Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Petite Young Blonde and the B52's


    The Concert review for Saturday, July 24, 2010: The B52's - 5 Shades of Blonde out of 5!

     As hard as it is to believe, the PYB has never been to a B52's concert until last night.  Neither had the Petite Jeune Fille Brunette or the HH, so this was a real treat! The PJFB wore her new vintage 1940's dress and with her new haircut she was looking like quite the doll.  The other PJFB had to work, and the PYB couldn't convince her that seeing the B52's was worth quitting her job.  Now, if you follow the PYB on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/The-Petite-Young-Blonde/377211762234?ref=ts), you'll know she had messed up her lower back a few days early, from sneezing for crying out loud, so she was a little bummed out and was afraid she wouldn't be able to enjoy the show like she wanted to.  She had been looking forward to a high energy night of dancing for such a long time!  Muscle spasm meds and Icy-Hot to the rescue...

La Petite Jeune Fille Brunette


     The B52's show was at an outdoor venue in Peachtree City, GA called The Fred (so appropriate).  One would wonder "why have an outdoor concert at the end of July in Georgia?"  Add several thousand people, no breeze (except for the ones made by the paper fans given out), the B52's live and you have a recipe for a HOT night!

In the sun
In the shade


     The Fred is the perfect place for a show. It's a small amphitheater with reserved, table and lawn seating.  She isn't sure how many the place can hold, but for those of you familiar with Chastain it's about half the size so just about every seat is a good one.  What's even better, the concert goer is allowed to bring in their own food and drink (no bottles or glass containers, please).  Signs say cameras aren't allowed, but that didn't stop anyone, including the PYB, from bringing one in.  No one was checking bags or coolers.  They did ask that the attendees to fill out a survey indicating who they'd like to see at The Fred and, of course, the PYB requested her true love Elvis Costello (sheloveshim). If you live in Peachtree City you can always drive your golf cart to the venue!  Check it out at http://www.amphitheater.org/

     As always it's fun to check out the crowd when you are in one.  The first observation of the PYB was, "Damn, these people are old!"  That's all she'll say about that.  A few rows down a fella brought in five boys ranging in age of about 8-10 years old.  His t-shirt read, "Good Dad." Irony?  He told them that the B52's would definitely "get your toes tappin'," but the young boys were more interested in dueling with the paper fans.  There were also guys in feather boas, painted hair and giant sunglasses, but what really made the PYB jealous were the two ladies with their bouffants on.  She so wished her hair was long enough for an updo or that it's wasn't so hot so that she could have worn her electric blue pageboy hair.

Bouffants coming through! Step aside!

Good Dad's boys dueling

     The warm-up band, not that things weren't hot enough, was Supercluster from Athens and the PYB thoroughly enjoyed them.  It was a very diverse group of musicians.  However, the she had waited long enough and was as hot as she was going to get in spite of the ice-cold margaritas so she was ready to hear some B52's!

     Ah and finally! The moment she'd been waiting for!  The stage was still dark and suddenly Fred sings, "What's that on your head?" And the crowd went wild, PYB included.  She loves the Wig song! She tried not to sing along, but it was so hard not to - nobody wants to hear that.  Keith, Fred, Cindy and Kate were in top form and the PJFB exclaimed, "It sounds just like them!" Give her a break - the only other concert she's been to was Elvis Costello's a few years ago (sheloveshim).  And the dancing ensued! The B52's were spot on and full of energy.  The band was brilliant.  Some of the songs in the set included "Mesopotamia,"  "Love Shack," "Dead Beat Club," "Roam," "Private Idaho," "Give Me Back My Man," several from FunPlex and for the encore "Planet Claire," and "Rock Lobster."  Of course, it was over before anyone wanted it to be.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The B52's!
Love it!


     Kate and Cindy were simply gorgeous and Fred...the PYB so loves Fred! Their sound is like none other.  What an amazing life the four of them must be having - their love for music definitely translates in their performance.  To her knowledge, the PYB has never heard any other band quite like them; they put the fun in funky.  The PYB solemnly swears that she will never, ever miss an opportunity to see the B52's ever again - unless it's the same night as an Elvis Costello show (sheloveshim). If they were to be at the same venue on the same day it's a good possibility the PYB would implode.

Moral of this story: See the B52's, dance, be happy.


    
    

  

2 comments:

  1. You're forgetting to mention Keith Strickland and the tight rhythm section (bass, drums, organ). Strickland is the world's hardest working garage guitarist. What are the B-52s without that garage guitar and funky beat? (a retro 80s acapella art trio?) -- HH

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