Elvis in concert

In the spring of 1974 saw Elvis for the first time at the Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana. We were fortunate to be only about 20 rows back on the floor level. Elvis was still at his best for this concert. I will never forget the electricity in the air when Elvis walked on the stage. He started the concert singing C.C. Rider. Can't remember too many of the other songs he sang that night since it was 30 years ago. An interesting sidenote was that we passed the newspaper building in Monroe for the News-Star World and decided to put an application in there and had an interview and was hired so Elvis was the only reason I worked at paper there for two years because I wouldn't have even been in Monroe if not for Elvis....Three years later Elvis comes to Alexandria, Louisiana just across the Red River from where we live but the Elvis we had seen was gone and there was a different Elvis....a sad caricature of the Elvis we had seen in Monroe three years earlier. For this concert we had the absolutely worst seats possible at the very last row at top of Rapides Parish coliseum. Still we could tell he was overweight and he was struggling that night with his health as he stopped and let one of the backup singers sing so he could catch his breath. Have heard Elvis sang at the old Jimmy Thompson arena in Alexandria back in the 50's and that he said he would never come back to Alexandria and here it was about 20 years later he was here for two concerts. The ravages of drugs had done their work on Elvis and about three months after this concert he died. I remember it was the same week that the Alexandria Mall was having its grand opening in 1977. To this day no other singer has left a more lasting impression on his fans. Thousands have made the pilgrimage to Graceland in Memphis to see his home for most of his singing life and some have traveled to see his very small house he grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi. Elvis went from having nothing to seemingly having everything but he really didn't have everything because drugs entered the picture and took him away from us at the age of 42. Elvis never lost his love for southern gospel quartet music and even filled in for a quartet before for a few shows. Unlike most stars of today Elvis sang songs of other singers often and usually did them better than the original. To me no singer to come in coming years will ever match what Elvis did. He truly was one of a kind.

Amish in the City

Saw a very interesting new reality show last night on the UPN network. It was called Amish in the City and it really spotlighted the prejudices of those who encounter people that don't fit in with the crowd.
The show opened by showing the Amish kids who were in Rumspringa a time Amish kids are allowed to explore the outside world before committing to a lifetime of being in the Amish religion. Then they showed the city kids coming into the apartment in Los Angeles one by one then after they had all arrived they see the Amish folks at the door and at first didn't even want to let them in. Once they let them in they slowly began to see the Amish were people with feelings too. What really made them more comfortable with the Amish was when the Amish changed into more conventional clothes. They still didn't totally respect the Amish though as when they made a trip to the beach of one of the Amish named Jonas almost drowned and on the way back the city kids were mimicking Jonas telling about how he almost drowned like it was something to joke about. Ruth one of the Amish girls was very upset the way the city kids were getting one of the Amish boys for not picking up after himself in the kitchen when that is the way they were used to living since women took care of kitchen work. Some were kinder to Amish than others but the Amish still were not completely at ease in the house knowing there were some completely against them being there. It will be interesting to see in the rest of the episodes if the Amish kids are accepted better or whether things get worse between them and the city kids. One of the best parts of show was when the city kids dressed like Amish and the Amish dressed like city kids and went to an amusement parks. The city kids dressed as Amish got a taste of what it is like to get stared at just because they were dressed in Amish clothes. This show is worth a look for those who are interested in seeing how prejudices can be laid to rest or how they can fester when living with Amish in same house.

 

July 6....Airline marathon on July 5th

Watched a very interesting marathon of Airline shows on A&E cable network. This show tells more about the human psyche than several hours of psycho babble. It showed customers that had arrived at the airport too late for flight or were in the airport smoking when the gate closed for their flight. Other customers lost their tickets and others were too intoxicated to fly. The shows were a lesson in psychology 101 showing how the different customers handled the situation and how the airline workers at desk defused what could have been explosive situations by diplomacy and not by being rude to customers. Of all the shows the most serious problem was when a lady depending on her medicine to stay alive had her medicine flown ahead of her leaving her in the airport with no medicine. The airline didn't show the proper sensitivity in this case as they brought out the old rules are rules talk but they eventually did come around and solved the problem. One flight had 40 unruly passengers who disregarded all attempts by the pilot to be seated and didn't fasten their seat belts when the pilot told them to during some turbulence. The airline gave vouchers to other passengers who made the complaint about the unruly passengers after they unboarded the airplane. To show the difference in people one man who didn't get to board his flight went completely ballistic and cursed the employees and airline while another man who was barred from getting on flight accepted it without an argument. I hadn't seen much of this show in the past but really enjoyed the chance to see so many shows Monday.
It seemed the like more shows I watched the more I wanted to see.
I am surprised Southwest Airlines would consent to having the shows filmed in their section of airport. Think it did show the compassion of their employees who handled the different situations very well.

