CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The crowd was full of leather jackets and denim at the Clay Center on Friday night as rock fans gathered to enjoy an action-packed performance by Blood, Sweat and Tears.

From my vantage point in the first balcony, I could hear the crowd sing along with old familiar songs, and see the band respond with even more energy.

By the end of the 90-minute performance - plus encores - the crowd was finally on its feet, arms overhead, swaying a la Woodstock without the muddy conditions that the band remembered a mere forty years ago.

A lady behind me gasped midway through the performance, "Those guys are musicians!" and she was right.

Ten members, some old and some new, make up the group that has survived 41 years of music on the road.

They made us wait until the end to perform their most popular standards, but that was icing on the cake that was created by several cover tunes written and performed by The Beatles, Carole King and Billie Holiday.

The band's mix of jazz and rock was revolutionary as the '60s rolled into the '70s.

Although I can't tell you that I remember any miked harmonica solos back in the good old days, I can now say I've heard dueling harmonicas at full volume.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The crowd was full of leather jackets and denim at the Clay Center on Friday night as rock fans gathered to enjoy an action-packed performance by Blood, Sweat and Tears.

From my vantage point in the first balcony, I could hear the crowd sing along with old familiar songs, and see the band respond with even more energy.

By the end of the 90-minute performance - plus encores - the crowd was finally on its feet, arms overhead, swaying a la Woodstock without the muddy conditions that the band remembered a mere forty years ago.

A lady behind me gasped midway through the performance, "Those guys are musicians!" and she was right.

Ten members, some old and some new, make up the group that has survived 41 years of music on the road.

They made us wait until the end to perform their most popular standards, but that was icing on the cake that was created by several cover tunes written and performed by The Beatles, Carole King and Billie Holiday.

The band's mix of jazz and rock was revolutionary as the '60s rolled into the '70s.

Although I can't tell you that I remember any miked harmonica solos back in the good old days, I can now say I've heard dueling harmonicas at full volume.

The first highlight of the evening was "I Can't Quit Her," written by Al Kooper with a smooth horn part.

"Go Down Gambling" featured guitarist and bundle of energy Dave Gellis, who still has the energy of a young rocker and kept things pretty wound up among the other instrumentalists.

Tenor sax player Tim Timko won my vote for soloist of the evening, but he was heartily challenged by Glenn McClelland on keyboards and Jens Wendelboe on trombone.

Andrea Valentini on drums was crisp and right on the money with the beat, the back beat and lots of cymbals.

The band was rounded out with very solid trumpet and flugelhorn solos. It's amazing all the notes that can be played with three finger combinations.

The band had an incredibly tight sound and their feature number, "Surreptitious," was a crowd-pleaser.

"Spinning Wheel" and "You Made Me So Very Happy" brought all the memories crashing around the audience, most of whom might now be looking even more forward to celebrating the reunions of the high schools they graduated so long ago.