Take A Chance On Me

February 12, 2019

 

Matt, Kerry, T, Andy, Shanda and Kathy

 

Los Lobos

Take A Chance On Me

Tribute bands have never been one of my favorite things to see. I get that they can be fun, sometimes talented and generally seek to honor the band that they are imitating, but in many cases I have seen the original band in person and no tribute band can ever do them justice. Even if that is not the case, for some reason I just shy away from seeing many of them, which is somewhat ironic because I always love seeing bands play cover versions. Oh well- This week, I made an exception- mostly because Kathy has been on an Abba fixation since the “Mama Mia” movies came out and wanted to check out Arrrival, the Swedish Abba tribute band that was playing this week at the Key West Theater.

Andy, Jamie and Kathy 

I was a little hesitant going in, but I have to admit that Arrival put on a damn good show. I never had the opportunity to see Abba live, so I did not have much to compare it to, but this band sounded great and did remarkable covers of all of Abba’s greatest hits and even a few of their more obscure work. They took their role very seriously and there is a reason that they are the best Abba cover band in history, having actually now played together longer than the actual band Abba ever did.

The show was also just a ton of fun. Often times people will ask me if a show was good and sometimes my reply is that the show was way more fun than it was good. This means that even though the band itself was not so great or maybe in their prime (such as when we recently saw Air Supply), that the show itself was so fun that it overcame any musical deficiencies.

The crowd was so in to this one as everyone was dancing and singing along to the well-known lyrics of the Abba classics that it would not have really mattered if the band was actually any good or not, though these guys were pretty talented in their own right, so the show was almost as good as it was fun. It did not hurt that much of the crowd were decked out in their 1970s style bright and shiny fashion. It really was a great time.

Andy and Jamie 

Carol and Kathy

The other musical event we attended was a concert by Folk artist Susan Werner at the Studios of Key West. This was about the exact opposite of the Abba show in a lot of ways. Susan is a singer/songwriter who performed an intimate show with just her and either her guitar or piano in the small performance space at the Studios. No extravagant lighting, costume changes or dancing- just quiet yet beautiful and sometimes funny songs from the heart. Perhaps not the crazy fun of the Abba show, but the quality of the music was off the chart and Werner delivered a powerhouse set of beautiful songs.

Jay

Erin and Susan Werner 

Afterwards, we had the good fortune to attend a private party in honor of Ms. Werner where we were lavished with a delicious buffet of appetizers (including fresh Wisconsin cheese curds) and drinks at a fabulous gathering. It was a fun time hanging with old friends and music lovers hosted by Jay and Caroline. 

Caroline, Jay and Susan

The third musical extravaganza of the week found us back at the Key West Theater with our friend Andy to take in the earlier of two shows the same evening by Los Lobos. The Tex-Mex outfit from East LA was celebrating 45 years together. Most people no doubt remember them for their 1987 cover of “La Bamba” from the movie about Ritchie Valens of the same name, but they have been playing and touring together since 1973.

 

Grant and Jenn

Their show was really good, even though the lead singer was about 25 minutes late joining the band for some reason, still the band displayed an ease and tightness that can only come with so many years under their belt. The sold-out crowd was really in to this one as well and the show was yet another solid presentation by Rams Head and the Key West Theater.

 

This week is also special because some of my oldest and dearest friends returned to the island. My long-time friend, former roommate and one of my all-time favorite people on earth, Shanda is in town. I have known her since she first stepped on the island back in 1992 and our paths have crisscrossed ever since. At the same time yet another of my most favorite and best friends was also here with her boyfriend as Kerry and Matt were here from Colorado. Sadly the reason for this wonderful reunion was the passing of a mutual friend, but I can’t help but to feel happy and energized whenever either of these two amazing people are around and having them both here at the same time is fantastic.

Kerry and T