The Ventures

Last Friday, Mouth, a couple of friends and myself took the drive to Casino Rama in Orillia to see the Ventures. If you think you don't know who the Ventures are, believe me, you do. Their surf rock music can be found everywhere. "Wipe Out", "Hawaii Five-0", "Walk Don't Run", and their list of hits goes on and on. 

Anyway, I was somewhat surprised when they took the stage. I was kind of expecting them to look like this:

Oh yeah, I forgot, 50 years have passed. These guys are well into their seventies. But I think, like with wine or cheese, their age has only made them better. I was in amazement through the whole show how these men have wildly played guitars all these years and their fingers aren't suffering from arthritis. 

The only younger member was the drummer, Leon Taylor, the son of now deceased original drummer, Mel Taylor. The last song they played had the most fantastic drum solo I've ever seen performed live. 

I think one of the biggest highlights of the show wasn't just the Ventures performance. It was the audience. You know the fans must be big ones if they're willing to drive to Orillia (a very boring 2 hour drive outside Toronto). Most of the audience was made up of people close in age to the band itself. 

Two much older asian ladies sitting in front of me looked like teenage girls seeing the Beatles. The Ventures were HUGE in Japan and I can imagine these women growing up there in Venture mania. Each new song the Ventures played made these ladies jump around in their seats with the biggest smiles. I thought they were going to lose it when Don Wilson announced there was going to be a signing.

And the signing had a line of close to 500 people waiting after the show. 

I'm thrilled I had the opportunity to see these surf legends live. Based on their ages, it's difficult to say if I'll get the opportunity again. On the other hand, based on their performance, they're in great enough shape to last much longer.

Here's some clips of the Ventures playing live:

Wipe Out

Hawaii Five-0

Caravan (1965)

Tequila

Induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame