Association concert last night
 

This concert was not nearly as good as all of the other concerts I've gone to - usually they are fantastic. I don't know if it was the performers, the sound system or both. They seemed not in tune with each other and off key. They even had to start one of the songs over again because it appeared they were not in the same key. The songs all brought back great memories but I was rather disappointed with the quality.

I have to agree with you...it was just OK, certainly not the best 'original' performance I've seen at Savannah ... Peter Noone/Herman's Hermits is still the best.

Some of it is the poor acoustics in the Savannah Center. To me, Rocky and the Rollers sound better outside at LSL than inside at Savannah. But, I think alot of the less than stellar quality is that the vocalists are getting a bit long in the tooth and their voices just aren't that strong. I'm sorry to say this applies to Rocky's crew too.... I love their band sound but the vocals are sounding a bit strained at times.

I guess I got my $20 worth.

Do they ever have any classical performances or jazz by famous artists there?

To each there own, but I haven't seen any events listed yet that appealed to me enough to even consider buying a ticket. We've only been here a few months so I'm hoping it might change in the future. Otherwise, it looks like we'll have to trek to Orlando or Tampa.

Shame....It seems like a nice venue from the outside.

I really enjoyed the concert, but have to agree. The problem seemed to be with the addition of Jordan Cole, formerly of the Christy Minstrals. While he is a very personable man, his singing and microphone skills were lacking. He also added his own guitar stylings, which were not compatible with the sound of the recordings we are all so used to hearing. Even though the concert did not sound exactly like the old songs, I still enjoyed myself and it is amazing to see some of these musicians up close after the concerts, after having listened to their music all these years. Especially enjoyed "Along Comes Mary" at the end of the concert.

All in all, I still enjoyed the concert and wasn't sorry that I went - I go to almost all of the 50's/60's concerts. I think it's great that we have this here for us.
As far as other types of music, The Villages Concert Band and The New Horizons Band perform at the Savannah and that is a variety of music - marches, broadway, Gershwin, etc. I play sax in the NHB - our concert is Nov 29 and 30. The Concert band is Oct 25 and 26. I'm sure you would enjoy them both.
Also, the Church on the Square has some other types of music - the Philharmonic will be starting up in a few months.

I love the Philharmonic and did not go to the Church on the square for music because I thought it was a churchy thing. OH no, I didn't mean that. I just hadn't realized until I was dragged there that it was not a religious thing.

I am making myself look bad. I didn't mean that like it sounded.

The music at the Church on the square is BEAUTIFUL.

Church services are too..I just thought it was a church service and it isn't.

I need coffee.:mornincoffee:

Also enjoyed Along Comes Mary last night. Here are the lyrics since it is almost an unintelligible tune. (Actually, I don't get the lyrics either).

Along Comes Mary


Every time I think that I'm the only one who's lonely
Someone calls on me
And every now and then I spend my time in rhyme and verse
And curse those faults in me

And then along comes Mary
And does she want to give me kicks, and be my steady chick
And give me pick of memories
Or maybe rather gather tales of all the fails and tribulations
No one ever sees

When we met I was sure out to lunch
Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch

When vague desire is the fire in the eyes of chicks
Whose sickness is the games they play
And when the masquerade is played and neighbor folks make jokes
As who is most to blame today

And then along comes Mary
And does she want to set them free, and let them see reality
From where she got her name
And will they struggle much when told that such a tender touch as hers
Will make them not the same

When we met I was sure out to lunch
Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch

And when the morning of the warning's passed, the gassed
And flaccid kids are flung across the stars
The psychodramas and the traumas gone
The songs are left unsung and hung upon the scars

And then along comes Mary
And does she want to see the stains, the dead remains of all the pains
She left the night before
Or will their waking eyes reflect the lies, and make them
Realize their urgent cry for sight no more

When we met I was sure out to lunch
Now my empty cup tastes as sweet as the punch

Maybe you should try something stronger...:wave:

Jazzper, The Lenny Wilson Quartet (really a quintet now with the vocal)
is local, but very good and highly recommended. They play at the squares and were at Church on the Square last night. I don't see much in the way of famous jazz folks coming through here.

You don't? It's an anti drug song.

Another clue: Mary is the drug.

I've seen the Association twice about 15-20 years ago when I was in Miami. At both concerts their harmonizing was mediocre at best. At both concerts (about 3 years apart) they managed to criticize the sound guy. Hmmm... either get a new sound guy or some new excuses!!

Actually quite the opposite. According to The Association last night the song was banned on half the radio stations. Allegedly, Mary was thought to be a reference to marijuana.

The song is about life in a drug culture that the writer of the lyrics observed in the 60's. I remember marijuana being called "Mary Jane" in my Woodstock days.:angel::wine::angel:

Of course Mary was a reference to marijuana! Go back and read the lyrics you pasted. You think it was pro-drugs?

does she want to see the stains, the dead remains of all the pains
She left the night before
Or will their waking eyes reflect the lies, and make them
Realize their urgent cry for sight no more

really? And yes, I know the song was banned. I assumed that was a reaction to the song being about marijuana, and that those who banned it didn't understand the words either.

BTW, I used to love that song because I could do all of the lyrics and keep up with the very fast pace of the song. Couldn't carry the tune, but could keep up on the lyrics.

