5th and Broadway

Those who have known me very long are well aware that I suffer an aversion to hippies.  From my observation, the hippie population can be divided into two varieties.  First, there are the original hippies.  These are the sort who were really around in the sixties, who smoked a lot of pot, dropped acid, liked fringe, worried about race and Vietnam, who participated in protests, and who eventually grew up to become accountants and university professors.  I call the second variety the Neo-Hippie.  This group is comprised largely of pretentious rich kids who have never had to work for much, and whose parents can easily afford to send them more money for pot.  Because they don't have race riots or Vietnam, hippies of this variety have been forced to concern themselves with environmentalism and sexual permissiveness.  Like maggots on roadkill, these Neo-Hippies tend to infest the dormitories and student housing complexes of most US universities, trying to seem deep, vitriolically demanding tolerance for all but the intolerant, and generally wasting space that could be used by someone with vastly more potential, and certainly fewer lice and less body odor.  By contrast, the original hippies are much more tolerable.  All they did was initiate a culture war, destroy American Culture, and usher in an era of greed and entitlement that my generation will die trying to resolve.  Besides, they, unlike the neo-hippies, had great music.  For that reason, the Cathedral recently hosted a review of the music of the 1960s at an event that we call 5th and Broadway.

The night featured songs from the Beatles, Elvis, the Beach Boys, Otis Redding, the Supremes, Bob Dylan and many other artists.  There were also a number of selections from the great Broadway Musicals of that time.  From the very young kids, to teens, to the senior members of the parish, every age was represented.  All of the Cathedral priests participated in one way or another.

The event was billed as a fundraiser for kids going to Spain, but in the end, the night was a huge success because it played on people's nostalgia.  The majority of the crowd were those who remembered the songs from the first time they were popular.

I had expected the songs done by the teenagers to be most popular, but I must admit a certain pleasure in the fact that the only standing ovation of the evening was given for Fr. Mike and Me, when, dressed as Sonny and Cher, we sang "I've Got You Babe."  You can guess as to which of us was which.

Below are photos of the events.

"Aquarius"

 

"Barbara Ann"

     "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You"

 

"From Moetown with Love" Supremes Medley

 

"Stop Children"

 

"San Francisco"

 

"Sunshine Day" - The Brady Bunch

 

"It's a Small World"

 

"Moon River"

  

"Impossible Dream"

 

"Hit the Road Jack"