Listen To The Band!

Yes, those are albums

I saw on Facebook yesterday that my most favorite group EVER is on tour again. Yes, THE MONKEES! I love The Monkees! I really do! I know, I know, naysayers out there will drone on and on about how they didn't play their own instruments and blah blah blah. That may all have been true, but the voices were theirs and certainly the personality they put into their performances were all theirs as well. Plus, it wasn't so much that they couldn't play their own instruments, even way back when, both Mike and Peter were musicians in their own rights, the TV studio just wouldn't allow them to play. So, potato, potAto.

I have loved The Monkees as long as I can remember. I remember watching them when they were on network TV, you know, back when there were only four stations to watch, and you had to get up and twist a knob to change the channel. I watched them after they were canceled and reruns were on on Saturday mornings. I watched them after school. I should know each and every episode by heart. Someday I will own the entire series, I will.

I never saw them in concert when they were in their prime. I was much too young to go to concerts then. The first time I saw them live was in the eighties when they had their first reunion tour. They were only one of the headliners, with Herman's Hermitts and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. Those two bands were good too, especially Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. The Monkees, though, they were still awesome! The Monkee romp energy was still there. Mike was, of course, missing in action, but you didn't feel the absence. Micky, Davy and Peter made up for him so smoothly it was like he was never in the band. I saw them two other times, on different tours, years later and the same was true for each. From the seats I was in you couldn't even tell they had aged. Even if you were close enough to see the wrinkles and bellies that the years had given them, their energy and showmanship transported you back to their younger years and you'd forgive the ravages of time.

When I saw they were touring again I had to look up the venues and dates. I was excited to see that they were going to be in Indianapolis, and on a Sunday! Sunday June 26th to be exact. I could do that! It is only about a 90 minute drive from here! Now, to find out ticket prices....... Crash and burn! Reality sets in. Sadly, the tickets are out of my price range, and honestly, if I suddenly had that much money I'd use it to go to Des Moines and see my favorite people in the world, Kahlen and my kids, instead of my favorite group. Gas prices and the lack of a proper job have halted this little fantasy. Bummer. I'd say maybe next time...... But these guys are getting a little long in the tooth, how many next times could they have? I read a Rolling Stone review of their concert last night in New York, I think, and they said it was a great show! Yeah, really, Rolling Stone likes The Monkess now, who'd of thunk?

Barring a miracle of the tickets suddenly appearing in my hand, I don't think I will be going to see The Monkees anytime soon. Maybe, if I fold my arms, think real hard and blink......

Yeah, no, it didn't work. Darn that Jeanie, she made it look so easy!