On Saturday, Lincoln Center's Out of Doors concert series brought the 1960's girl groups to the venue. The 5 hour show featured Ronnie Spector, Lesley Gore and others like LaLa Brooks of The Crystals and Arlene Smith of the Chantals. It was also a tribute to prolific Brill Building songwriter Ellie Greenwich who died in 2009.
It was a good show that very easily could have turned into a PBS oldies show, but it didn't. Despite being up in years, the featured performers still had what it took to get the job done. They still had their voices.
It was a good party for the old folks. It also was a drag, as Lincoln Center's security, a gaggle of Officer Krupkes, treated the crowd as if they were out of control punks. They turned Lincoln Center Out of Doors into a no fun zone.
Any seasoned concert goer knows of the need to keep the aisles clear, but security took that up a notch by rousting anyone who dared to amble into the aisles or near the stage. The aisles at Lincoln Center are wide. A few stray bodies here and there does nothing to create a hazard. I witnessed several physical confrontations caused by excited attendees breaching the invisible boundaries.
Radio station WFMU had dedicated their day's programming to broadcast the show live and even received thanks from the stage. In the meantime, a guy from WFMU was being hassled by security.
Off to the side of the stage the Norton Records crew were having a grand old time dancing and consistently being hassled by security.
Then there was the reserved seating. Who the seats were reserved for was unclear and any attempt to ascertain that info was roundly rebuffed by the dour faced seat policeman. For the most part, the reserved seats were empty for the duration of the show.
Towards the end of the show, I asked Mr. Seat Policeman, if I could occupy one of the empty seats. Nope. The people who have those seats could be roaming around and could come back. I suggested that if/when they did I would move. No soap.
The imbecilic security ruined what could have been a perfect night out celebrating a classic time in pop music. Instead, their bullheaded actions put a damper on things.
The whole affair reminded me of an old National Lampoon Lemmings stage show, Lemmings. It was a parody of Woodstock. At one point the stage announcer says that the concert is now a free concert. He continues, “Now, that doesn't mean you can do anything you want. It means you have to do what you're told.”
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