Robert Goulet 1933 - 2007

And he did leave us....  too early. Here's his official website:

http://www.robertgoulet.com/index.php

I was fortunate to see him twice onstage at the same theater in Wallingford, CT.  The first time I was about 15 (1965) and he was touring with his then wife, Carol Lawrence.  He was funny, and charming, and his rich voice impressed a young teenager who first complained he was being dragged to the show by his parents.  (Yes they knew better) The second time was in 1984 starring in 'Kiss me Kate.'  He was as good as ever and still had that powerful voice until the end.  In his later years he reached a new audience by poking fun at himself like William Shatner in commercials, TV shows, and movies.

'Gone Baby Gone' movie

Today we caught a late matinee for a movie that's getting great reviews, considering who is the director. Before I elaborate, watch the trailer here:

http://movies.aol.com/movie/gone-baby-gone/25301/main

Ben Aflfeck directed this startling film about a Boston private eye hired by the family of a missing child and whose interfence is not wanted by the police. Affleck caught a lot of flack over the 'Bennifer' publicity and made some bad movies. He laid low for a while and redeemed himself portraying TV's Superman George Reeves in Hollywoodland and avoided another media circus by quietly marrying Jennifer Garner, his 'Daredevil' co-star. Now he chose to direct and co-script this small movie starring his brother Casey who is very good here. The deeper Casey investigates, the more his leads take him on a dark journey through what's not the tourist sections of Boston and nearby. The more he learns, the worse it gets for him, and his relationship with his gilfriend/partner, and  dealing with the good guys & bad guys (men AND women). Who the real good guys are is another mystery that unfolds.

   This movie has everything going right for it. It looks like a big production but it cost less than what you would think. Big brother Ben must have learned from being in Hollywoodland  featuring a private eye over his head in unraveling a mystery not wanted to be solved. Here he is in control with a self-assurance not found in most first time directed movies. He's from the area and uses locations well. Little brother put his trust in big brother's vision and shines with confidence. The rest of the cast slips easily into their roles and keep sucking you into the imploding plot.  Ed Harris is the standout among many other fine performances. The movie ends with a moral dilemma involving most of the cast and kept us debating it for a while after we left the theater, drained from the tension and suprises along the way.  This is a dark, ugly movie but will reward you with its seductive power. Imagine a Law & Order: SVU episode without network censorship and you get the idea. Kudos to the Affleck brothers who had a lot riding here and succeeded admirably.

Two smaller movies worth seeing

Here's two smaller films worth seeing. The first is  'King of California' starring Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood. This offbeat comedy lets Douglas have sly fun as a bi-polar father who convinces his long-suffering daughter that there's a lost Spanish treasure buried under what's now a Costco store. Seeing Douglas with a beard & longish hair reminded me of Don Quixote pursuing his Impossible Dream, an appropriate comparison.  He does a marvelous job as this obsessed hunter on an improbable quest and has earned well-deserved good reviews. Is there really a treasure?  I won't tell you but you can watch the trailer here:

 

http://movies.aol.com/movie/king-of-california/26076/main

 

The second one is based on a best seller. Watch the self-explanatory trailer here:

 

http://movies.aol.com/movie/the-jane-austen-book-club/28108/main

 

Don't dismiss this as another chick flick. There's enough laughs to satisfy everyone and the ending will make you feel good. You don't need to have read Jane Austen's novels since they are explained during the story. Somehow during my college years as an English major, I wasn't required to read any although  I've seen some good movies made from them.  And what a marvelous cast in a highly enjoyable movie. The big surprise here is Emily Blount playing a mousy teacher. She was so good as Anne Hathaway's co-worker.in 'The Devil Wears Prada'   What a complete transformation; my wife & I couldn't believe it was the same actress.

 

Good smaller films deserve seeing as well as big commercial blockbusters that I also promote. You can always wait for the DVD but there's nothing like seeing a movie on the big screen. I don't care how good is your home theater system; it's not the same experience.

