros and dropped “Compared to What?” into the ether next —adding a layer of meta-awareness to the live music performance – asking the question repeatedly as the only lyric, “Gotta make it real…Compared to what?” Berry and Marienthal sang in unison at the start and finish of the song, bookending the experience in a rhetorical aliveness of just how real and truly present it is to both play and hear live music being performed.  The sound on stage was so loud—in all the right ways—that we couldn’t hear the John Wayne airport-bound planes flying directly over overhead. Joel Taylor stepped it up and out in this song’s featured solo, creating a rhythm that the audience couldn’t resist. By this time, people were dancing, clapping, and jazz headbanging (yes, jazz fans apparently do headbang!). Taylor took it to the next level of energy and juxtaposed a reality of immense sound with the softness of almost nothing—a poignancy that percussionists get to play with so profoundly. What was real was the comparison of sounds created and surrendered in a short pocket of time, punctuated by a cohesion of camaraderie as the band united in the ending with giant smiles on their faces.

Boney James

During a break in the music, the High Hopes Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to longtime supporter James Reed by the board and the president, Robert Vernes, Esq., for his support of 25 years. The ceremony and speech were a powerful ode to the next generation with a genuine call to action to all in attendance to bring younger friends and younger donors to future events so that High Hopes can thrive for another 25 years. Through this annual concert charity event and all other ways of gaining support, High Hopes seeks to obtain a new Lokomat, the important robotic walking machine that has helped hundreds of individuals recover walking skills at High Hopes. The stories shared on stage at these events are insanely inspirational and personal, and incredibly humbling. Lokomats cost $800,000. Which seems insurmountable for an organization like this. But it was shared that when High Hopes first moved into the building, they didn’t know how they were going to pay rent, but they knew they could find a way. Now, they own part of the building and want to own the whole building in time. Lokomats wear out over time, and they need a new one, which is just one of the many reasons that events like this annual jazz concert are so impactful. With the money they raise, they also offer scholarships, which is how they bring many of their students into the program who have been otherwise forsaken by healthcare professionals.

One of the most interesting aspects of this annual summer event, and one of the more crowd-driven and crowd-pleasing occurrences, is the live auction. With 15 years as an auctioneer, having studied 40 years ago, Kevin O’Callaghan brings “Betty Botter’s better butter” and a barrel of laughs to the musical intermission. Overall, the charity, just in the auction part alone, raised an estimated $25,000 and gave away some diverse and covetable items. Featuring items like a Spaghettini dinner and show for six, amethyst, peridot, quartz, and diamond jewelry, Eric Marienthal private chef and residence performance tickets, a Broadway tour, Walt Disney original drawings, a McBride’s World at Sea Cruise with Eric Marienthal, bowling packages for 12, a vintage radio, an Eagles jersey, and of course—Marienthal’s day-of performance Jams world shirt–practically off his back! At one point, things got spicy, and the auctioneer said, “She’s coming out of her seat!” pointing at a woman very enthusiastic about the item she was betting on at that moment. This is something you must see for yourself –and better yet—plan to take part in it if something catches your eye, as the cause is worth every penny and everyone goes home happy.

After the break, Omar Williams (Boney James’ Grammy-nominated drummer) took over the drums and brought a new energy to the stage that inspired a little girl in a darling polka dot dress and cowboy boots to come down to the front row to see all the magic happen up close. She was mesmerized and overtly moved by the music, probably because Mitch Forman was doing that special thing on the keys where he plays both sets simultaneously, igniting the whole band. She started dancing in the front row with her heart-shaped sunglasses, and I couldn’t help but be reminded that the “Marienthal & Friends” family-hosted event creates an energy where connection is celebrated, and we are all friends in the making.

Marienthal, so down to earth and so plugged into the entire production of an event like this, down to the details, gave a loving and genuine shout out to the sound team, led by Dennis Moody, and managed to thank many by name, knowing that he is only as strong as his musical assembly. Then he passed the limelight over to “a legend in the genre and the craft,” four-time Grammy Award nominee, Boney James.

Boney James led with the title track from the Slow Burn album, sharing that the dictionary defines a “slow burn” as: “a feeling that grows with a slow but deliberate intensity.” And this was true not only in the song choice itself but with his presence on stage from start to finish. James created invisible pockets to break the sound through with sharp notes that he just let linger in the surrounding silence. Like a meditative moment of deep presence, he randomly scanned the audience and must have intuitively realized I was taking notes because I was sitting in the media section, and we locked our eyes. Never having the pleasure of seeing him perform live, and wildly scribbling the words that have become this article, I stayed in the shared moment and felt as though he was playing to me. What a gift to a random audience member, something he likely does often with audiences all around the world, because the audience is a mirror back to the musician in that moment that defines the live performance. Though this might be one of his normal tricks to captivate people in the first few rows, I can say that I have honestly never had it happen to me, and I was so grateful for the Hyatt Regency’s setting, providing everyone with such a stellar view up close to the magic.

James then played an old song off his new CD and explained that the song was by Herbie Hancock called “Butterfly,” and it was the first thing he sat down to do when he recorded the album. Smooth and contemporary jazz are genres that, when you see them live, you comprehend the skill and talent that goes into the music that otherwise gets confined to the background. Berry infamously slapped the guitar so loudly that two planes passed overhead again, still undetected, before he tickled James’ side and got a nod to do a finale of sorts. Humble and tapped in, akin to Marienthal, James turned to us mere mortals in the audience after thanking all the players by name and said, almost winking, “And you guys—on the vibe, thank you so much.”

He shared a little bit about his career past and beginnings with us—yet another reason seeing someone perform live is so much better than streaming their music. Back in the day, he played keys in Morris Day’s Band. He went on to introduce his song called “Slide,” which proves he “has some Minneapolis in him.” No doubt, he started a little dance party on stage after he brought Marienthal back into the fold. Creating a unified echo of sound, the two sax players started taking turns to go solo, each blowing our minds, like only two award-winning saxophonists can do.

The second-to-last song was not only phenomenal, but it reminded me of why I fell in love with live music—and I suddenly fell in love with live music all over again. People were jumping out of their seats, nonstop, moving and grooving. Even the barely double-digit kid behind me burst out of his seat and started clapping before he wiggled loose into the aisle so he could dance and feel the music more freely. It’s no surprise that the band truly earned a standing ovation. These two saxophonists and their very talented team shine so brightly together, and it was truly exceptional to witness, and I assume to play with others in their league. What transpired on this recurring “Evening of Hope” brought these jazz legends to life and invigorated the whole crowd. The love and dedication of all who put on this event, play on stage, and show up in attendance inspires a rebirth in joy, hope, and community in a way that other shows simply cannot. When you contribute to the success of a cause like High Hopes and add in phenomenal friends of Eric Marienthal, everyone gets a dose of hope to take home that the world is full of possibilities, unimaginable moments of greatness, and a whole lot of love.

By Meesha De Rumi – Staff Writer BackStage360

Images: BrianTierney.Photography

Watch a Replay of High Hopes Benefit Concert Streaming on Alert the Globe Aug. 16–17

Watch the replay at: www.AlertTheGlobe.com
Part 1: Friday, August 16 at 7 PM PST
Part 2: Saturday, August 17 at 7 PM PST

Find out more about High Hopes at their website: www.Highhopes.ws

Watch Our Interviews with Mark Desmond, Chris Gamper, Boney James, Mary Desmond, Eric Marienthal and Ron (A student at High Hopes).