Oneida Area Arts Council

My wife, Linda, and I attended the Lettermen concert Saturday night at Oneida High School. This was the first year we bought season tickets for the Oneida Area Arts Council shows. Since we bought our seats a bit late, we were amazed to find a pair of front-row seats were still available. Saturday we found out why.

During one of the songs, Tony Butala, the only founding member of the group, came down off the stage and plopped himself on Linda’s lap. The spotlight, of course, followed him. While he was singing, he pointed to his cheek as if to say “kiss me here.”

Linda was laughing and a bit taken aback, but regained her composure and began to lean forward to kiss his cheek. At the last moment Butala turned his head and kissed her full on the lips. The audience roared; Linda blushed. Butala’s old enough to be Linda’s dad. Linda loves her dad, but she never kisses him on the lips.

Later, during another song, the middle Lettermen, Donovan Tea, walked down the same steps, grabbed Linda’s hand and brought her up onto the stage to take her picture with Butala and the youngest Letterman, Darren Dowler. Ironically, when we were rushing around to go to the concert, we had a quick discussion about what to wear. People tend to dress up a bit for these shows. We decided to put on nice shirts but keep our jeans. “It’ll be dark; who will see them?” Linda said.

Everybody it turned out.

It should have come as no surprise that the first seats you come to at the bottom of the stage stairs are prime real estate for audience participation.

When we told our daughter, Joanna, about our night, she said that if our seats were at Sea World, they would be part of the “splash zone.” I guess Linda should be happy it was a singing group and not a magician or hypnotist; she could have been sawn in half or worse.

Now I must admit the “splash zone” is only one theory. It’s entirely plausible that it was Linda’s radiant beauty that’s to blame. It could be that Butala and Tea would have grabbed her no matter where she sat in the auditorium; I know I would. And it’s fair to note she wasn’t the only audience member to be singled out, although she was the only one to be singled out twice, and some of the others volunteered to be in the spotlight.

I guess it’s just one of those showbiz mysteries.

It was especially interesting hearing the Lettermen just a few nights after we heard Bob Dylan in concert at the Turning Stone Event Center. While both began in the early ‘60’s, the two acts couldn’t have been more different. They were then and they are now, but we enjoyed both. I guess you could say our tastes are a bit eclectic. I’m glad we bought the season tickets. Five shows for $60 is a good value (there are also $50 seats).

There was a wide range of good shows.
Next year’s lineup sounds great, too.

The shows include three comedians from the TV show “Last Comic Standing,” the a cappella group, The Nylons, Northern Lights, a bluegrass group, The CNY Music Educators Wind Ensemble (a local favorite) and “Red, Hot, and Blue!” an ensemble cast from Branson Mo. I haven’t talked it over with Linda yet, but I’m in favor of keeping our seats in the “splash zone.”

Although I admit I might have a different opinion if Tony Butala had kissed me on the lips.

** Editorial as seen in The Oneida Daily Dispatch on Friday, May 6, 2005 **