Friday, March 15, 2013

Fun in Branson

Oh boy, oh boy, did we have fun in Branson.  We also had a fantastic Campground to stay at:  America's Best Campground, shown as ABC Campground.  This campground is a short way (very short way) to the Northeast of Branson itself.  You do not have to drive through that awful main street of Branson to get there.  It was fantastic from that viewpoint.  We've driven through that mess on Rt 76 with our Big Sky before and it's a nightmare.  In the past the campground we stayed at was very small with tight roads and turns, but it was on Lake Taneycomo (used to be the White River), which we liked.  ABC may not be on the river, but it made up for it in all other ways.

All different sizes of pull thru sites, up to 75 ft long.  The sites were level, easy in and out, full hook-up, WI-FI, everything we wanted.  In season, they have a pool, they have other entertainment, a meeting room, a car and RV wash and more.  To top it all off, they were extremely nice, friendly, and helpful.


So, what did we do while we were in Branson.  Mr. C had our week completely packed with fun shows to see.  We started off with a Wednesday, October 31st, afternoon with Paul Harris and the Cleverlys at the White House Theatre.  Unfortunately, the theatre was pretty dark and it was hard to get decent pictures.
This was a fun filled show of music and comedy.  We didn't have a clue what to expect but we got our money's worth.  It started off with a lots of jokes and great stories by Paul Harris and his band.   He introduced himself and his band members by name telling a bit about each one.

He told some pretty funny stories that had us all in stitches and he also sang pretty well, LOL.

Then when they were ready to take an intermission, Paul Harris excitedly told the audience that we were so fortunate, we were in luck because the Cleverlys had just gotten back into town and they were going to join us for the second half.  So, we settled back in our seats waiting for the Cleverlys:
He proceeded to introduce the Cleverlys most of whom were obviously the same guys that had been on before, but their names had all been changed and they were all related like any hick back woods family.  The only one we were not 100% sure of was the lead Cleverly.

Apparently, the drummer had a brand new outfit, possibly for Halloween, as it was October 31st, though, as he really took a lot of ribbing over his striped suit.

The base player was fantastic, he was a little bitty guy, but boy could he play and he pounded those strings for all he was worth and really got into it.  When he came back for the second half, his 10 gallon? hat was a real hit as it kind of made up for his size, LOL.  His little toddler son was in the audience dressed as a Pirate Sock Monkey.  He was incredibly cute.




Yes, by now you've probably figured out that the lead Cleverly is also Paul Harris, but he really had us going for awhile, we just weren't real sure, his voice changed and everything.

We were not quite as thrilled with the second half of the performance, though, as the music was not familiar to us and it was so fast paced it was hard to figure out what they were even singing.   We aren't yet "Senior Citizens" but if our ears couldn't keep up, I wonder how the rest of the audience (who were obviously quite a bit older than we were) were able to understand or keep up with it.

It was still a fun afternoon and well worth the laughs.

Thursday, November 1st, we went to the God and Theatre  to see the Statler Brothers Revisited.  The Statler Brothers and Oakridge Boys are 2 of my all time favorite groups and I love Barbershop music.
This was a very good show, but had a few not so great parts.  The history of the Statler Brothers was fantastic, the MC job was great, and the music was good.  I was a tiny bit disapointed in the voices.  The older man, while he originally actually sang with both the Statlers and the Oakridge Boys is losing the fullness of his voice and he's obviously slowing down a bit.  When the lead sang lead, he was great, but he often sang outside his range and got very nasally at that time, which is a personal pet peeve of mine.
After the intermission, when the group came back with a short segment from the Statler Brothers show paying tribute to Lester "Roadhog" Moran and his backup band, the Cadillac Cowboys, it was pure slap-stick funny.

All in all, it was a good show, just not quite as true to sound as many other tributes we've heard over the years.

That wraps it up for October.

Happy Halloween, even if I am several months late and lots of dollars short.

Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.  Smiles, Sue C




2 comments:

  1. Your blogs are very interesting and you've a good memory for all you experienced. Enjoyed reading them.

    ReplyDelete