Being a lifelong Southerner, I guess my preference for Fall and Winter leaves me at something of a disadvantage. The cooler months here are not often all that cool nor are they very long lived. But I do have a few Summertime memories…
My childhood home is Savannah and that allowed me to spend a lot of time on the beach. Back in the 60s and 70s, there used to be a number of free concerts held out on Tybee Island… one of those was called “The Rock That Ate Savannah Beach”. (It was Savannah Beach before it changed names and became Tybee Island)
That particular event starred the band, Black Oak Arkansas and that was enough to bring all of us out of our air-conditioned woodwork and onto the hot summer beach sand.
It was really, really hot that day. I mean serious hot. You could watch your ice-cold beer completely evaporate between the stand where you got it and the concert area about 100 yards away. But be that as it may, there was no shortage of beach bunnies of both genders camped out on massive towels and soaking up the sun.
In all honesty, I gave up on the beer after the second try because it was making me ill. I would have switched to a soft drink but the same laws of heat, evaporation and illness applied to them as well. It was exercise in futility.
Black Oak played like there was no tomorrow. I have no idea how they managed that on an open stage, in the direct sunlight and with all the amps and stuff generating even more heat. It was amazing… and just for the sheer spirit of fun and frolic, probably one of the best rock concerts I ever attended.
Another thing I noticed was the bright shades of red those sun-worshipping toasters were becoming. By the time the band closed their set with “Jim Dandy”, all laid out on their towels they looked like sliced tomatoes on white bread.
I’m betting they were all fairly sore the next day but equally, they would have done it all again. I know I would have.
Written by: Redoubt
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