The Bangles
July 25th, 2010
July 25th, 2010
Around 3pm, I decided to head out early to avoid the inevitable back-up that always plagues my trips up I-64 to Busch Gardens. My early bird efforts resulted in smooth sailing to the park besides getting stuck behind some slow-pokes once or twice. At 108 degrees, I was amazed anyone was outside at all. On a day like this I would normally choose to stay inside and pray for either rain or a miraculous temperature drop. Instead, I faced the Sahara heat to watch another Busch Gardens Concert Series Event.
This time it was to see the Bangles, an all-female 1980's rock band known for their folk-rock-pop tunes. After a brief 15 minute delay, the three original ladies, Susanna Hoffs along with sisters, Debbi and Vicki Peterson were ready to get out on stage and do their thing. From what I heard, the delay was due to fixing the fans that shot cold air up on stage.
The gals began with the song Hazy Shade of Winter and followed up by some other great tunes like Going Down to Liverpool, Manic Monday, and Eternal Flame. Speaking of, I will going to bed with the lyrics "Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling ....do you feel my heart beating, do you understand....do you feel the same,..... am I only dreaming ........is this burning an eternal flame." Might as well succumb to the power of an 80's love ballad and call it a night.
Anyway, the concert was well paced overall. The band members were witty and very appreciative of the crowd that willingly dried out like beef jerky in the sun to hear them play. I personally give The Bangles kudos for putting on a dynamite concert in those conditions.
Ironically appropriate for the sweltering temperature, Walk Like and Egyptian was the final song of the evening. By the end, I could care less about how hot I was, or even by the ton of water and electrolytes that had depleted from my body. I was simply thrilled to have seen such a classic band and enjoy another wonderful concert experience. Busch Gardens has really done a superb job procuring great bands this year.
One last amazing bit to tell. Since there are not many well known female drummers in the world these days, Debbi Peterson is somewhat of a hero of mine. I decided to hang back after the concert was over and scope out the activities. I will not mention how I stumbled upon such good fortune, but I will tell you that I was lucky enough to land an autographed drumstick that Debbi used in concert. Score one for the amateur drummer! (That would be me).
