Make no mistake, I am on record for saying disco was the darkest era of rock ‘n’ roll history. I mean. Let’s be serious — it was people dancing to songs about dancing to songs about dancing …
Disco … that reminds me. Have you ever heard about that DJ in Chicago who staged a burn your disco record rally, and it turned into a riot? I almost slashed my wrists when I missed that beautiful fiasco — j/k.
Ha … while I am on the topic of Disco and burning that mutha down … that promoter later gave me a shout out after one of my guerilla PR stunts — one which also received some ink and some criticism around the country. I was pretty flattered. In my PR stunt, a company offered a bounty for any NBA player who took part in the basketbrawl between the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and fans — offering $10K to players who participated, if they would tattoo a company logo on their fist. No takers.
I digress … enough burn baby burn … Back to the positive flipside of Disco. Maybe I have mellowed. Not only did I attend, I enjoyed. (For the record, I stopped just short of shaking my bootay …)
For the Memphis show, KC unleashed his first gig backed by a symphony orchestra — The Memphis Symphony to be exact — for one of the final events of the city’s Memphis In May celebration.
MIM — not to be confused with NIN — is a great celebration, especially since my disaster recovery stint has positioned me here in Memphis for about a month.
The KC concert was pretty cool. There were the reserved tables up front — where you could see the band and the orchestra — with take-out buffet items and wine/drinks flowing freely. In the back, there were the lawnchair and coolers and Disco lemonade crowd … all could see the fireworks over The Mighty Mississip, after KC, as the symphony played on.
Let’s see. KC played all of the favorites, those heady songs with lyrics like: “That’s the way I like it, uh huh,” “Babe I love you so, don’t go,” “Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight” and that sort of thing. I also detected some nice cover versions of Michael Jackson, my funkfave Rick James and also The Commodores, much to the liking of the disco eclectic crowd.
The biggest take away — the show made me like KC. He is older. He is about 30 pounds heavier than when the world and all its mirrored disco balls all revolved around him and his band. But, nevertheless, he is still out there getting down as they say… and having a great time.
And he is the first to admit that his prime time is long gone. Between songs, he joked to the crowd “I was your mother’s In Sync,” and “This is what Justin Timberlake will look like in 30 years.”
But, whatever KC lacks, his S-Shine clan brings to the par-tay. The singer is surrounded by some of the funkiest musicians on tour, along with an uber talented troupe of dancers and backup singers — all representin in multiple costume changes and/or pimped out Disco superfly fashion.
Ha … I would have tweeted some shots during the show, but my iPhone is about as old as Disco and couldn’t get an AT&T signal. No Wi-Fi either.
That’s the way I like it. “It had a good beat and it was easy to dance to.” KC & Sunshine Band & Memphis Symphony get 5 of the possible 7 snaps on the PingWi-Fi charts — 5 pings.
Know what I sayin?
