Leonid and Friends
At Plaza Live - Orlando
[Image: Leonid and Friends]
April 20, 2024
I have been following this band since around 2018. At the time, they were nowhere near as popular as they are now. I just happened to find them by accident when I typed in the name of a Chicago song. I think it was, "Beginnings", which because of the 12-string acoustic guitar, is one of my all time favorite Chicago songs. Who is this band from Russia? How are they playing this song so perfectly? Over the next several months, video after video of all of my favorite Chicago songs started popping up. I was hooked! Every new video pushed the boundaries of top-end production. I must have watched all of them a dozen times over - some of them even more. Leonid and Friends have since become a global phenomenon. They have toured the U.S. and have established a tremendous following. Tonight was my first time seeing them live. Here is my story.
Sometime, just before the last Holiday season, I saw online that Leonid and Friends were going on tour again in the U.S. I immediately checked to see if they were coming to Orlando, and they were! I told my student, Ed, about the tour. They were going to be at the famous "Plaza Live" venue in Orlando on April 20th. Ed has seen them two times before. There was little discussion as to whether or not we would be going. Without missing a beat, Ed said, "I'll get the tickets!”
[Image: Leonid and Friends]
The Holidays came and went, and the new year started out less than promising for me, but I persevered and managed to keep busy with my guitar lessons. In all honesty, I actually forgot about the concert. Ed reminded me a week or two ago that he had the tickets for the show and for me to not forget. This was exactly what the doctor ordered. I need a big boost in morale. Plus, I was going to finally get to see the lovely and stunningly gorgeous Ksenia Buzina live and in person.
[Image: Ksenia Buzina]
The show was scheduled to start around 8pm. I got to the venue parking lot around 715pm. The first thing I noticed was all of the gray hair walking past my car. Some had limps, some even had canes. I immediately thought that maybe I had driven to the wrong place and that this was a Rolling Stones concert. For the first time in years, I felt like I was probably the youngest person there. I joked later on that I smelled a strange odor in the air - like a weird mix of marijuana and Ben Gay.
[Image: Dave, Mark and Ed]
I was waiting for Ed near the entrance next to the Plaza parking lot, when I saw an old friend walk up. It was the one and only, legendary Central Florida guitarist/musician, Jeff DeHollander. We chatted a little about old times.
Just then, Ed showed up. We all started walking towards the entrance. Ed had an extra ticket, so Ed's coworkers’ husband, Mark joined us. I made the mistake of bringing a pack of Starburst candy in my pocket. Of course, they wouldn't let me bring it inside because it was food from outside. I tried to plead my case that it was just candy, but I had to leave it on the counter by the security. “Somebody else is eatin’ my candy…”
We found our seats. It was a little cramped for space - sort of like being in economy class on Spirit Airlines. However, we were sitting only a few rows back from the stage. How cool was that? Everyone began to file in with their $7.00 mixed drinks from the lobby bar. I looked around to see if there were any young people. The only one I saw was a young girl in tight red dress attached to a withered old sugar Daddy. She probably thought, "Whatever, I'll go to this old man's concert..." Shoulder shrug.
Then the M.C./manager came out and did an introduction for the show. The lights went down and the band came out.
[Image: Leonid and Friends]
The stage might have been smaller than they were used to. How do you fit 13 people on that stage? The sound mix was good. Drums were maybe a little too loud. The bass was too low in the mix, but they eventually brought it up. The horns were amazing! Everyone who sang could easily be heard.
Then the best part happened. Ksenia Buzina came out on stage. This Russian beauty just lit up the stage. Every man's eyes were on her. Then the big surprise came at the third song. It was Ksenia's version of "Superstar" by The Carpenters. I saw the video when it came out around six months ago; and I was just floored by how close she got to Karen's vocals in the song. Tonight was even better, because she was only a few yards away from me.
[Image: Ksenia Buzina]
The show tonight was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. I had a great time with Ed and Mark. I sang, I took some pictures, and it was a night I will remember for a long time. My sincere thanks to Ed for fronting the tickets and allowing me to join him for the show.
If you get the opportunity to see Leonid and Friends, I highly, highly recommend that you make a night of it.
Here are some video highlights from tonight.
Full show - poor quality, but still cool to see.