'Elizabeth: The Golden Age' movie

Today we saw 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age,' the sequel to 1999's 'Elizabeth' with the same director and two leads. Watch the trailer here:

http://movies.aol.com/movie/elizabeth-the-golden-age/23641/credits

Strategic camera angles let Cate Blanchett command the screen and everyone & everything seemed dwarfed next to her. When she bellows, we quake with her followers and enemies. Geoffrey Rush repeats his role as her faithful advisor and Clive Owen is brought in to 'romance' her. The detailed costumes and sets are best seen here on the big screen. The religious and political intrigue of Queen Mary of Scotland and King Phillip of Spain threaten her and England. Traitors are everywhere as the Spanish Armada (digitalized) approaches the coast.  If you enjoy longish, leasurely-paced historical epics, although this one has been criticized for playing with facts, then this movie is for you. Cate is every inch the Queen. The rest of the movie holds up well against this terrific actress who can chew up the scenery when needed but never is hammy. She deserved her Oscar portraying Katherine Hepburn in 'The Aviator' and soon she'll be starring with Harrison Ford in the next 'Indiana Jones' installment. 

'Michael Clayton' movie

This afternoon we saw the legal thriller Michael Clayton with George Clooney and a terrific supporting cast. You can watch the trailer and read a synopsis here: http://movies.aol.com/movie/michael-clayton/27887/showtimes?flv=1&ncid=oyjqUzrKfk0000000465&icid=rbox_movie_titles.M

Clooney gets better with every film. How he's filled out in appearance and in his acting since seeing him as a skinny kid on TV's Roseanne amazes me. I must confess I never watched E.R. not because it's not a good show or because of him, but after following St. Elsewhere I never thought any hospital show could top it. OK E.R. might prove me wrong and I should start watching its endless reruns. Clooney is very good here as a cool 'fixer' who's torn apart by divided loyalties and the topnotch script & direction makes you feel for him all the way even when he does his dirty work for his law firm.  We learn enough about his past and problems, and you hope he survives when everything and everyone are against him. This is a powerful drama with enough suspense that's not overshadowed by the good performances and biting dialogue. The reviews have been good and rightly so.

  Tom Wilkinson is already being touted for an Oscar as a lawyer who has a nervous breakdown from hiding the evil truth for the client he's defending and threatens to go public. He will remind you of Peter Finch's role in Network. This English actor's last big role was in The Exorcism of Emily Rose where he portrayed a priest on trial for killing a girl while trying to save her from demonic possession. Watch the spooky trailer here: http://movies.aol.com/movie/the-exorcism-of-emily-rose/20747/video/trailer-no-1/1362332

   It's great to see the underused Tilda Swinton  shine as an anxiety-stricken, high level lawyer who has to do her own damage control in handling Wilkinson and deal with Clooney who's trying to protect him as his mental health worsens and from others who want him silenced. Swinton, an English actress known for usually playing cool or odd characters in little seen movies,was perfectly cast as the Ice Queen in the first Narnia film. But you need to see her in a mind-blowing, gender-bender of a historical romp, so rent 1992's Orlando. Read the synopsis and watch the trailer if you doubt me: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/122084/Orlando/trailers

Joni Mitchell

Ok why so much interest in Joni Mitchell? I've always been a fan and lately I have been rediscovering her music. In the last few weeks I purchased five of her CDs and plan to buy another one today. Thank gawd for those Borders' discount coupons.  Originally from Canada, Joni started out as a Hippie/Flower Child songwriter/singer in the late 60's and branched out of the folk movement into other forms of music. Her songs have become sometimes jazzy but each one usually tells a story. I can recommend lots of her CDs but those unfamiliar with her music should start with her compilation Dreamland, a good collection spanning her career: http://www.amazon.com/Dreamland-Joni-Mitchell/dp/B0002MPQ50/ref=sr_1_6/002-8026655-9868005?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1192285885&sr=1-6

A good DVD concert is:  http://www.amazon.com/Joni-Mitchell-Painting-Words-Music/dp/6305301824/ref=sr_1_6/002-8026655-9868005?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1192285994&sr=1-6

For more info about her, go to her website:  http://jonimitchell.com/

For an excellent interview by a longtime admirer who has also grown as an artist:  http://www.elvis-costello.com/news/2004/10/elvis_costello_interviews_joni.html

Joni's latest CD is Shine http://www.amazon.com/Shine-Joni-Mitchell/dp/B000UR366S/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8026655-9868005?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1192286378&sr=1-1

She's 64 and years of cigarette smoking has made her voice a bit husky but she she's still one of the great singer/songwriters. More on her later....

A tip on buying new CDs:  The first week a new CD arrives  (usually on Tuesday) is when you can get the best price.  Always compare prices in the Sunday brochures for Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, etc. I bought Shine at Circuit City for $8.99. Later Barnes & Noble sent me an email offering it on sale for $14.99. And Borders has it at its regular price of $18.99! Incredible, huh?  It does pay to shop around....

