At Thunder Valley Casino the other day was a concert with Davy Jones, Rick Springfield and Peter Noone. We had been to oldies concerts before and so went with some expectations for a really good time.
There's a moment when knowing and feeing older collides, and that moment was when Davy Jones stepped out on the stage. Oh, it wasn't good. It was embarrassingly apparent this icon had not graciously withstood the test of time. He limped through a 45 minute set, and I averted my eyes from time to time out of respect. He didn't play many of the old hits from the Monkees, and frankly that's all we went there to hear.
Peter Noone was fabulous, though. It was like we were in a time machine, in large measure because Peter is still upbeat and funny, joyful and gracious, harkening back to the days of Ed Sullivan. And that voice of his is still right on the money. He sang all the old favorites, and played with us and we played back, swaying to the music, jumping to our feet, shouting H-E-NRY. It was a rave performance and we came away with a smile.
Rick Springfield was very good, but he was entirely too loud to enjoy. In fact many of the audience did leave during the first few songs, including us, because ear plugs didn't make a dent in the pounding of the bass and the shrill of electric guitars. We walked from the amphitheatre to the casino (which didn't sound so loud anymore), out the other side, past the hotel and into the parking lot, half a mile or so away, and the music was still loud.
For an audience comprised mostly of 40s and 50s with grown kids and some grandkids, it's a pity the performer didn't make simple but necessary adjustments for the enjoyment of all. But still we came away happy: spending time with Peter Noone was worth the price of admission.
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