COMB-OVERS, WALKERS AND
CANES OH MY!
Mrs. Cranky
loves concerts. There are many things
that I love about Mrs. Cranky. Her love
of going to concerts is not one of the many things about her that I love. In support all the other things about Mrs.
Cranky that I love, I will occasionally grit my teeth and go to a concert. Sometimes I even enjoy them.
Last night
we went to a concert at the Garden State Art Center. Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and Tommy
James and the Shondells were the headliners.
As an added attraction, Bruce Murrow aka Cousin Brucie a local fast talking DJ from the 60's was the guest
host.
This concert
was a freebie. The GSA Center puts on
several free concerts a year for senior citizens. A free concert sounds pretty good, and it is a
great deal, except there is no assigned seating. To get a good seat and not end up on the lawn
six miles from the stage you have to get in line early.
How early?
We leave the
house at 3:30, arrive at the Art Center at 4:00 and wait in line until they
open the doors at 6:30 for an 8:00 show.
I know! That’s what I say, but Mrs. C just LOVES Tommy James and there was no way
we were not going to get good seats.
When they
open the doors at 6:30 there is a stampede of walker pushing, cane swinging,
bum leg limping seniors hell bent on getting a good seat. Mrs. C hasn’t got her AARP card yet, so
she can fly, well compared to the walker pushing, cane swinging, bum leg
limping seniors, she can fly; I was one of the bum leg limpers but I managed to
keep up and we got great seats reasonably close to the stage.
The show
started with Cousin Brucie walking through the audience to get to the
stage. He passed right by our
seats. Cousin Brucie must be 90 years
old. I used to listen to his radio show
while doing my homework in high school.
He looks damn good for 90 and except for multi-layers of differently
shaded hair; you can barely tell he has a toupee.
 |
| Cousin Brucie |
Turns out he
is only 79. He still looks pretty good
for 79.
Gary Puckett
was good, his voice at 71 is not what it once was, it is still pretty
good. Tommy James was excellent. His voice at 67 is as good as ever and the Shondells
are all really great musicians.
The most fun
was audience watching. I love old people;
wait, that would be me, but I think I am still young next to this crowd. I towered over almost everyone and I am only
5’ 10.” I decided that apparently I
haven’t begun to shrink yet. At least I
never went for the comb-over your bald spot trick…if you don’t know it old dudes;
it is not a good look. The crowd had
more wrinkles than Carter has pills and was old enough to know that reference.
 |
| Gary Puckett |
 |
| Tommy James |
I told Mrs.
C that at least in this crowd I still look good.
She said, “I hate to break it to you, but you blend.”
And still I
love her.
Great piece. The only concerts I attend these days are when dinosaurs of heavy metal somehow manage to raise themselves from the tar pits and go on tour. Think Deep Purple or Black Sabbath. The fun in those concerts often comes from checking out the audience. There's usually a fair smattering of younger fans who appreciate the roots of their particular musical tastes, but some of the folks look as though they haven't been out of the house since 1975 (or out of the home, as the case may be.)
ReplyDelete:) didn't get the 'carter has pills' reference.
ReplyDeleteOh my god, this is so hilarious! I'm reposting it to my RTK fb page :)
ReplyDeleteOh, crap!
ReplyDeleteI understood every reference.
I guess that means Chris and Buck were right about geezerhood?
As for concerts, I pretty much stick to Blues musicians.
It seems like they were all old when they started (YMMV).
You blend? Bwahahahahahahahaha. I'm glad you had an okay time. I love Mrs. Cranky. I can so relate to her.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. My best to Mrs. Cranky. ☺
LOL! I would have waited in line that long for Tommy James.
ReplyDeleteBut your stampede description reminds me of the annual free turkey dinner put on at the local senior center where my friend is a director. I helped distribute pie as a volunteer for several years. The canes and walkers lined up hours early, but when the door finally opened they all went flying as little old ladies (and a few men) stampeded to save places for their friends. Then, we looked the other way as they filled purses and pouches with "leftovers" to take home.
I can't wait to blend in with that crowd and join the fun. I'm still a "teenager" at 66, but in 10 years, here I come! - wobbling along and knocking everybody outta my way!
We went to a Neil Diamond concert a while back and we were surrounded by a sea of gray hair. At least Neil still manages to have a head of raven black hair. I wonder how he manages it.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, whoa, whoa
DeleteThis comment is So good, so good, so good!
ND is another of my Mrs. C's favorites. I suspect I will be going to one of his concerts in the future.
I've been only to two concerts in my life - Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond. To this day I tell my husband if Neil ever knocked on our front door and asked me to go with him, I'd leave. In a heartbeat.
DeleteOur public tv channel had one of those oldies shows on a couple of weeks ago. We loved it!! The Platters, Ronettes, all the old groups. Can't get enough.
ReplyDelete(A geezer and proud of it)
Speaking of old I haven't hear anyone refer to Carter's Little Liver Pills since my Dad passed on...:) Gary Puckett yes! We went to a Don McLean concert a couple of years back. I remember watching the few teenagers who wandered in by mistake with their grandparents eyes bug out when the oldies rushed into the aisles and started rocking out to "American Pie." Now that was fun....
ReplyDeleteI can relate. We sometimes go to dinner early and notice all the "old people" there at the same time. We, of course, are only there early because of a scheduling issue. And last week I was in a tour group of mostly senior citizens; it made me resolve to work harder at staying healthy, strong, and able to get around without a cane for as long as possible. Maybe I'll go and blog about that now. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteHi Cranky Man,
ReplyDeleteI love gigs and at the age of (nearly) 52, I fully expect to be going to them well into the next decade.
I totally agree about comb-overs. Grow old gracefully, I say.
Love the "You blend" comment.
:o)
Cheers
PM
I'll take a CD over a concert any day. What's that you say? MP3? compressed drivel ......
ReplyDelete.... too bad the turntable went bad.
When we boomers hit the nursing homes it will be rock n roll playing in the activity rooms. No Lawrence Welk.
ReplyDelete'You blend' is the best thing I've heard all day. I'm not one for concerts myself.....too damn lazy.
ReplyDeleteMrs C is not yet 50?? Sly dog.
ReplyDeleteWow I haven't heard those names in years. Both were favorites. Cracked up and totally got your "towering " reference.
ReplyDeleteWell now I've got a few oldies running through my head.. the songs, that is.
ReplyDeleteWoman, Woman.. Young Girl.. Mony, Mony... Hanky Panky... Crimson & Clover.. Thanks for the limp down memory lane. ;)
What...no Bruce Springsteen? He turned 65 on Tuesday. He'll be playing at those freebie concerts pretty soon!
ReplyDeleteOh, dear. You may be a jerk, but that Mrs. Cranky was a bubble-burster!
ReplyDeleteLooked like a fun night; neat that it didn't cost anything either, other than a lot of your time waiting to get in and getting a good seat. Honestly, I don't know how those performers at their age perform. I would think they would be tired, yet some are on tour like Paul McCartney due here in a few weeks. They definitely have more stamina than I do.
ReplyDeletebetty
Well, at least you had a fun night. In spite of all the waiting to get in.
ReplyDeleteI agree comb-overs are awful and toupees are worse, especially if they aren't colour matched, then combed-in to blend with the natural hair.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I LOVE Mrs. Cranky!! "...you blend." Hahahaha! And hey, you've read about my "old man" crushes, did ya' happen to get any numbers??? Lol.. Cranky.. It's been a heavy 3 weeks for me.. I so needed to come to your site and laugh.. Thank you from the bottom of my broken but getting better heart! :)
ReplyDelete