Donovan/Roger McGuinn Concert '05

Here's all about the first time we saw McGuinn:   July 3 '05 was our 31st wedding anniversary and we celebrated it by attending a blast from the past. About a month before, I read an ad for the Warner Theater in Torrington: A concert with Donovan and Roger McGuinn of The Byrds, Good Gawd!  In high school/college I was a fan of both these guys or I should say,  one guy and the group of the other guy.  I had all their LPs and still do in the basement.  These guys were leader of the folk-rock movement and branched out into other areas. I also own a few of McG's solo works. Martha was also a Donovanny (like a Duranny - Duran Duran fan) so when I told her they were playing together that night, we had to go.

I immediately called the box office and foamed at the mouth about how we were bigggg fans and were dying to finally see these guys.  After I raved with this nice lady, I told her why it was a special night for us. She said she would try to get us front row seats; if she couldn't would second or third row be OK? I thanked her profusely and a few days later I received front row seats! Moral of the story: Always be nice and thankful to people; it pays off in the end.

 Since we were unfamiliar with Torrington, we decided to eat at home instead of finding a restaurant near the theater.  Parking is on the street so that was another reason for leaving early. We left at 6:00 for an easy highway ride to downtown Torrington and arrived there at 6:50.  We found a parking spot about a hundred feet from the theater and grabbed it before the cars behind me could. The stores were closed so we went to this bar across the street for drinks.  Some of the patrons were later at the show.

About 7:30 we went to the theater, which has a big balcony, and holds about 1200 people. This was a former movie palace restored to its Art Deco splendor.  We didn't see any tour tee shirts so we went to our seats. And what seats they were; a little to the right of center.  We sat next to this guy who came alone and talked with him. He was about our age and sees all kinds of concerts so we were trading stories. He said his wife passed on this show so we had a nice chat during the night.  

The show started after an announcement  and then Roger McGuinn came out playing a cordless guitar singing Dylan's 'My Back Pages,' a Byrds cover/hit.  He stood in front of a mike directly over and about three feet from us. The audience gave him a standing ovation and he smiled at us.  Well how could he not with me clapping in his face. lol

He recently turned 63  but you would never know. He wore matching black pants, shortsleeve shirt, and vest with a wide brimmed  black hat and cowboy boots. He still wears his square trademark granny glasses, and sports a goatee. His voice is as good as ever and jeez how he can play. You've never seen fingers move so fast. He's a master of the 12 string guitar and played it and four others and a banjo during his set which lasted over an hour.

Most of the time he sat about ten feet from us surrounded by his guitars he would switch for certain songs. He charmed the audience with his stories about the songs and instructed us to clap and sing at certain points. Since he was playing solo, I guess we were also making up for the lack of other musicians. But it wasn't really necessary because he sounded like several guitars at once. He played all the well known Byrds songs and a few of his solo works.

He played a special guitar that Martin commissioned for him. It has a seventh string that gives it the janglely sound of a twelve string. He demonstrated what it could also do and Mrs Mu was enthralled since she plays guitar. And yes he played his 12 string which has to be constantly tuned while playing. He wowed the crowd with a finger-blistering, frenzied acoustic electric version of 'Eight Miles High' which sounded like three people playing. After the show we bought an autographed copy of his new CD and a live version is on it. The enthusiastic applause made his return for an encore of  two songs.  He played his 18 song set for over an hour.

Jeez what fabulous seats.  As soon as I saw the large speakers on my right, I immediately installed my earplugs. I had a flashback of four years ago sitting in a similar location when The Monkees reunion  show ruined my right ear. To this day I wear them if it's too loud for me. I was able to get pics from where I sat although we were told not to.  if they come out OK I'll get them scanned for later.. The audience was mostly an older crowd who grew up during the 60's folkrock era. I saw a lot of grey pony-tailed guys so I guess the that era still exists.  During the 20 minute intermission the stage was arranged for Donovan's performance.

Donovan's band first came out: A drummer, a conga player, a gal playing an upright electric bass, and a keyboardist who later played sax and flute needed for certain songs. Then he came out to thunderous applause. He just turned 59 and he still has his baby face smile  although slightly pudgy. He's not the skinny kid I remember but he's filled out and not really overweight.  He used to look like an elf; now he looks like an aging Hobbit with his bushy grey hair as he slinked around the stage, sometimes doing these weaving hand gestures.

