The Finchley Boys - Champaign Music Festival Photos - Champaign, Illinois - Saturday, July 10, 2010

If you've already read the northstar grassman's preceding post, then you know about our attendance at the First Annual Champaign Music Festival, which featured, among other acts, the Finchley Boys' first concert in 40 years. While the show itself wasn't exactly a life-changing event, I still had a very good time and thought that the trip down from the Chicago area had been worth it. Even if I didn't feel as though I had been brought back in time to 1968, the reformed band did play two of the best songs from their Everlasting Tributes LP, "Outcast" and "It All Ends," and it was pretty cool to hear those tunes played live.

Of course, the highlight of evening was scoring a sealed original copy of their aforementioned album. As the grassman explained, singer George Faber had mentioned something in between songs about how much these records went for on eBay before chucking one out into the crowd. It just didn't occur to me that the souvenir he had just parted with was in fact the genuine article. I knew that an official vinyl reissue of Everlasting Tributes was coming out in the near future, so I figured that what they were selling at the merchandise stand must have been advance copies of that repressing. As with other unsanctioned releases on the Eva label, the sound quality on my CD version of Everlasting Tributes isn't the best, so I still wanted to buy the LP, even if it wasn't an original.

I first sensed that something was up when I saw the guy in line in front of me buying seven copies at once. After I forked over my 20 bucks, I thoroughly examined the item. Nothing indicated that it was a reproduction, but I had to be sure one way or another, so I opened it. I was immediately greeted by that musty old smell with which all you record collectors out there are familiar. I started to get a little excited. After looking at the label on the record itself, I realized that Faber hadn't been kidding. This was the real deal: a 1972 original of the Finchley Boys' recordings from 1968 and 1969. After checking out the artifact, a couple of other people in our group followed suit and came back from the merchandise stand with their own collectibles. Considering the low price, I probably should have bought two - the first as a player copy and the other to remain sealed for investment purposes - but hey, one is still better than nothing. I got the band members to autograph the record cover after the show, during which time they confirmed the authenticity of what they were signing. The Finchley Boys also seemed open to my interview request for the purpose of doing a historical article about them, and I already got the go-ahead from Mike Stax at Ugly Things for such an endeavor, so stay tuned for more information about that project. In the meantime, enjoy the photos below.

The Finchley Boys back after 40 years (click to enlarge)

Garrett Oostdyk on guitar with George Faber (click to enlarge)

Rock's first bass player with one name, Tabe (click to enlarge)

For some folks, like J. Michael Powers, the 1960s have never ended (click to enlarge)

Garrett Oostdyk solos on his lovely Gibson Explorer (click to enlarge)