Music Monday: You Should Be Dancing

Last September, my spouse and I were talking about music and he made the comment that tribute bands were fine and all of that, but he wasn't going to pay money to see one. Fast forward two months, and we find ourselves at this concert:

He changed his mind! Location, weekend date, and the fact that two out of the three Bee Gees are dead, so it's not like we'll ever have a chance to see them perform. Stayin Alive hails from Canada (thanks, Nicole!) and is considered the #1 Bee Gees tribute band in the world.

For the youngsters amongst my readers, here are the Bee Gees in their heyday: Maurice, Barry, and Robin Gibb. Maurice passed away in 2003 and Robin in 2012. Barry is still alive at age 78. The brothers were known for their high harmonies and catchy melodies and were a big part of the disco craze of the 1970's. HBO MAX is currently running a documentary on their lives, ‘The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.’

The tribute band dressed the part with their late '70's white suits and their voices were spot on. The show began and ended with 'You Should Be Dancing' and the mostly senior citizen crowd took that to heart. I lost count of how many times security had to tell 70-year-old women in disco dresses to get out of the aisles. 

The Bee Gees are synonymous with the movie, Saturday Night Fever, but I'd forgotten just how many hits they had. Some of the songs we heard that night: Night Fever, Jive Talking, How Deep Is Your Love, Nights On Broadway, Massachusetts, Fanny Be Tender With My Love (my husband and I discovered that it is both of our favorites), To Love Somebody, More Than a Woman, Tragedy, Too Much Heaven, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, and of course, Stayin' Alive.

There was one costume change in which we were treated to many photos and clips of the Bee Gees through the years. It also included their brother, Andy Gibb, which really made me tear up. One of my best friends in high school had the hugest crush on Andy Gibb and I can still picture her Sweet Sixteen birthday party, with the Andy Gibb album playing on the record player in her basement.

Who else had a crush on Andy Gibb? And remembers who he dated? Sadly, he passed away in 1988 at the age of 30 from heart complications due to drug abuse.

                                       

Saturday Night Fever was released when I was 14 years old. I was too young to be able to get into an R rated movie, and truth be told, I've never watched the entire film (I know; I'm truly just not a movie person). But here I am at age 14, ready to boogie in my bell bottoms.

The closest thing we had to a Studio 54 discothèque was The Big Apple. This is the ONLY picture of The Big Apple that I could find online. Unfortunately, you also had to be 18. I think by the time I was old enough, it had become the Akron Agora. I remember attending a NYE party there with a group of friends in college in the early '80's. The Akron Agora was a major music venue, hosting the likes of New Order, The Police, Ian Hunter, The Psychedelic Furs, and Men At Work. It closed in 1992.

Here is a compilation of the Stayin Alive show for you to enjoy.

Do you have a favorite Bee Gee's song? Did you ever dance at a disco?