Did anyone else do this? If not, try it sometime. It's fun. The two hardest parts are:

And when the masquerade is played and neighbor folks make jokes As who is most to blame today

and

And when the morning of the warning's passed, the gassed
And flaccid kids are flung across the stars

It takes practice to do those lines as fast as the song goes without garbling the words and without a cheat sheet.

Okay, PT, I want to see a video of you singing this.

If you must, consider it educational -- pop culture history.

Aw, c'mon. :jester: You've got a video camera, right?

and TV's censor board let it play?
Then again...
some of the tunes on WVLG's logs would have been on the no play list before they were oldies -

As far as being in tune and having top shelf stage presence?
Wonder if playing to 'a retirement village' made any difference in effort?

L and L

I was there. They were really trying to do their best. They kept inviting the audience to join in and sing along. And, that was fun!

Oh P!!!! In the interests of mankind and the further edification of your devoted friends on this forum, We wanna hear you and see you sing, and that difficult part too..... Look directly into your phone and let er rip.

Click on the link for the slow version of Along Comes Mary. Easier sing along. And fun to see The Association back in the day.

http://www.guitarsolos.com/videos-al...Zt2YC7Y%5D.cfm

Oh my. Just for that, the next time I'm there, the three of us must get together. I'll make you listen to me do the whole song. That will be your punishment for suggesting it!! As for doing it on video camera-- ha. There's not enough Kool drink, Mary Jane and Jack D combined!

... Unless... Hmmmmmmmm, You two are singing along with me! Misery might love company, but you know, I'm just thinking-- foolishness loves it more.:jester:

Jordan Cole was the keyboard player. I agree that the keyboard player was not great, but he wasn't the main part of the show. The man you are referring to is Russ Guigere and is one of the three original members of the group, according to their website ( http://www.theassociationwebsite.com/lineup.html ).

My wife and I enjoyed the show. Our complaint is that the music drowned out the vocals a lot of the time. I think they need to fire their sound man. As far as the quality of the vocals, have you ever heard the Beach Boys or Bob Dylan live? A lot of bands sound different when they aren't in the studio and also after several years have passed, so we went in not expecting to hear them sound like they did 40 odd years ago. All in all, we thought it was a very good show and left feeling like we got our money's worth.

We're looking forward to Herman's Hermits.

Recently saw Hermans Hermits at the Syracuse State Fair!

They were fantastic and sounded exactly like they used to.

Yes - Herman's Hermit's is definitely a "do not miss". Surprisingly, 99% of the groups I have seen here, have not really lost their voices and sound just like they did before. It amazes me.

Association Review
 

The concert received such a really wonderful review in the 'Daily Sun?' Why the disappointment by others?

If you were around in the 60's and under 60 you knew that "Mary" was short for "Cannabis!"
I never cared too much for this song .......not easy to dance to...and dancing and yoga were the things that gave me a "high" back then......and still do!

Annabelle

Nice to see some of these "oldie" performers still around.......bring back such fond memories.........haven't caught his show........but from photos I've seen.....he looks pretty darn good for a man of his age.

Thanks for your post.....hope he comes to our state fair too!

Annabelle

I may be wrong but I know my music. As far as the Association- a key member and voice of the band was Terry Kirkman. As far as I know, Kirkman is no longer in the band. It could be why the Association didn't sound as good as you remember. The same goes for the Lovin' Spoonful who has other people singing songs that John Sabastian use to sing.

Hermin's Hermit are Peter Noone. Peter is still Peter and I saw a video of the concert held in TV and he still sounded great. I loved how such a simple song like "Henry the Eighth" (Second verse same as the first) went over so well.

In my experience of attending the 50's / 60's concerts, I have never been disappointed or noticed poor quality even when it wasn't the same lead singer or all of the original members. There was definitely a problem with this performance - I stood in line at the box office yesterday for an hour to get tickets to Leslie Gore and that was the primary conversation among the people in line - and it was both shows. Of course, the Daily Sun would never publish a negative review. I did overhear someone say that the lead singer had a stroke a while back. If so, I give him credit and praise him for not giving up and giving it his all. I love these concerts, always have a great time, and one disappointment in 7 years is not bad.

It is fun to see the old groups. Groups, of course, is a loose term now. I've seen Gary Lewis without the Playboys, Herman without the Hermits, Paul Revere and the Raiders without Mark Lindsay, Gary Puckett without the Union Gap, and the list goes on. It makes it all the more incredible to see the Rolling Stones still rocking together.

I have attended many concerts at Silver Springs by some of the 60s era groups and other entertainers and they are really not the same. Some of the songs are there but is mostly the nostalgia of seeing them together again.

Remember these people are in their 60s and 70s and still trying to entertain.

That's what makes the concert so incredible! That, and the fact that some of us finally get to see these amazing performers at last.

Fifteen years ago they were having "a problem with the sound guy.." The "sound guy" was especially bad when they were hitting those high notes in "Cherish" and they somehow came out flat.

Peter Noone (Herman) is another story. We saw him in concert 20 years ago and again at Savannah Center last year. Super energetic and he sings as well as ever. He hasn't lost a thing. Somehow he's always lucky enough to get a good sound guy.

The typical "amazing performers" that show up at The Villages usually haven't had a hit in 40-50 years and you can typically count all their hits on one hand. I can't imagine any talented performers of even moderate stature scheduling in 4 performances at the Savannah Center.

According to Bimmert, I guess we shouldn't expect Paul McCartney, The Stone, Eagles, or Rod Stewart playing in TV for a long time.