Energy. You could feel it crackling round the hall. Enough to power a small city. The Warriors were in town and Rock ‘n’ Roll was the name of the game.
The crowd started to gather early. There were plenty of Warrior friends and family members but also several groups of folk who had heard about the show on Coast FM and came along to
share in the fun.
Many people had put in a special effort and looked great in their 50s and early 60s gear. Tonia was the force behind the organisation and expectations were high. The crowd was not disappointed.
MC and PA guru Peter got the show under way with a few welcoming words. Then first up was FBI, paying tribute to many of those classic instrumental numbers that were the sound track of
our younger days.
They nailed that instrumental guitar sound and got the audience’s feet tapping from the start. FBI came back for two more brackets during the night between the other bands.
Next came a brief demonstration by special guests, the Adelaide Rock and Roll Club dancers. The dancers strutted their stuff to pre-recorded tracks and reminded the crowd what dancing
was all about back in the 50s.
Next on stage was Wis’n Up, rocking the joint with a high-powered bracket of classic Rock ‘n’ Roll numbers that brought the crowd to its feet. The dance floor was heaving under the pounding of 200 pairs of dancing shoes. The 50s and 60s were with us again and the Boomer generation was alive and well.
The Rock and Roll Club dancers joined in the general dancing throughout the night as the audience rose to the occasion with enthusiasm. It took days to get the scorch marks off the floor.
FBI kept the nostalgia going until Spunk Rats took the stage. Their set of old Rock and Roll favourites was warmly received and packed the dance floor once again. Saturday night at the
local hop was with us again.
After another dance demo and another bracket from the indefatigable FBI, it was the turn of the Backing Band and the free-wheeling Warrior singers.
Seasoned musos from various other Warrior bands make up the Backing Band to give unattached singers the chance to showcase their talents.
With five singers plus band members, the stage was as crowded as Rundle Mall on a Saturday morning. The singers, solo or in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of vocal combinations, rounded
off the night with an eclectic mix of personal favourites that went down well with the crowd.
Great work by the organisers and helpers leading up to the show and on the night itself. The kitchen area looked like a tsunami in a music shop and it was no mean feat to get a
couple of dozen singers and musos and their gear on and off stage smoothly several times during the evening. But the whole thing ran like clockwork and was a nice little earner for
the Deaf Society and Warriors SA.
A memorable evening, when the Boomer generation staked out its claim in the Warriors SA rock pantheon.