Joe Schmo

It is refreshing to see the people in control room squirm when Ingrid of the new version of the Joe Schmo show seems to realize exactly what is going on and sensing that the show is scripted which it is for the most part. One thing people set up like she and the male Schmo don't have to worry about is being evicted from show even though they are made to believe they could be evicted like everyone else. Ingrid may be too intelligent to be fooled into thinking she is on a real reality show. I don't know how those actors on the show can keep a straight face knowing the whole show is a scam and has nothing to do with reality. The look of panic on the producers' faces when they find out Ingrid is questioning the integrity of the show is priceless.

Beach Boys: Live at Knebworth

This was the last concert in England in 1980 that they had the three Wilsons...Brian, Carl and Dennis and Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston singing as a group.
It was a cool and rainy night in Knebworth that night but the Beach Boys warmed up the crowd starting off the concert with California Girls. When they opened School Days with an acapella chorus it was mesmerizing their harmony was so tight...then Al Jardine launched into the rest of the song with infectious enthusiasm.
Carl Wilson sings Darlin', God Only Knows and Keepin' the Summer Alive and it really emphasizes just how good he was. When he sings God Only Knows you wonder if anyone could sing it better except maybe Brian Wilson. His driving rendition of Keepin' the Summer Alive even woke up Brian Wilson who seemed like he was completely out of it whether due to feeling under the weather or being under medication but when the opening bars of Keepin' the Summer Alive started you could see the change in him. For most of the concert he seemed to just be going through the motions at the piano and keyboard.
Mike Love and Dennis Wilson have been known to engage in fisticuffs before and you could see the tenseness when Dennis drags his mike stand closer to Mike during Surfer Girl and you could tell Mike was not very comfortable having Dennis that close and Dennis seemed to enjoy taunting him by his expressions.
Dennis absolutely butchered You Are So Beautiful To Me and may have been drunk the way he was acting. It is sad to see Dennis on this video knowing he died three years later in a drowning accident.
Some of the best music is on Help Me Rhonda and Barbara Ann when the band really got involved but my favorite of the show was Keepin' The Summer Alive which really rocked.
The highlight of the show to me was the last song Fun, Fun, Fun when Mike kept urging the crowd to get more involved and by end of the song the sea of people there were all moving to the music. You could tell it having an effect on the Beach Boys to see that response to their music.
This is the best concert video I have ever seen of the Beach Boys and it can be found for under $20.
The prologue at the end of concert when Al Jardine tells about losing Dennis in 1983 and Carl in 1998 is a very moving one and reminded us the Beach Boys may have lost two of their group to death but their music will live on for a very long time.

The Last Waltz

If you are a fan of 70's rock this is the video for you. This is the last concert by The Band. The show was at the Winterland in San Francisco on Thanksgiving night. There are many luminaries of the rock world there to commemorate the occasion. Eric Clapton sings the old Bobby Blue Bland tune Further On Up The Road which features some great guitar playing by Clapton and Robbie Robertson and Rick Danko. Others appearing in the show include Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Emmy Lou Harris, Staple Singers, Ronnie Hawkins, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Neil Diamond. Between songs members of The Band relate experiences of being on the road for sixteen years....like the time they went into a grocery store and shoplifted enough food for them to eat that night....Levon Helm singing The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down and Ophelia. The concert is a time capsule that captures the mood of music from the late 70's.

Cyndi Lauper concert video: Live: At Last

When Cyndi Lauper takes the stage at this concert at this concert at Town Hall in New York City she starts off singing At Last a song that is a complete departure from her 80's music. She shows she can sing a song like this and not only sing it but sing it very well.
The thing that stands out more than anything watching this video is her rapport with the audience. She goes out into the audience several times during the concert and the audience loves her for it. Cyndi is one of the most sincere performers I have ever seen. She is all over the stage...climbing up onto a high platform...singing on top of a piano...lying down on steps upside down and singing with her head hanging off of steps. This lady knows how to entertain. The highlight of the concert is when she sings Unchained Melody toward the end of the concert. Her band is very talented and has horns, drums, guitars, bongo player and fiddler and Cyndi plays an old fashioned instrument you don't see much anymore. Her exuberance is contagious and the crowd is really into the concert especially on the faster songs when Cyndi starts dancing in her unorthodox style. Of course no Cyndi Lauper concert would be complete without her singing her best known song Girls Just Want To Have Fun and she doesn't disappoint her fans as she really showcases her band especially the trumpeter on this tune.

Bonus Features Unlike most bonus features this one doesn't focus on her music or making of the concert video. It shows Cydni driving through her old neighborhood and pointing out the various landmarks she remembers from her childhood. She even rides a merry-go-round from the days of her youth. Then she teams up with a man videoing their travels through New York City and there are some very beautiful scenes of the water and pink reflections on the side of a elevated train. It gives viewers an idea of what it would be like to live in New York City.

This video has 25 reviews on Amazon averaging 5 stars which is best a video can get so this further substantiates how well liked this video is. If you want to see a true entertainer keep an audience enthralled during the whole concert this is worth seeing because Cyndi Lauper is an entertainer of the first magnitude.