March 1984 - April 1984
Reviewed by VegaNova
Segment 1
"World's Fair Intro Skit"
"1984 World's Fair"
"They All Asked For You" (At The Audubon Zoo)
Segment 2
"Grandparents Skit"
"Grandma's Feather Bed "
Segment 3
"Retro Medley" (Your Mother Should Know, Cheek To Cheek, Puttin' On The Ritz)
"Young At Heart" (New Style)
Segment 4
"Startin' Something" (Old Style)
"Swingin" (Future Style)
Segment 5
"Classical Disco Skit"
"Ballroom Dancing"
Segment 6
"Studder Too Much"
"American Trilogy"
Segment 7
"Radio Skit"
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"
"Five Guys Named Moe"
At first, an entire showtape dedicated to Senior Citizens may not seem very exciting, but once you hear this showtape you'll see that the variety of songs is really impressive. Just about every genre of music gets the Rock-afire treatment in this show - swing, country, a-capella, disco, classical, heavy metal, and rock. With humorous, serious, and downright insane moments - Senior Night is without question one of the more experimental of all Rock-afire Explosion showtapes.
Tape Revision - There exists a revised edition of this tape. Although I'm not entirely certain as to what the difference is - I've heard a few conflicting stories. One suggestion is that the final segment (with the NBC Radio Skit) is missing from the tape, another version is that Frank Sinatra had some issue with his song / original recording being used. If anyone has a definitive answer please e-mail us!
World's Fair - 1984 World's Fair is an original song written by Burt "Sal" Wilson (voice of Fatz).
Supporting Cast - All characters (with a voice) appear in this show - including Antioch, the Sun, and the Moon.
-4 out of 5 Tokens-
I am really fond of this showtape for several reasons. I'll admit up front that it's not my personal favorite, but I can't deny the thought and genius that went into this compilation. Besides having an overall good hearted theme (getting in touch with your elders) it teaches some very valuable lessons about the ever changing face of popular music. By taking the melody of a song and doing it in a different style, old and new, the Rock-afire proves that a song with a good melody can sound good no matter how it's done or when it was written.
A few people I've spoken with have cited this as their very favorite of all Rock-afire tapes for various reasons. It has some very nice shows in it, including Dook's awesome version of "American Trilogy" which arguably holds its own against the original Elvis recording, and Beach Bear's version of "Ballroom Dancing" is another highlight (complimented by some amazing light and animation programming during the guitar solo). There are a few bumps along the road of course where the tape seemingly ventures into the artistic realm a tad too far (the alien sounding version of "Swingin" is very odd, and not really in a good way).
Senior Night was experimental on several levels such as giving the side characters a bit part and by giving more variety than any Rock-afire showtape in their history. The entertainment risks taken were well worth the results, and this may well be the Rock-afire's most daring showtape, if not some of their very best work.
"World's Fair Intro Skit"
"1984 World's Fair"
"They All Asked For You" (At The Audubon Zoo)
Segment 2
"Grandparents Skit"
"Grandma's Feather Bed "
Segment 3
"Retro Medley" (Your Mother Should Know, Cheek To Cheek, Puttin' On The Ritz)
"Young At Heart" (New Style)
Segment 4
"Startin' Something" (Old Style)
"Swingin" (Future Style)
Segment 5
"Classical Disco Skit"
"Ballroom Dancing"
Segment 6
"Studder Too Much"
"American Trilogy"
Segment 7
"Radio Skit"
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"
"Five Guys Named Moe"
At first, an entire showtape dedicated to Senior Citizens may not seem very exciting, but once you hear this showtape you'll see that the variety of songs is really impressive. Just about every genre of music gets the Rock-afire treatment in this show - swing, country, a-capella, disco, classical, heavy metal, and rock. With humorous, serious, and downright insane moments - Senior Night is without question one of the more experimental of all Rock-afire Explosion showtapes.
Tape Revision - There exists a revised edition of this tape. Although I'm not entirely certain as to what the difference is - I've heard a few conflicting stories. One suggestion is that the final segment (with the NBC Radio Skit) is missing from the tape, another version is that Frank Sinatra had some issue with his song / original recording being used. If anyone has a definitive answer please e-mail us!
World's Fair - 1984 World's Fair is an original song written by Burt "Sal" Wilson (voice of Fatz).
Supporting Cast - All characters (with a voice) appear in this show - including Antioch, the Sun, and the Moon.
-4 out of 5 Tokens-
I am really fond of this showtape for several reasons. I'll admit up front that it's not my personal favorite, but I can't deny the thought and genius that went into this compilation. Besides having an overall good hearted theme (getting in touch with your elders) it teaches some very valuable lessons about the ever changing face of popular music. By taking the melody of a song and doing it in a different style, old and new, the Rock-afire proves that a song with a good melody can sound good no matter how it's done or when it was written.
A few people I've spoken with have cited this as their very favorite of all Rock-afire tapes for various reasons. It has some very nice shows in it, including Dook's awesome version of "American Trilogy" which arguably holds its own against the original Elvis recording, and Beach Bear's version of "Ballroom Dancing" is another highlight (complimented by some amazing light and animation programming during the guitar solo). There are a few bumps along the road of course where the tape seemingly ventures into the artistic realm a tad too far (the alien sounding version of "Swingin" is very odd, and not really in a good way).
Senior Night was experimental on several levels such as giving the side characters a bit part and by giving more variety than any Rock-afire showtape in their history. The entertainment risks taken were well worth the results, and this may well be the Rock-afire's most daring showtape, if not some of their very best work.