Just a quick, short post today, sort of a 'tease' for the upcoming nice weather. As the calendar turns from March to April, gearheads and car nuts all across the region begin to drool in anticipation of the best time of the year - Car Show Season!
Yes, it's time to get out the car wash soap, chrome polish, armor all, etc., and shine up the old rides. Here on Long Island, there's a really large car culture, and once we hit summer, there are multiple 'cruise nights' each night. On some evenings, we have 3 or 4 different places to choose from!
For me, the season always starts with the Garden City Easter Show and Parade. Sponsored by the GC Chamber of Commerce, this one is lots of fun. We take our rides and park them in one of the big lots on the East side of Franklin Avenue, usually around 10 am. A big crowd of spectators wanders around checking the cars out, there are bands, food vendors, folks in rabbit costumes - a lot of fun for all, especially the kids.
At around 1 pm, we fire up our engines, and 'parade' down Franklin Avenue to Seventh Street. Up Seventh we go, to Hilton, where the parade ends. Now, the thing to understand is the size of the crowd. All along Franklin, and Seventh, the crowd lines the sidewalk 6 or 7 deep. There are literally thousands of people watching this parade! Lots of us who participate carry bags of candy in our cars and we toss it out the window to the kids who are watching. And you hear folks commenting along the way; 'Wow, a 'Cuda, I haven't seen one of those in years!' 'Hey, look, a Fiat 850!' and the like. It's really a fun time, and it's become a tradition for Tom and I to be there. Karen usually goes as well, and usually one of her children is there with their kids - a fun family event!
Last year, we showed both the Barracuda and the Fiat, and that was fun. The Fiat attracted quite a crowd around it, since back in the day these things were all over. But most of these cars rusted away, or just came apart, and you rarely, if ever, see one. Ours looks pretty good, and folks just like looking at it. Of course, the fact that it's tiny (Karen calls it a Matchbox car) is part of the attraction.
This year however, it's just the Barracuda. The Fiat, as is it's habit, has become maddeningly unreliable, and has been getting us stuck whenever we take it out. A gas tank full of gunk and dirt seems to be the culprit, and I just don't have the time to get it worked out before the parade. But I'm sure we'll drag the little piece of crap out to some show this summer, it'd be a shame to just leave it sitting on the driveway.
So if you're anywhere near the Garden City area on Sunday April 16, pop on over to GC Parking Field 9E. Wander through the cars and enjoy a look back to when cars were stylish and simple. Then line up on the streets and watch a parade that's so 'middle America' it could be mistaken for someplace out in Iowa. And bring the kids - classic cars are a great hobby that's fun, interesting, and a lifetime pursuit.
And now, back to cleaning the old buggy up!
Now there's a great song title (done by Theresa Brewer), and a good title for this edition of the blog. Today it's "Vintage Rock and Roll" time, as I review four artists that Karen and I had the pleasure of seeing recently.
On St. Patrick's Day, we scooted up the Wantagh Parkway to the NYCB Theater at Westbury (Westbury Music Fair), for a double header; The Lovin' Spoonful and Johnny Rivers.
You've all seen how fond Karen and I are of the Spoonful, they've become one of our favorites. We first saw them about 7 years ago, when they came through as part of "HippieFest". They were on the bill with about 10 other acts, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting a lot from them. My friend Neil Marrin had booked them into one of his parks for a summer concert, and I'd heard that they were 'okay'. Well, we were pleasantly surprised, as they came out and did their 3 or 4 songs, and really sounded good. Yes, they're without John Sebastian, but the guys who are left from the 'originals', Joe Butler, Steve Boone, and Jerry Yester sound just fine. Joe and Jerry do the vocals, they have a great guitar player and fabulous drummer, and the band sounds great.
Now, when you get two acts on the same bill, usually the opening act will do 20-25 minutes, and then out comes the 'headliner'. But on this occasion, the Spoonful did pretty much their full show - about an hour and change. All the hits; "Didn't Have to Be So Nice", "Six O'Clock", "Jug Band Music", "Nashville Cats", "Darlin' Be Home Soon", "Daydream", "Summer In The City", and "Do You Believe In Magic". Absolutely wonderful songs, played to perfection by a really good set of musicians, they left the stage to a long standing ovation.
Intermission, a little long, as the stage crew was having some issues with the sound, and out came the second act, Johnny Rivers.
Johnny doesn't tour a lot, and it's been a good 4 or 5 years since he came through New York. Back then, we saw him at BB King's, and he was so good, I put him on the 'watch list' over on Pollstar and "Bandsintown". When we saw he was coming to Westbury, we knew we had to go. At 74 years of age, he shows no signs of slowing down.
