This past Tuesday, the United Way that I work for hosted a special evening to thank some of our generous donors with a free concert featuring the local group the Fabulous Armadillos. As I helped with some of the preparations for this event, I found myself growing more and more eager for the night of the show to arrive. I had seen some of the members of this group perform many times at the Red Carpet in downtown St. Cloud as Slip Twister, but this would be the first time I'd get to experience the Fabulous Armadillos in person.
I helped with some set up tasks at the Pioneer Place that rainy night. Although I had to miss the social next door at D.B. Searle's, I did get to interact with some of our donors and a few old friends, including coworkers and even one of my grade school teachers. I was prepared to wait for any late arrivals just as the show was starting, until a coworker friend of me urged me to immediately join our group.
The eight-member group was quite impressive. Paul "Stretch" Diethelm was just as impressive on guitar as he was when I first saw him in Slip Twister when they opened for Jonny Lang at the Red Carpet back in the mid-Nineties. His Slip Twister bandmates, Mike Zeleny on bass and Jay O'Donnell on drums, were also great. Keyboardist Greg Armstrong kept the tempo even throughout the night, and horn players Mike Kreitzer and Patrick Thorn also kept the crowd going, particularly during a couple of memorable Chicago covers.
Pamela McNeill has a strong voice, which she showcased during the group's covers of Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and Journey tunes. I was amazed by the vocal range of singer Billy Scherer, as he went from singing tunes by Prince, Chicago, Joe Cocker and Kenny Loggins with seeming ease.
Concert attendees were invited to vote for five of their favorite songs for the Armadillos to play during the evening's show, and the number one vote-getter was Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," which was performed beautifully not long after the mid-show break. The group closed out their lengthy set of popular cover songs with a grooving rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Needless to say, a particular Zeppelin-loving coworker of mine was in hog heaven! The band kept the audience, not to mention the fans who had already been dancing most of the night off to the side of the seating area, enthralled until the very last note and thank yous were finished.
I joined some of my friends and coworkers at D.B. Searle's after the show for "Dessert with the Dillos" and had some good conversations with friends and Stretch and Greg from the Fabulous Armadillos. I didn't have the endurance to stay for the entire after party, but after a long but very rewarding day, I was proud to have been part of such a wonderful experience. Makes me wonder what the next special event will be?
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