He said he was gonna perform everything and covered all his well-known hits.  He kept referring to the Beat Cafe, his latest CD sold in the lobby. It came out last years and his voice sounds the same. He never pushed it by screeching & screaming like most rockers who later lost it. and are sorta embarrassing to hear now. I already bought it in NYC in May and recommended it to people around us.

He started off with his biggest hit 'Sunshine Superman' and the crowd went wild. He played electric  and acoustic electric guitar along with this mouth organ/harmonica strapped around his shoulders where he could lean into to play. He stayed in the center of the stage about 15 feet from us. He played for almost an hour and a half with two encores. 

What's really amazing is that you get to see the favorite stars of your youth after 40 years and they are still as good as ever. 


 

Roger McGuinn Concert 9/8/07

 Roger McGuinn & me.

Well sorta...                                                                                                  

 

                                                               Roger's Instruments

 

 On July 3 '05 we celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary with another blast from the past. We got front row seats to see Donovan and Roger McGuinn from The Byrds. I will write about that special night before and they too proved they were as good as ever. Roger McGuinn was playing in Massachusetts on Sept 8 and we wanted to see him again. After The Byrds broke up in the 70's he went solo with several albums and returned to his folk roots. You can learn about him on:  www.mcguinn.com  Go to the 'Woodsongs Video' section and watch him perform and talk about his career. It's an hour long show and almost like seeing him live. Take the time to be entertained and also  get an education on music and the music industry.

    The Byrds were a folk rock group that were big in the 60's. Before they broke up in the 70's, they went into country music and their classic 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' was influential in bringing country music into the mainstream. McGuinn has done well on his own and is famous for his use of the twelve string guitar. He's considered THE Master of it and Martin Guitar created a special guitar  for him with a seventh string to replicate the sound of one. You can hear about it on that link.  He's been playing professionally for fifty years and is highly respected among his peers. He played a few folk songs on banjo which he loves.  His singing voice is sweet too. The Byrds were also known for their harmonies; David Crosby was an original member  and you can hear the influence on CS&N recordings.

    The day started with a bang...  literally     As I was backing out of the garage, I forgot my son's car was at the bottom of the driveway and hit it. I put a dent in his bumper that our mechanic's son who does bodywork later popped out and I put some scratches and chips on my bumper that I later buffed out and fixed OK with touch up paint. Of course the neighborhood heard me screaming & cussing after the fender-bender... lol 

 

    Then we drove north to the entrance to the Mass Pike, a toll highway that goes east/west between New York and  Boston. I missed the turn for it because of construction and backtracked to it.  That took about ten minutes. When we approached our entrance to the toll booths, traffic was backed up and it took us twenty minutes to get the ticket. I thought there was an accident but only two of the five lanes were open and created a jam. About 400 we reached the exit for Natick Mass. There's an earlier exit toll we use to go to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and that one too was backed up around the curve.  Dunno why all the heavy traffic that day. That area has lots of colleges so maybe students were returning to start the fall semester.

   It was an easy drive to downtown Natick and we found a spot in front of the theater. The Arts Center was a fire house converted into a small theater that holds 280 people. We got seventh row seats ahead of time since there was a 'Sold Out' sign as we arrived to pick up our tix. Downtown Natick is very small with some stores, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.  There's a huge shopping mall a few miles away but we had enough shopping in Portsmouth two weeks earlier on vacation.  We found a CD shop with used stuff but didn't buy anything. I did ask for the Mitch Ryder CD but with no luck. There was a concert on the green but was over when we arrived.

   When I ordered out tix over the phone, I asked about what was near the theater for stores and restaurants. They recommended a good seafood place called The Dolphin a block away. As we approached the place, there was a banner: Twin Lobster Dinner $24.95.   Since I was still upset about hitting my son's car, we said..  WTF...  We need to treat ourselves.. Let's go for broke.   The place was very nice inside.  Two choices of sides with the lobster. A bottle of wine, key lime pie & coffee... all served by a cute young waitress...  With the delicious dinner, wine, and eye candy, I finally mellowed out.  lol 

   We still had time to kill before the show and we hung around in a coffee shop till about 730. We went inside the theater to see if any CDs or tee shirts were being sold. McGuinn has this four CD set of 100 folk songs that we wanted(it's offered and explained on his website and the 'Woodsongs Video' section). Now here's where it's gets interesting....

