Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Hey Hey!

Last weekend I saw The Monkees in concert. It was not my first time seeing them in one form or another. My first concert was The Monkees' 20th Anniversary tour. This was their 45th Anniversary Tour! If I feel old, they must feel older. It was a great show, albeit hardly packed. Matt and I bought the tickets on Groupon, as did the others in our section, and there were so many empty seats that we moved back a couple rows so we could have freedom to move. I wondered what it was like to tour and look out at a bunch of empty seats. Did it bother the three of them (Mike, alas, wasn't there, as usual, and his voice was greatly missed when Peter took over on his songs)? Does it affect their performance when they aren't playing to a full house? I think it would bother me as a performer, just as lack of commenters on my blog or a week of sparse emails bothers me.  Whatever was going on in their Monkee brains, it was a great show. Lots of obscure songs, excellent Davy dancing (one of my favorite parts of the show was when Davy talked about watching MTV, and he said, "Justin Bieber stole my hairdo! Axl Rose stole my dance moves!"), and much singing along from me. They did not play two of my favorite songs-- "Let's Dance On" and my all time favorite song "The Door Into Summer"-- and they didn't have t-shirts for sale, which was a mega bummer. I'm thinking of picking one up online, which is still acceptable, I think, since I did actually see the concert. I can't decide if I want the shirt, though, because it only has the three of them pictured. Weird not to have Mike. A delightful evening, for sure. Can't wait to see them on their 50th anniversary tour!

5 comments:

Brian James said...

1. Did I ever tell you that in High School, I bought a concert shirt from the 20th anniversary tour (sleeveless). I wore that shirt all the time, and as one of the high profile freaks in my school, I like to think I gave the Monkees some street cred in that town.

2. I've seen those video comparisons between Davy and Axl's dancing and it's remarkable how similar they are.


3. I think it has to affect them when there is a massive amount of empty seats. Especially if like them, you can recall playing to masses.

Brian James said...

Forgot to add, the T-Shirt was purchased for 25¢ from a thrift store.

Julie H said...

Brian, I wonder if it was the same t-shirt I had! It wasn't sleeveless, though, and I wore it well into college. Sad thing: I have no idea where it went! Where did ALL of my cool concert t-shirts of yesteryear go? It's like I got old and all of a sudden they disintegrated or something.

Teenage Librarian said...

I got a shirt (actually two of them...and a key chain...and a poster).

I'm always a little sad when I see them and don't see Mike. I've never seen him perform with or without them and I would really like to. He doesn't need the money or the hassle of a tour but I think the fans would totally dig it. My first concert was The Monkees 35th anniversary tour and he didn't tour with them. :(

I love The Door Into Summer!!! It's one of my favorites. I wish they had played Zor and Zam, it's my favorite (at the moment anyways it seems to always change every time I get on a Monkees kick).

I'm glad you had a good time!

Julie H said...

I was surprised they didn't play Zor and Zam, what with their "trippy" section.