YMCA

 

     Oh yes we did! We saw the Village People at Epcot! April was quite the month for me, the Doobie Brothers and the Village People within a few days of each other! Talk about blasting back to my past!

 

 

     For those of you who are too young to remember the Village People (I really think everyone knows their music), they are a disco group that formed in 1977. They were  known for their on-stage wardrobe that copied American cultural stereotypes, as well as their sexy dance music.

 

     Speaking as someone who was in my early 20's, living in the Midwest, I was very aware of the group and had no idea that they were originally created to target disco's gay audience by featuring popular gay fantasy personas. The name "Village People" comes from New York City's Greenwich Village, which had a large gay population in the 70's. I was clueless at the time, I just knew that the music was fun, good and easy to dance to!

 

 

     During Epcot's Flower and Garden show, they offer free "flower power" concerts on the weekends. We actually picked our week to visit because we thought this concert would be so good and we weren't disappointed. The group retains two original members, Felipe Rose (the Native American) and Alex Briley (the soldier). Ray Simpson (brother of Ashford and Simpson's Valerie Simpson) is almost an original, first joining the group in 1980. He is the lead singer and portrays the Cop and the Navy Officer for In the Navy. Glenn Hughes, the original biker, died of lung cancer at age 50 in 2001 and Mark Mussler, the original construction worker for the first year, died of AIDS at age 33 in 1987.

 

 

     The guys range in age from 47 to 66. We weren't exactly sure what to expect considering we remembered the costumes and the dances of the 70's. To quote my daughter, "these guys can really move for old men"! They certainly could. For those of you that remember their moves...and all the things they did with those microphone stands...they can still do them! They also sounded exactly the way I remembered. My only complaint is that the show was too short as Disney has them do 3 shows a night. What I appreciated seeing as we were leaving was that they stayed out in the audience giving autographs, shaking hands and talking to the super fans. It also should be said that they had one of the largest audiences my daughter has seen at one of these concerts and it was a very interesting and colorful audience!

 

 

      In case you have forgotten what made this group famous, click and listen to: Macho Man, In The Navy or a current version of YMCA. A Good time was had by all!

 

 

There are times when I am doing something that

I just can't quite believe I am doing it...

this was one of those times!

 

Crafting and Concerting!

     I think that most of you that read my blog on a regular basis know that I don't "craft". I work with florals, I cook and on rare occasions I attempt a bit more...but, I'm not very good at it. So, for me to actually make something is a big deal! When we were in St. Charles, MO I saw something in a shop that I liked. I just wasn't willing to pay the price that was being asked, so I decided to attempt to make something similar. I didn't take any pictures of their version, but I'm happy with mine. It is probably better that I can't see what the original looked like!

     It starts with an old book. I bought mine at Goodwill and I looked for one with rough edges on the pages. I brushed a little tea along the pages to darken them and make them look more worn.

The little mouse I bought for $6.99. I loved it that he was

reading The Night Before Christmas!

     I couldn't find any wrapping paper that looked like old Christmas paper, so I bought a large gift bag and cut it to make a book cover. I left the long edge exposed, and folded the paper at the top and bottom edges of the book as if I were wrapping a gift. A touch of the glue gun held the paper in place. Brown kraft paper was burned around the edges (do this over the sink, I had to turn on the water to put out a couple of fires) and the beginning  words of The Night Before Christmas were printed on it before attaching it to the covered book with Mod Podge. After attaching the wording, go over the entire front of the book with Mod Podge and add a hint of glitter if you want to.

I tied a bit of twine around the book and added the mouse

to the top with a drop of hot glue. Easy!

     Saturday night we went to see Lee Greenwood's Christmas Concert at our local theater. Over the years I've enjoyed a few Lee Greenwood songs, but I think in recent years he has mostly been known for singing God Bless the USA at various important events. Knowing that he sang it right after 9/11 for the firefighters and police made it even more of an honor to be in the same room with him when he sang it. The entire audience (sold out theater) stood during the song. It is certainly no wonder that Lee has won many awards, his voice is like velvet.

     He has a new Christmas album and one of my favorite songs was Til The Season Comes Around Again. Click here if you'd like to hear it. If you get a chance to see him in concert, I highly recommend it.

It Was The Summer of '69

     The year was 1969 and I was 14 years old that summer. My small hometown of Mattoon, Illinois was suddenly on the map as it was selected to host the 1969 Babe Ruth World Series for 14-15-year-olds at Grimes Field in Peterson Park. This event was a very big deal for our small town. Teams were coming in from all across the country, parades were held and princesses were selected to “look pretty on the floats”. As a 14-year-old girl, it was heaven. My own subdivision of 50 houses, hosted the team from Indianola, Iowa. As the only teenage girl in the neighborhood, I was asked to gather my girlfriends and throw a few parties to entertain the team.

     For me, it was the summer of my first “boyfriend” as I met and fell for the older brother of one of the team members. It was the summer of my first kiss…the same week, the same boy. It was the summer that I finally figured out that I might actually not always be seen as too tall and gangly or just as the best friend of the cutest girl in my class. It was easily the best summer I ever had as a kid and I still can’t help but smile when I think of the fun we had.

Wonder where they are now?

     The backdrop of that summer of course was music. What comes to mind first when I think of that summer is The Association singing Never My Love and Cherish and The Grass Roots-Midnight Confessions and I‘d Wait A Million Years. It was the days before MTV and video, we played our albums over and over until we wore them out. I still have every one of mine!

     Imagine how exciting it was last night to attend the Happy Together Tour that just happened to make a stop at our local theater. The Association, The Grass Roots, The Buckingham’s, The Turtles and Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders were all on stage singing songs from their combined multitude of hits.

     The Buckingham's founding members Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna opened the show. They may be a little older, but their voices are those we remember from Kind of a Drag, Susan, Don't You Care and Hey Baby.  

     Next up, The Grass Roots. Sadly, Rob Grill, the voice we all remember from the hits of The Grass Roots, died in July. He had been billed to be on this tour, but his health prevented him from participating this year. This formation of the band sounded really good and we enjoyed hearing the old songs, but something was missing because we knew there were no members from the original lineup.

     Next, The Association. With three original members performing I had high expectations for the group that I loved so much as a teenager. Opening the set with Windy and finishing with Cherish, the music took me back to my teen years and I couldn't believe I was finally hearing them in person. With that said, they were the one group who have really lost their vocal sound. The tight harmonies that made them famous are simply not there and at times, because I know these songs so well, it was almost painful to listen to.

     Mark Lindsay, the lead singer of Paul Revere and the Raiders (remember the pony tails) back in the day was next on stage. This guy is still very cool. At 69, he has more energy than a 25-year-old and his voice seems to have mellowed over the years. Singing Indian Reservation, Kicks, Hungry and Arizona, it was easy to forget that decades had passed. He could easily do a Vegas show and keep audiences entertained. He was the surprise of the night for me because while as a young teen I thought he was gorgeous, I didn't really think his career would last this long or he would be this good.

     The true stars of the show were The Turtles, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (Flo and Eddie). They were the founding fathers of the group and at 64-years-old, they sound great! I would still buy this music. They mix a bit of silly humor in between You Baby, Happy Together and She'd Rather Be With Me. I really loved these guys!

     As the show came to an end (after more than 3 hours) all the performers took to the stage together and looked as if they were having a great time. This concert was well worth the ticket price and was almost a sell out crowd here in our little town. Most of us in the audience have our AARP cards, but for one summer night in August, we all forgot that for a little while!