   There were two woman selling McGuinn's CDs and they were autographed ahead of time. Since it was a small crowd, I asked if he was gonna come out after the show to sign autographs or pose for pics; we brought our camera and took pics of us in front of the 'Sold Out' sign. One woman was a pretty brunette with long dark hair and very friendly... about/maybe early 50's. She told me no because he's usually tired after his one man show. We bought the folk song set and she asked me if I wanted his live CD. I told her I already got it from his website but bought some (autographed too) as gifts for Martha's guitar teacher and others who play. We talked about his other CDs for sale and she knew we knew his work and kept talking to us. If we were bothering her, I'm sure she would have brushed us off.

    We told her how Martha bought his instructional DVD on how to play the twelve string guitar and she was impressed. We told her how we saw him and Donovan two years ago and she told us how that was a good show... She kept saying 'we' to our answers.

  Then it dawned on me.  I said:  "Wait a sec...   Uh... Are you Camilla McGuinn??"  She laughed, said yes, and asked how I knew about her. Yes it was Roger's wife!  I told her I read about her and seen her pic on his website, and seen her name on his CDs. She works with him on everything: songwriting, producing, publicity, etc.

   We must have talked to her for ten minutes and she asked us where we drove from...   how long a drive and I told her almost two hours. She asked us where we were staying overnight and I told here we would drive home since his show started at 8:00 and would probably be over at 9:30. She told us that he's starting at 8:45 because of an unannounced opening act. She seems truly concerned when she asked us if we would be OK driving home that distance so late. I told her we would stop for coffee and take our time. Martha wanted to ask her if would could sleep in their tour bus.  lol  I asked her a lot of questions which she graciously answered because she knew we were hardcore fans.  When more people arrived to purchase CDs, we  shook her hand, thanked for talking to us, and went to our seats..

     Before the show, I went to the rest room downstairs. There was an opening marked 'do not enter' and I could hear McGuinn warming up. I was soooo tempted to walk in.... 'Ooops I got lost.....  Hey aren't you Roger Mc....'   lol    The show started at 8:00 with a gal named Mieka Pauly, a folksinger from Boston who won a Starbucks New Performer competition. She played & sang her own songs for a half hour. She reminded me of Jewel but with a lil hostility. She sang a song about a failed relationship... a cappella style and used her fist to pound on her guitar like a drum instead of playing it. Martha imagined she was doing it to her former lover's head.  lol    She was good and has a CD coming out. Martha liked her Ovation guitar.

 

   After a short intermission, we heard a guitar playing a Byrds song and Roger entered playing. He stopped the song to say his guitar was out of tune and picked up another from his five different ones onstage. Later he explained how air conditioning is bad for guitars because it makes them go out of tune...  either too sharp or too flat.. and need constant tuning  He added with he does loves A/C and it was a humid day and greatly appreciated.  My wife says the same thing about how our A/C affects her guitars.

 

 Like his previous show, he was his charming self as he talked between songs about how they were written, his stories about show biz, and why he would use a certain guitar for certain songs. He makes you sing & clap along during some songs and you feel good when you leave. If you watch that 'Woodsongs' link, it gives you a good idea of seeing him live or hearing his live CD. He seems to follow the format of his live CD but changed some songs and added new ones, including a sequel to 'Chestmare Mare,' a Byrds song I sent to some.  

      He played for over an hour and ended his show... or so we thought and returned for four more songs. No show would finish without 'Eight Miles High. This guy has fingers of lightning....  If he plays in your area, treat yourself to a wonderful evening.

      We left the theater at 10:15 and got home two hours later. We stopped for coffee & rest rooms that were needed because I drank enough coffee before and after the show to prep fro the ride home. Another great evening...   Sunday afternoon I wrote to Camilla explaining that we made it home safely, how nice she was to us, how great was Roger's show, etc.

     Well I didn't expect to hear from her...   Then a few days later I received this reply: 

   

 Dear Martha and John,
Thank you for letting me know you got home okay. Roger and I were both
concerned about you. And thank you for being such loyal fans! It is people
like you that will keep the music alive!
I hope to see you again.
God Bless You
Camilla

 

So tell me that didn't knock us over?   They appreciated that we traveled far to see them. What a team!  What a lovely person who took the time to talk with us and reply to me.  Martha's next purchase is Roger's instructional DVD for playing folk songs.  Next thing happening will be wifey writing hostile songs about me.. .most definitely using my head as a drum. lol

HippieFest!

