Harrell: Music from another time

They called it Blufftemberfest.

Three bands: CornBreD, with its good ole rock and roll; White Liquor, paying homage to The Rolling Stones; and DeCarlo, a cover band for Boston with Tommy DeCarlo, Boston's lead singer since 2007.

Each group in turn took to the stage under the oaks at Bluffton's Oyster Factory Park overlooking the May River on a Saturday night in September.

It was music from another time, music with memories, and it was better than good.

Mark Weisner is the guru behind the Bluffton Sunset Party series, not only fun times but fundraisers that have generously benefited local organizations.

Blufftemberfest was for both the Bluffton Paddle Club and the May River High School Band, whose director Debbie Hamner, along with a group of trusty volunteers, was determined to make this a successful evening.

You couldn't miss them in their bright orange T-shirts, not exactly stagehand black but they were busy busy, putting up no-parking signs, directing people traffic, golf cart traffic, eyeballing boaters backing up their vehicles to load their trailers at the public landing, making sure nobody got run over, taking care of tickets and dispersing paper wristbands, red and pink for the VIPs, orange ones for where we sat across the road on the $10 ticket side.

Couldn't see for garters, but trust me, we could hear the music just fine.

We visited with Debbie, originally from Michigan, and her California-born husband Jaime, who had met when they were Marines stationed on Okinawa; both had musical backgrounds, both play the clarinet. While in the Corps at Parris Island, Debbie took advantage of the Troops to Teacher program, got her degree, and teaches as well as directs the band at May River. Jaime is the proud proprietor of Hamner Music in Beaufort and the two are a charming couple devoted to introducing young people to the world of music.

CornBreD was already on stage when we set up our chairs at a little after 3.

We sang along to AC/DC's “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” Try saying that three times without stuttering. There is something so righteous about blasting out “All in all it's just another brick in the wall,” and “We don't need no education,” from Pink Floyd's classic "The Wall."

White Liquor, a Rolling Stones tribute band, opened with lead singer Rick Saba doing “Brown Sugar.”

Dressed in a blue three-piece suit, vest, scarf, the whole shebang, Saba took off his shoes and high-kicked his way through tunes undeniably Mick Jagger's.

We were in Jacksonville on a crisp November night in 1989 at the Gator Bowl, long before pro football came to town with its fancy stadium. We sat high in the bleachers for the Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels tour. Lenny Kravitz, sporting an enormous afro, opened with Living Colour, and Jagger strutted from one side of the stage to the other going through a playlist every bit as good today as it was then. Jagger was 46 years old with more energy than a man half his age. “Brown Sugar” was one of the songs he sang that night. Talk about nostalgia.

The sun was lower in the sky by the time DeCarlo took the stage. Down the hill by the Oyster Factory building, golf carts were as close as pearls on a necklace; in the posh section, VIPs were getting out of their chairs and easing even closer to the bandstand.

We were expecting the best of sounds, the falsetto lyrics, the hard-driving, pounding beat of rock Boston is known for, and we got it, but nothing prepared us for the first number, the solo, the drummer exploding, his arms gone maniacal with drumsticks ablur hitting the skins, rim, cymbals, energy gone mad. Christian Sturt, in Gatsby's days, they would probably say, you are the “bee's knees.”

Tommy DeCarlo Jr. The lead guitar? Amazing. Leaned forward, leaned back, tossing his mane of hair, fingers demanding, flying over the strings.

Payton Velligan on keyboard. Swooped her hand from one side across to the other, picked up her guitar, hit those strings, and never missed a beat. Grabbed the mike, sang loud and clear, soft and husky, harmonizing, and you guessed it, never missed a beat.

And lead singer Tommy DeCarlo held it all together.

“More Than a Feeling.”

It was Boston playing music that made us remember times past, good and bad.

All too soon, last tune before the concert was to end, in front of the bandstand, a civilized mosh pit, arms were in the air, everybody movin' to “Smokin',” Sturt heavy on the beat, keyboard wailing, DeCarlo's falsetto sailin' through the sound system and oh my Jr., you made the guitar strings sing. “Get down tonight, alright.” And we did.

We were back in time with Journey and Heart and Led Zeppelin and all of those bands of the '70s and '80s that an entire generation remembers from concerts indoors and out.

Wanna hear the music? Tune in on your radio. Disc Jockey Monty Jett plays '70s and '80s music on WRWN 107.9 weekdays and Saturday afternoons.

Streetlights were on. The sun had set. We hadn't noticed. Temperature had dropped and my pashmina was welcome.

The crowd straggled out, reluctant to leave, the band packed up their equipment one more time. Golf carts and pickup trucks and SUVs and Mercedes-Benz headed home.

Another day, another night on the Bay of Bluffton.

Annelore Harrell lives in Bluffton and can be reached at anneloreh@aol.com.