Sha-Na-Na Revives Music of Fifties
by Mark Frost, The Post-Star, August 7, 197
It’s hard to grab hold of a good Sha-Na-Na performance.
Because of the grease.
But the Fifties gang was a little easier to grasp at SPAC Sunday, if only because of their unusually long performance (for them).
Sha-Na-Na is known for its well-oiled and energetic professionalism, which keeps the performances succinct and ordered. This is not a band that “plays all night.”
Thus, from a half-hour onward, each time a band member disappeared off-stage, we prepared ourselves for the end. Thankfully, our preparations were repeatedly premature. Sha-Na-Na played for an hour-and-a-quarter and four encores besides.
A large and receptive gathering attended the concert, although lacking were the greasy get-ups which often make the Sha-Na-Na audience as much a part of the show as the act itself. Perhaps the duck-tail shortage was due to the general youthfulness of the audience, which seemed young enough to view the fifties historically, rather than nostalgically. I mean the few kids who were slicked just weren’t ginchy.
But the crowd was enthusiastic.
Perhaps in deference to younger audiences, Sha-Na-Na has added a few new twists, as well as jitterbugs, to the show. At one point, complete with their own lamppost, the band hit the streets.
And in another, there was a dance contest, which the crowd was asked to judge by voting “to the best of your recollection at the present point in time” for the deserving couple.
But the band’s use of the innovations was less than it might have been, perhaps as a reflection of Sha-Na-Na’s realization that the real appeal of their concerts is their music, rather than assorted gimmickry.
The basic gimmick remains fifties rock ‘n roll, but what sets Sha-Na-Na apart from other swivel-hipped revivalists is the excellence of their rendition of the music.
And even though it didn’t seem quite as vital as it once did, a Sha-Na-Na performance obviously continues to appeal.
Recent Comments