With a good three piece backing band, he played three different guitars, and sounded just as good, if not better, than he did on his records. Johnny never really had what you'd call a 'strong' voice, and he was fighting a little bit of a sore throat, but except for a slight volume problem on the first song or two, he hit all the notes, and sounded pretty good. The guitar work was, as we'd hoped, excellent. All of his hits sounded great, and he did a few songs that had been hits for others, and made them sound like he could have done them back in the day. The show closer, "Secret Agent Man" really screamed, his guitar work on that one alone was worth the price of admission. Again, he doesn't come through this area often, but should you spot him performing near you, go. You'll be glad you did.
Next up, a week later, another favorite, the lead voice on so many Monkees hits, Micky Dolenz. Back again at Feinstein's 54 Below, Micky was doing his "A Little Bit Broadway, A Little Bit Rock and Roll" show. We'd seen him at this venue once before, and were very happy to see him playing here again. Feinstein's is a terrific spot, very intimate, with seating for 124, and no seat further than 25 feet from the stage. You've got a great view wherever you sit, and the sound system is about as good as you'll hear. This club is a throwback to the old nightclubs, with a full dinner menu, and good drinks. Tickets are anywhere from about $50 to $95, which, for what is essentially premium seating in a small club, is reasonable.
I've reviewed Micky, and the Monkees, lots of times, you all know that his voice is still great, and he always does full versions of his hit songs, which fans really appreciate. In this show, he does lots of Monkees songs, and he mixes in songs which he's done either in Broadway shows, or has used as auditions for shows, plus one or two that the just likes. Of course, "I'm a Believer", "Clarksville", and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" are great to hear, but he also does "As We Go Along", a beautiful Carol King song from the movie "Head". And he does a very nice, ballad like version of "Some Enchanted Evening", a song his father used to sing around the house. "Don't Be The Bunny", from the musical "Urinetown", which Micky has used as an audition piece in the past, is a great tune that he has a lot of fun with.
Part of the way through the show, Micky is joined on stage by his sister Coco, and they perform a couple of songs together. Coco has been singing professionally most of her life, and in addition to being a featured singer on the last couple of Monkees tours, actually sang backup on some of their original recordings back in the 60's. Her voice blends well with Micky's, and they sounded great, especially on the old Everly Brothers tune, "I'll Do My Crying In the Rain".
The show ran about an hour and 20 minutes, and was fun from start to finish. In addition to still having that great voice, Micky comes across as a really good guy, his patter with the audience in this intimate setting is great. Rumor is he's coming back to Feinstein's some time this summer. Another performance that's highly recommended!
And finally, the night after we saw Micky, it was back to Manhattan for another legendary group, The Zombies. As with the Lovin' Spoonful, Karen and I first saw this group on that HippieFest tour, and they just blew us away. Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone still sound great, and the rest of the band is very talented as well - they sound just like they did on the records some 45-50 years ago!
This show was at Town Hall, where we'd seen Michael Nesmith on his solo tour, and Micky and Peter doing The Monkees shows. Great theater, it seats about 1,500, and was completely sold out, with a very high energy and enthusiastic crowd. The show was split into two halves. The first half featured the current 'touring band' doing the old hits, some new material from their 2015 album, and other favorites. That portion went about an hour, and was really well received. You can't go wrong with songs like "I Love You", "She's Not There", and "Tell Her No". A short intermission, and out came a slightly different band - all the surviving members of the original group, plus the touring band. The second half of the show was a note for note recreation of their "Odessey And Oracle" album. Original bass player Chris White, and drummer Hugh Grundy, current lead guitar Tom Tooney, Argent and Blunstone provided the bulk of the material, ably backed up by the others. This was billed as the "Finale" performance of the album, as Rod Argent told the crowd, there are some songs from the album that sound fine when the five piece touring band plays them, but there are others which had so much multi tracking, that they can't really be done by only five people. So for this tour, they found a way to recreate that sound using the extra players and singers. And it was marvelous! Odessey And Oracle is one of the truly great late 60's albums, the songs and the playing on it are wonderful. "A Rose For Emily", "This Will Be Our Year", and "Time of The Season" are just some of the tunes that brought the crowd to their feet. Overall, the show ran close to two hours, and left everyone feeling good. Standing ovation after standing ovation, you could see that the guys were really touched by the response to the performance. Another group which we highly recommend, especially if you are lucky enough to catch this "Finale" tour, which is going to be in the U.S. for a few more months.
So there you go, four terrific acts in a little over a week's time. Think we'll take a break for a bit; oh, wait, I see a great "Happy Together" show coming to Westbury...and The Spoonful is going to be at Suffolk Theater in July..and there will be plenty of other great shows for us to see. We truly are blessed to live where all the great acts show up and play, and so fortunate to be able to get to see them. I'll keep posting the reviews, and let you all know who's worth your money, and your time.
