A Five Star Night

I have not been to the Great New York State Fair since about 2006. I wouldn't have gone this year, except the Happy Together 2012 tour was playing for free in the Free Concert Court.  After Davy Jones died earlier this year, I vowed to take advantage of seeing the musicians of my youth in person any time I could. So that meant attending this year's State Fair.

We arrived about 90 minutes before the show. Not a seat to be found in the court. We went off in search of dinner -- sausage sandwiches, of course. We wandered back to the court and found a grassy area to the right of the stage near a big screen and plopped ourselves down on the ground to wait. Eventually the concert was intro'd by local radio personality Gary Dunes, who, in turn intro'd Senator Chuck Schumer (who forgot to mention the Grass Roots in his version of the intro).

First up: The Buckinghams. I have never seen the Buckinghams in person. I love the Buckinghams. They were awesome.

During their set, security walked around our area and made people sit. They were applauded for their efforts. Some people just don't get it. Like the tripod guy. He thought he'd stand during the whole concert and record it and didn't understand why the people behind him kept yelling at him.

Next up: The Grass Roots. I've seen the Grass Roots in concert before, but not since Rob Grill died. The band was good, but the lead singer didn't have the same quality of sound as Rob Grill. They covered  CSN&Y's "Cost of Freedom" before launching into "Live for Today" in honor of the vets in the audience.

Gary Puckett followed the Grass Roots. Gary Puckett's vibrato gets worse by the year. Weakest spot in the lineup. He, too, honored the vets.

Then came the performer I'd come to see: Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees.

Mickey honored Davy Jones by singing two of of Davy's songs ("Daydream Believer" and "Little Bit Me, Little Bit You"). A montage on the big video screen of magazine covers, photos from recording sessions, etc. brought tears to my eyes.

Mickey reminded the crowed that he sang "I'm A Believer" before Shrek did.

Mickey was always my favorite Monkee, so being able to scream his name at a live concert . . . well, scratch that off my bucket list.

Several people were escorted from the court by state troopers during Mickey's set.

The final act was The Turtles: Flow & Eddy. As usual, they were amazing. Their set started out with a Lady Gaga video, which they interrupted with the question: "What happened to our music? It's not supposed to sound like that! It's supposed to sound like this!" And they launched into "Only Wanna Be With You."

The Grand Finale turned out to be each of the acts coming out to perform a portion of one of their songs again. It was fabulous.

Stereo Steve Becker, along with his wife & son, sat near us during the concert. Stereo Steve would periodically come over to say something concert-related to TV Stevie. After the concert, we hung around talking for bit, then wandered to the area behind the stage. That's where Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna of The Buckinghams spent a very long time shaking hands and signing autographs.

 I did catch a glimpse of Mickey Dolenz as he came out of his dressing room and got into a car to leave. "Mickey!" Wow. I got to scream it twice!

While there, we ran into the ubiquitous Bill DeLapp of the Syracuse New Times, who was busy snapping photos of the musicians.

All in all, it was a five star night in more ways than one.

Rob Grill, R.I.P.



My Greek Fisherman's Hat

 An icon of my youth died last week. Rob Grill of one of my guilty pleasure bands, The Grass Roots, passed away at the young age of 67.

I always think of the band in the summer. At one point, in the 1980s, I had one of their "Greatest Hits" albums, and cranked it up while I drove. What is it about summer and sing-a-long music and driving that go together so well?

My friend Kris is totally into what her husband calls, That Band. She even went to see them live a year or two ago. She knows all kind of fabulous trivia, too.

I saw them live in the 1980s. It was one of those oldie tours, with lot of other singers/bands. My sister and I used to go to those concerts, which were held in the old MacArthur Stadium. I even had a brush with Rob Grill that day. It's one of those moments I will never forget. My sister and I were on line to get into the stadium. I was wearing a short denim skirt, a summery-white top and my Greek Fisherman's hat. The sun was shining, I was psyched about the concert.

"Hey!" I heard someone call. I looked off toward the side of the stadium, and there was Rob Grill and a couple of other band members leaning through a gap in the fence. "Come here!" they said. I looked around, trying to figure out to whom they were calling. "Pretty girl! In the hat! Come here!"

"You're the only one in a hat," my sister said.

I laughed and waved to them. I stayed in line.

Do I ever wonder what would have happened if I'd gone over? Sure, I'm only human.

Do I regret not going over? Depends on my mood.

This week, for example. Yeah, I regret not taking the time to talk to him and the band.

Rest in peace, Rob. And thanks for the music and the memories.