Monday, August 08, 2011

The Happy Together Tour review

The Turtles came on the stage to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance"  They yelled "stop...what have they done to our music."  It's hard to refute that fact based on the impressive set list that even after 40 years is still pleasing to the ears.  I highly doubt that anyone who is making "music" today will be playing a concert for over 4300 fans in 40 years.  Most of them can not play for that many people today.  It seems like the music that came out of the 60's 70's and 80's was something that people could get behind, could be excited about, enjoy to the point that what they heard on the radio became the soundtrack of their lives.  Well, pretty much every song that was played at the Wisconsin State Fair Mainstage Sunday night was released 12 or more years before I was even born, but at any age someone who enjoys good melody, instruments, and beat can listen to hit after hit after hit and know it was a good time to be a music fan.  There is no way for me to list all the hits, go on youtube and search for The Turtles (three letters away from making a gazillion dollars), the Association, The Buckinghams, the grass roots, and Paul Revere and the Raiders.  The bands played for almost three hours and I didn't know two songs.  They ended the show with each act coming out one more time and singing the hook from one of their songs and as Flo and Eddie walked off the stage they turned to eachother and said, "It beats working"  "I beats washing dishes."  They personified the attitude of the 60's, and so did their meet and greet fans.  While the kids show had 250 people who walked in a single file line to meet the band, the 15 people that went backstage for this show couldn't do it.  When I told one guy to wait by a fence he asked me if he was in prison.  Different attitude for a different time. Okay, back to the show.   Each "group" was really just a front man or two and a house band that had a ton of skill on the instruments and could hit all those notes that might have been hit or miss from the legends.  Let's hope one day record companies decide they are going to make music that people can be passionate about, truely love, and will be remembered for a long time.  Now, back to Lady who?    

8 comments:

Charlie O'Brien said...

Even this young whipper snapper of a writer must have have heard of "Paul Revere" (Ravere?) in school?

Anonymous said...

Of course we got behind it...it was a revolution! For all those who were not there for it: you missed it!

mightymike said...

Just a great show GAME...anonymous is absolutely right..you missed it if you can't enjoy great lyrics..wonderful song writing....
and the words can be understood....
these guys enjoyed themselves as much as the audience enjoyed them..
hope they all return to be Happy Together one more time soon...

Jim said...

Long live this classic music from the 60's ... and we're hoping that the Turtles, Buckinghams, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Grass Roots and others from that era continue to rock, entertain and enthrall us until we all depart this earth!

The Game said...

Sorry for the typo at 1230am...

The Game said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tamira58 said...

Love this music! We've seen all these acts on concert at seas cruises. Even though I'm a kid from the 70's music, I love the music of the 60's.

Jim said...

(I'm the old Jim, not the 8:53 Jim)

We used to have bands come to our little town football "stadium" at the end of summer. Downtown businesses would hand out tickets for buying school clothes and such.

The Association, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Beau Brummels, just to name a few. This was like around 1965-66.

In the summer of 68 my band opened for the Turtles' drummer's summer band at the Veterans Hall. Johnny Barbata. He went on to play with the Jefferson Airplane, Starship and CSN&Y.

Through him I've got six degrees of separation to just about anybody who ever hob-nobbed with a famous musician. :-)