The Black Jacket Symphony...

Yep, we are retired.  Yes, we do see each other more often.  Yes, we still need date nights!!  

I received an eMail from one of our sources of entertainment last year, The Lexington Opera House.  They were going to have The Black Jacket Symphony perform.  Their performance would be music from the Eagles.  For the last 3 years, Claude and I have journeyed to Cincinnati, Louisville & Columbus, Ohio to see the Eagles in live concert.  We just love their music.  When I received the eMail from the Lexington Opera House it seemed like an interesting turn on Eagle's music.  I told Claude about it.  He agreed that it might be a fun evening.  I purchased tickets and last night was our date night.

We began our evening with dinner at Sargent's Galley.  This is a locally owned and run restaurant.  We could have dined in Lexington but it was Friday night and all of them would be crowded just prior to a show.  We have gotten older and totally embraced the 'early dinner' of the aging crowd.  So much more relaxing.  However, a 3 or 4pm dinner for an 8pm show when you live in Sadieville and only want to make one trip out of your home is just not going to work.  We both thought of Sargent's Galley so we felt that was the right choice for the evening.  They have added some new dishes to their menu.  I enjoyed the Asian Chicken Salad.  It was absolutely delicious.  Claude had a burger.  He has been such a trooper on his weight control regime so this big burger was a welcome treat.  He pronounced it yummy and worthy of recommending to others.  Dinner was a big success and a great start to our evening.

We arrived at the parking garage about 7:30pm.  A quick walk across the corner put us inside the Lexington Opera House.  Thank heavens.  The temperature outside was in the teens and windy so you felt the cold of the air.  Up the stairs to our lower balcony seats.  The type of venue we are watching determines where we want our seats.  These were great seats.  The two next to me were the only empty seats so we moved over at the intermission for plenty of room.  No one on either side of us.  

The Black Jacket Symphony is a band really.   They choose an album of a famous rock group and the first half of their program is to play all that album for your entertainment and enjoyment.  In our case they played the "Hotel California" album.  "Hotel California" is Claude's favorite.  So, starting our night off with that song bode well for the evening.  They did a great job sounding like the Eagles.  The rest of the first half was great...with one exception.  The jerk a few rows behind us who had one too many beers and felt he needed to carry on a conversation with the others in his group.  His voice was loud and next to impossible to block out.  Even Claude kept turning around and frowning at him.  That is usually my temperament, not Claude's.  We first looked at each other remembering the Eagle's concert in Louisville.  We had ground floor seats about 4 rows back from the center of the Yum Center.  The front row of this center section had a guy and lady drinking their beers and holding a conversation as loud as they could over the music.  May I just add that these concerts are not quiet affairs.  So their conversation has to be almost yelling and we could hear every word.  I told Claude after that concert I would never again sit still for that.  I paid for my ticket and I would talk to the people next time and ask them to take the talk outside.  Funny thing is, we neither mind people singing along and enjoying the music that way.  It is a shared experience.  Part of the magic of going to a concert.  But conversation being yelled over the music that has nothing to do with the music is just rude. R.U.D.E. rude!!.  I finally got on the edge of my seat and raised up and turned around to see exactly who was doing the talking.  The man behind us got up and left.  The intermission started and we saw security behind us.  Evidently the man behind us had had enough and got security.  The second half of the show went a lot better from that 'talking over the performance' angle.

The second half of the concert was just lots of Eagle's classics.  We all sang along and clapped, some danced.  At one point one of the men down at the front of our balcony came in during a song.  He had at least two beers so I'm sure a potty run was in order.  When he came back in we were all rocking along to a great song.  He came in and stayed standing and dancing.  He was no small person.  Claude and I just laughed and enjoyed that moment in time. 

Okay, one more comment regarding appropriate etiquette for anything.  If someone is speaking or singing or performing and you are in the audience, IF you must leave, it should be between speakers or singers or performances, NOT during.  Goodness people.  These were manners my mother taught me.  Simple, group friendly and considerate of others manners.  Get on board!!

The Black Jacket Symphony did a great job with their renditions of Eagles music. They are not the Eagles, but they did a great job of helping us feel the greatness of Eagles music.  We would definitely go see them again.  As we walked back to the parking garage, we both commented on the quality of their music and what a good evening it was.  Then I said, "And, it was a LOT less expensive than a live Eagles concert."  Claude laughed and totally agreed.

The highlight of the evening was the encore performances.  They came back and did two numbers.  One of them was 'Seven Bridges Road'.  This is just such great harmony.  Audience sang along.  The song begins and ends with the same great harmonic lines.  When The Black Jacket Symphony got to the end and paused to sing again the lines from the beginning of the song, the audience was on their feet applauding and whistling and yelling.  Claude and I just grinned and said, "They haven't finished yet!!"  The Black Jacket Symphony was overwhelmed at the response and paused longer than the piece calls for.  Finally the lead singer, Buck Johnson, raised his hand and the band just started those last few lines.  Then we all went crazy with applause, whistling and yelling.  Great way to end the evening.

Yep, we are in our mid-sixties and we do still need and want a great date night every now and then.  This was a great date night.