Concert Review: Legendary Ladies Of Rock N Roll In Hershey, PA On May 12, 2013

On Sunday night, May 12, 2013, Hershey Park hosted the Legendary Ladies Of Rock N Roll concert featuring Shirley Alston Reeves of The Shirelles, The Crystals, Merrilee Rush and very special guest ... Jon Bauman aka BOWZER of Sha Na Na! I arrived at Hershey Park at around 6:20 PM so I had ten minutes to find the Music Box Theater ... the specific venue where the acts were performing. It was a fairly long walk from the parking lot to the park and it took a while to purchase a ticket and find the theater.

I walked into the theater during Merrilee's set. I must have missed a song or two or three. I heard her and the back-up band, Rocky And The Rollers, perform a medley including "Girl Can't Help It" and "Long Tall Sally". After that, I saw Bowzer walk on stage. He said "I always wanted to play this", and jumped in front of a keyboard. All of them then played her 1968 hit "Angel Of The Morning".  I hope to see a full set by Merrilee soon.





"Angel Of The Morning":


The Crystals featuring original member Dee Dee Kinniebrew was the second act of the evening. They opened with "Da Doo Run Run (When He Walked Me Home)" from 1963 and followed with "Then He Kissed Me", another song from that year. They continued on with "He's Sure The Boy I Love". The fourth song in the set was a fine cover of "Chapel Of Love" and the fifth song was "Rescue Me", a song available on their latest compact disk. The girls went way back in time with "Uptown", the second single in The Crystal's discography. The chart-topper "He's A Rebel" was the final song in set. Throughout the performance, Dee Dee shared lead vocals with the other members Patricia Pritchett-Lewis and Melissa Antoinette. There were some funny skits on stage too ... I will not spoil the surprise of seeing and experiencing The Crystals live in concert so I will keep those skits a secret.






After Bowzer ushered The Crystals off of the stage, he talked to the crowd for a bit and then took to the keyboard. He played a Classical piece and then, since it was Mother's Day, dedicated a Chopin composition (in E Major) to his mother. Rocky And The Rollers joined him on a faster number.



Bowzer performing Chopin:


After Bowzer's brief set, he introduced the next act featuring Shirley Alston Reeves. The first song was a medley that included "Johnny B. Goode", "Rock And Roll Music" and "Sweet Little Sixteen". The next song was "Mama Said" followed by "Baby It's You", a song Shirley herself had a hand in writing. The fourth song was "Tonight's The Night" and after a brief theatrical introduction, "Foolish Little Girl" followed. An Orlons track was performed next. This lead to  the big Billboard number one single from 1960, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow". They closed with another Billboard number one single, "Soldier Boy". The final song in their set was another medley featuring "Twist", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Hound Dog" and, once again, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On". Shirley was really moving out there! It was a great set!






"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow":


After the concert, I stood near the stage and saw Bowzer come out to speak to some friends of his. He signed a Sha Na Na LP and a Sha Na Na 8-Track Tape for me!!! I told him that I support his Truth In Music campaign (Links: http://www.bowzerparty.com/truth_in_music.htm & http://truthinmusic.org) and that I would be seeing Charlie Thomas' Drifters in concert next week. He said that is the version of the band to see. Some classic Bowzer here ...





I then saw The Crystals and Merrilee Rush at a table on the side of the venue. I spoke to Merilee for a little while and she signed her album for me. She loved seeing this LP!! Here we are together ...




I spoke to the ladies in The Crystals too. They asked me if I was in a band or if I played music (I frequently get those kinds of questions due to my long hair). Dee Dee signed my Twist Uptown album! Here I am with the group ...




A security guard let Shirley Reeves know that I was in the venue with a Shirelles record and she came out shortly after. I told her I would be seeing her several times again this year. Here we are (I like the image of the empty chairs in the background) ...




The promotional sign that Hershey Park used to promote the event was still standing when I finally left the theater:


It was a fantastic evening and I am glad I made the trek to Hershey. The Music Box Theater is a cool place to see a concert and I am looking forward to attending future events there (Bowzer will be back with another line-up on July 28. The details are at this url: http://www.hersheypark.com/general_info/event_calendar/details.php?id=13315).