On August 6, we attended HippieFest!  Before you ask WTF is that, it was a show featuring groups from the 60's & 70's with most of their original members. Those were my high school/college years and this was a chance to relive those days. And to see, or better yet, hear, how these groups were after all these years.

  We went with a married couple from work who are also into music... big time... huge collection.... nonstop buying..  Like us.   Since we all worked during the day, we were short for time so instead of going to a restaurant before the 7:30 concert, we ordered Chinese food ahead of time for delivery upon their arrival and at our house which is about almost fifteen minutes from the theater. We've been to concerts with them and they brought a nice wine  to go with our stash so we were primed for the show. We chatted as they browsed through my collection.

     The theater holds about two thousand with a mezzanine. I looked online for tix but didn't like the seating choices. I went to the box office after work and schmoozed with the gal and got front row mezzanine seats.  No heads in front of us...  I've sat there before with another co-worker & his wife when we saw Santana and Los Lonely Boys.

      We arrived at 700 to buy tee shirts and settled down. The audience was mostly people our age but some brought their kids. I saw a lot of gray hair including some on pony-tailed guys.  lol 

   The unofficial host was Country Joe MacDonald but without his group The Fish. You might recall his anti-Vietnam song from the 'Woodstock' movie... "Gimme an 'F'.. a 'U'...  etc."  He's about 65 and still sounds the same. A co-worker who couldn't come with us gave me a recent DVD concert and he's still as good as ever.  And funny too. He brought down house saying: " Uh I don't remember the 60's too much... ya know..  all those drugs..."   You should have heard the laughter & applause.  He's still doing protest songs so he did a Bush-bashing one.

    Each act performed about a half hour, long enough to hear their hits which is all you wanted to hear. Badfinger opened the show. These guys had it rough: legal problems that kept them broke...   two members committed suicide. Read about them on Barnes &Noble's Biography section next to one of their CDs. Original member Joey Mollander was there and did well.

   Then The Turtles came out and got a huge laugh with: "Oh yeah.. there were a lot of drugs back then,,,  Now we're on different drugs..   .Lipitor...  Viagra..."   We saw them last year when they played a free concert in out town's park and got to talk to them after the show. The two original leads at 60 were still good too.

   Mitch Ryder (without the Detroit Wheels) rocked the place. He's 62 but doesn't bounce all over as before and didn't push his voice but had a good backing band. I've been to several stores to find his greatest hits without success so I'll probably get it online.

   Then The Zombie's from England..part of the' British Invasion'..original singer Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent on keyboards. The original bassist's son is now their drummer. These guys are about 62 but you would never know it. They opened with 'I Love You' and I was fearful about Colin hitting the high chorus... sometimes you hear old singers who lost their range due to age or years of screaming... Bur he hit it right and earned applause.  The Zombies split up for a while and Rod had his own group called Argent with a big hit, "Hold Your Head Up" which they performed with Colin singing. They rocked the place with that long one as well as 'Time of the Season'.  I recently bought their DVD concert filmed this year so it's a good memento of seeing them... same lineup but with more songs.

  Next up was Felix Cavaliere from The Rascals, a blue-eyed soul group with many hits. Felix was the keyboardist/singer and played a Hammond organ that was 40 years old. My wife thought he looked like an old Italian (yeah like me... lol) but he wowed the audience.

   We had fun trying to remember the lyrics to songs as we sang along. The average age of the performers was about 62 but they showed us age is only a number. The backdrop was an appropriate 60's light show with occasional film clips of the performers way back then. It was startling to see how they looked then & now. Sometimes we would gasp at the difference.

   The evening moved quickly with little time between acts. Then there was an announcement: "Ladies & Gentlemen...We're sorry to say... the soft music part of the show is over..   Get ready for... Mountain"  The crowd went wild as lots of big amps were wheeled out...   Leslie West &  original drummer Corky Laing came out and had the walls vibrating. West lost a lot a weight and wears glasses (diabetic I heard) but still can play and belt out those songs.  They ended the show with "Mississippi Queen.'  Forget Ozzy's overblown remake. This was the real deal. 

  What an evening!  It's was wonderful to hear your old favorites and hear how they still sound good. It's true: You're never too old to Rock & Roll....