The whole thing, on Youtube. Which made everything fall into place for me.
I own a copy of this show. I think I watched it once. I didn't think a lot of it. I don't even like the sound of the guitar. (The notes are fine-- it's the sound, which sounds like television and chintzy speakers.)
What's interesting is that other Chuck Berry fans (Ida May, Dominic) love it. I'll have to watch again and see what I am missing.
But what fell into place today, for the first time, is the realization that I probably saw Chuck right about the time this was filmed, wearing the same white suit, in a similar setting. Could even be the same band.
I didn't like that much either.
I was home from West Africa for a few weeks. It was the summer of 1982. I was visiting family and my sister Maggie and her husband Ty took a bunch of us to see Chuck Berry at a casino in Tahoe.
The setting was nearly identical to what you see here: elegant booths spreading out, with tables, and dinners and drinks. A bunch of slightly older folks in leisure suits. A band that had actually rehearsed.
It was not what I was expecting. I was used to being at the foot of the stage, surrounded by long haired kids, watching Chuck in his red or purple pants and a print shirt lead a pickup band through its hour of glory. The songs were often extended with long guitar solos. I wasn't prepared for arrangements, horns, elegance, and older folk.
Decades later I figured out the problem was me, not the show. It didn't meet my expectations, so I didn't like it.
So I'll have to watch this one again, and see what I really think.
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