Been away from blogging for a while, but an Unchained Melody brought me back to the keyboard to share some terrific tunes from a rock and roll icon, and at the same time, fill you in on one of the better kept secrets for live acts in this area, smack dab in the home of the American Revolution!
First off, a bit of history that you not only wouldn't know, but might wish you still didn't know after reading through.
File this one under the TMI header.
Once upon a time in the summer of 1991, there was a young couple in the earliest weeks of their courting. This pair of a Big City Slicker and a Small Town Girl had been set up on a blind date by a duo of high school friends of mine (looking at you Darlene and Nat!)
Anyway, Paxton native Jackie Nicholson was house-sitting for a co-worker in Lowell's Pawtucketville neighborhood, and invited me over for dinner- chicken parm, with especially chewy brownies for dessert, in case you're wondering. After the dinner, we watched a movie together - me for the first time, Jack for a repeat performance of Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore.)
Sappy date movie, I know, but once we got past Oda Mae Brown, Henry the VIII and Tarzan being a bad guy, this particular flick also marked the first time Jack and I said "I love you" to one another. And we didn't need a pottery wheel to get there. A turning point in our blooming relationship, yes, and from that point forward, Unchained Melody which accompanied the aforementioned pottery scene, was claimed as "our song."
It was also played for our first dance together as a married couple on our wedding day the following August, an anniversary of which is coming up in just a few days.
It was also played for our first dance together as a married couple on our wedding day the following August, an anniversary of which is coming up in just a few days.
As luck would have it, the crooners of that Unchained Melody blockbuster tune, the Righteous Brothers, were in nearby Lexington on Sunday at Cary Hall.
And my bride and I were all kinds of down with getting Righteous along with another 800 music fans.
My workplace was well-represented at the performance hall, with Ellen Wright from Middlesex Community College's Corporate and Community Education division staffing an informational table and filling show-goers in on all things MCC. Nice job, Ellen, and Revolutionary work from Judy Burke for linking the college up with Cary for its fall concert series!
Pete Lally, the President of Spectacle Management, which oversees the venue, along with, among others, its sister showcase in the Mill City, the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, welcomed concert-goers to the sold-out performance.
Some Cary Hall fast-facts for you:
It was built in 1928 with a donation from the two daughters of Isaac Harris Cary, a prominent Lexington resident. The Colonial styled building has hosted community events for more than eight decades, and is home to the Lexington Symphony.
This particular date, it welcomed the Righteous Brothers, the 2019 edition.
The original duo - Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield (seen above in the backdrop video montage) - began performing together in 1962. They recorded together for decades before Hatfield's death in 2003. Medley's bass-baritone voice, coupled with Hatfield tenor vocals, combined for some of the most unforgettable singles of the past half century.
Three years ago, Medley decided to "get the band back together" and recruited Bucky Heard to hit the high notes. Heard had previously been covering a slate of Journey tunes with another band. The pair has been touring now for three years, and is enjoying a successful extended stint in Vegas during the fall and winter months.
Heard's vocals on songs on Sunday such as Roy Orbison's Crying, and the operatic Nessun Dorma were crowd-pleasers and genuine gems.
For a flavor of the duo's vocals take a click on any of the hyper-links below for
quick video peeks at some of the highlights from the powerful performance
The band also took a moment to recognize all of the veterans in the audience, raising the house lights and asking them to stand and take a bow.
The group then feted the veterans with a pair of covers of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water and Bill Withers' Lean on Me.
And then they proceeded to plow through a bevy of their own most memorable tunes including:
From another Patrick Swayze flick, Dirty Dancing:
And, of course, the song Jackie and I had waited 27 years to see performed live
(We didn't get a chance to dance this time, for fear of obstructing others' views)
On the way out the door, we bumped into old friends and dancing buddies Chris and Jeannine Yianopoulos of Dracut, two of the many packing the rafters at Cary.
All in all, a Righteous summer afternoon in Lexington, and a perfect date with my bride.
This one's for MY Soul and Inspiration, Jackie
Time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?
Ditto.
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