Last night (Friday), Lani and I were invited to the Rockin' 50's Concert at the Hawaii Convention Center by our good old-time friends Calvin and Linda Lee. The concert was at the conclusion of the "Commemorate 50 Years of Statehood" convention. The concert was in the 3rd floor ballroom and BOY! was it filled when all four of us got there. We found seats way on the side and a little far from the stage but our luck held out because we were very near to one of the two dance floors. Lucky for us 'cause we (and a large number of dancers) got to burn the floor with some of the rhythmic music of the Rock & Roll era.
Okay! What did a 50 bucks per person admission get us in return? Special beverages (brought in from Chicago especially for this event), hard booze and fine wines, Primo Beer, hot dog in Buns (with condiments), assorted candies, pop corn, peanuts, bottled water, and yes many mahalos from the HCC staff and Tom Moffet, who organized the show. But hold on. I'm just building up to the main event.
When we got seated, The Coasters were performing on stage with their best 50's music. You know da kine music that makes you tap with your feet and then you want to just jump up, grab your partner and rock and roll on the dance floor. Some dancers did that without a partner but then that's how it was in the 50's. The Coasters were darn good and you could tell 'cause they got standing ovations after every rendition. They entertained the appreciative audience for 45 minutes.
Next up was The Platters, my friends Calvin and Linda's favorite. They are a smooth type music group. You know da kine slow dancing music where you hold your partner cheek to cheek. That's when Lani and I got on the dance floor to dance. There were a few songs which I could interpret as Cha Cha but most were slow dancing. Calvin and Linda like The Platters and their type of music so they were on the dance floor, too. The Platters were good 'cause they got the audience to sing along with them.
When The Drifters came on stage next, I was already feeling the effects of the small amount of fine wine and ready to light up my after-burners and jet off on every song they played.....Swing Jitterbug, Jive, The Twist, Rock & Roll, Cha Cha, and some had the flavor of the Merengue beat. Lani only had the soft drink but she had the burst of energy to match mine and more. Dat's what tantalizing music does to us. And NO! we did not dance the full 45 minutes (at least not me). Lani danced with Calvin the rest of the time.
It was a great and entertaining performance by three of the popular singing groups in the Rock & Roll era and we came away very satisfied with the Rockin' 50's Concert. Thank you, Linda and Calvin.
