The biggest draws at regional concert venues this fall mirrored bills that may have played the same or similar venues 20, 30, even more than 40 years ago. At the same time, other legacy acts — along with a secret weapon super group — energized more intimate venues, bringing classic storytellers up close and personal to fans, many who have been following some of those the artists for decades.

Bob Seger and The J. Geils Band, which played Mohegan Sun Arena December 6, was a study in contrasts.

Although each act certainly provided pumped-up blistering takes on classic rock and blues numbers, the Geils band — ironically, sans its namesake guitarist up front — amped-up the sold-out house ahead of Seger’s arrival, paying tribute with “Detroit Breakdown,” as well as hits like “Centerfold” and “Must of Got Lost,” and let harmonica wizard Magic Dick off the leash for a slamming “Whammer Jammer.”

Singer and band leader Peter Wolf hasn't lost much of the energy he injected into the act three decades ago. His whirling dervish dance moves and sudden drops to his knees for dramatic effect kept the gathering crowd of Seger fans hypnotized for the Geils band's entire and too-brief set.

He even took his customary walk into the crowd, but did not venture far from the stage as audience members scrambled for cell phones to snap images as he worked the fans face-to-face.

J. Geils was not missed, as Wolf's long-time guitarist Jay Levine shredded hot licks and tight rhythms from the fretboard of his Telecaster. Long-time band mates, bassist Danny Klein and keyboard player Seth Justman both shined on every number.

With the echoes of their opener still reverberating in the arena’s rafters, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band hit the stage, albeit at a much lower volume level despite nearly double the number of musicians.

Opening with his tribute to Harley outlaws, “Roll Me Away,” Seger — looking fit, happy and fairly energetic — balanced a hit-packed set featuring explosive rockers like “Hollywood Nights” and “The Fire Down Below,” and sing-along ballads like “Main Street” and “Turn the Page.”

Along the way Seger sprinkled in a few tunes from his new album, Ride Out including “The Fireman’s Talkin’” and his latest single, John Hiatt’s “Detroit Made.”

When so many veteran band leaders have shed their former colleagues in favor of younger, perhaps more appealing and certainly less expensive backing musicians, the Silver Bullet band is conversely proud of its veteran line-up.

It also explains why both Seger and his material circa 2014, sounds as tight and spot-on as it did on Live Bullet back in 1976. Keyboardist Craig Frost (1979), Bassist Chris Campbell (1969) and sax man Alto Reed (1968) know every nuance of Seger's material, and support his songs better than ever.

But Seger also brought on the double-barrel guitar talents of veteran Nashville session man and songwriter Jim "Moose" Brown, and the incendiary Rob McNeely whose many signature licks were loyal to the original leads, but seemed to be infused with more contemporary style and energy.

Back on September 17, on the ninth of 12 Madison Square Garden sets Billy Joel promised in 2014, the Piano Man covered a massive swath of his catalog, digging deep for early gems like “The Entertainer” and “Zanzibar,” while satisfying this reviewer with a seldom-played favorite “The Downeaster Alexa,” which he chose after appealing to the crowd for requests.

Joel also teetered between ballads like “The Stranger” and uptempo hits including “Pressure,” while effortlessly covering AC/DC’s crunchy “Highway to Hell,” and sending best wishes to ailing colleague Joe Cocker, performing “With A Little Help from My Friends” along with Cocker’s and Joel’s longtime band mate Crystal Taliefero.

Seated center stage on a revolving platform gave Joel and his audience a 360-degree perspective - certainly most thrilling to the folks who ended up with rear-house seats. He also strapped on a guitar for a couple of tunes and moved around the stage occasionally striking a rock star pose.

Joel continues his brilliantly-plotted and historical run of monthly shows at the Garden, with no signs of stopping as his August and September 2015 shows go on sale this weekend.

Before his full-bore, boot-kicking country set at Wallingford’s Oakdale Theatre December 4, American Idol Scotty McCreery performed a brief, intimate acoustic show for about 150 supporters that featured one of his early hits, “Water Tower Town,” and Garth Brooks’ “The Dance.”

He also used his Connecticut stop to drop a $60,000 donation check to The 12.14 Foundation, for which McCreery serves as Ambassador of Goodwill.

Waterbury’s Palace Theater was grooving to classic rock hit maker Steve Miller on November 15, on the occasion of the venue’s tenth anniversary since re-opening after a multi-million dollar rehabilitation. Miller delivered for every fan reproducing note-perfect renditions of “Wintertime,” “Fly Like and Eagle” and “Swingtown,” among the two dozen tunes on his set list.

Miller was also in fine form both physically and vocally - sounding no different than he did on his albums going back to the early '70s. The middle of Miller's set gave him a chance to "unplug" and get a little intimate as he sat alone accompanying himself on a beautifully arranged "True Fine Love," a cover of Robert Johnson's "Come On in My Kitchen," and "Lovin' Cup."

The band drifted back to pick up the back half of "Dance, Dance, Dance," bringing the Palace crowd to its feet for a brief hoedown.

Over the course of eight days, three of the UK’s most prolific progressive or “legacy” acts wove their magical musical tales for audiences at several intimate area sites.

Annie Haslam showcased a four-octave vocal range fronting Renaissance in a gown featuring her own artwork, which also graces the cover of the band’s latest album, Symphony of Light.

Performing several new songs including the new album’s title track, the group also wove prolonged renditions of “Ashes Are Burning,” “Running Hard” and “Mother Russia” through their fall tour opener at The Ridgefield Playhouse October 23, and then at Norfolk’s Infinity Hall November 5.

Similarly, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson and ‘70s-era classic rocker Al Stewart kept audiences engaged with their particular brand of historically-rooted material.

Supported by a great, tight backing group at a sold-out Ridgefield Playhouse show October 30, Anderson sang, jammed on his tiny guitar and kicked up his feet jester-style while all along keeping his flute close by for all the necessary trademark accents and leads.

Like his initial follow-up Thick As a Brick 2, the material performed from the third incarnation of this potentially limitless franchise was equally entertaining, with many of the numbers introduced via spoken set-ups or silly limericks. His packed house of fans would not be satisfied, however, without at least a few morsels of Jethro Tull, and Anderson certainly complied with a selection of Tull gems like “Locomotive Breath,” "Songs From the Wood," and the seldom-played “Farm on the Freeway.”

Al Stewart included his obligatory “Year of the Cat” during his two sets at the Fairfield Theater Company October 22, but long-time fans had no problem with deeper cuts from his catalog including "House of Clocks," "The Palace of Versailles," "On the Border," and "Night Train to Munich."

The hidden gem of the fall concert season was the poorly attended but nonetheless stellar two-set show from The Allman, Neville, Pitchell Band at Danbury’s Palace Theater November 29. Opening with Texas blues phenom Jeff Pitchell and Neville Brothers sax man Charles Neville, the group eventually brought up Michael Allman looking much like a younger version of his father, Greg.

While Pitchell and Neville veered between Texas blues and New Orleans flavored musical fare, Allman mixed gravely-voiced rock with Allman Brothers hits like “Melissa.” He also unveiled a couple of his own creations from his debut album, Hard Labor Creek.

If you missed it, don’t fret, however, since the trio will be reprising their set on December 26 at Norfolk’s Infinity Hall. You can still catch this super group locally before Allman breaks off into a headlining tour of his own in early 2015.