Spectacular spectacular

Last night I went to an interesting show. It was a stage tribute to a TV music programme that aired from the mid seventies to eighties in my country. The TV show featured mainly local acts but also promoted international stars. The host of the show was credited with bringing a pile acts to a large audience. Over the years it aired every one in the music industry (that counted in my country). It was one of the top rating programs of the era (and well before MTV).

Some how the promoters of the live show got a heap of local acts, who featured on the TV show, to appear in a live tribute. These were the people who provided the sound track for my teenage years. I guess there would have been 50 or so songs performed over the evening by may be 150 musicians. Some songs were performed by the original line up, for other others the solo artist or lead singer from the original band would play with the ‘house band’ which was made up with other famous musos from the period.

Now if I had of seen any of these performers live in there peak I would have been happy. Seeing them, trotted out, doing their “hit” and then being replaced by an equally famous acts of from the past left me a little flat. True it tended to be the B graders that performed the show but there were a few who were very popular in their day and some of the songs were the anthems of my youth.

Some how it was nearly sad. These idols of a bygone age displayed on a revolving stage strutting their claim to fame. Don’t get me wrong. I have seen Mark Knopfler and Deep Purple recently and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. But, well, largely, they just didn’t capture It (whatever It is). Some of the acts were still great and I did enjoy them but they were only on for a song or two.

Maybe it is just me. I have a lot of albums and very few of my favourites are compilations. Well at least the tickets were free…….