By Michael P Coleman
I distinctly heard it. I know I did. And I know it wasn’t the wine slushy talking, Well above the din of the capacity crowd that had huddled in the heat to hear the legendary Kool & The Gang at the California State Fair last evening, I know I heard it:
“There’s a party going on right here / A Celebration! To last throughout the year / So bring your good times and your laughter, too / We’re gonna celebrate Mike’s birthday with you! Come on now!”
It was so — cool of Kool & The Gang to celebrate my birthday with me last night, and sing their signature party anthem at the Fair. I figured I may have been one of few who were around when the band released “Celebration” back in 1980, but I was wrong. Many of us busted out the old moves. I even did “The Bump” with a woman whose husband had temporarily ditched her for another of those addictive slushies!
I’d had a little trepidation as I waited for the concert to start. Kool & The Gang has been around since the late 1960s, with their first hits coming in the form of 1970s smashes like the ever funky “Jungle Boogie” and “Hollywood Swinging,” and their biggest hits being 80s favorites like “Joanna,” “Cherish,” and “Get Down On It.” However, the band’s membership has shuffled over the decades, and I’d heard that James “JT” Taylor, the most popular of the group’s lead singers and the voice behind “Celebration” and so many of their hits, wouldn’t be joining them in Sacramento.
He didn’t. But with all due respect, it was Taylor’s loss. Just as I learned in a long-ago philosophy class, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and Kool & The Gang is a freaking institution. They performed all of their hits, and we partied hard. In fact, if the folks at the Fair had let us, we’d still be at Cal Expo, dancing and singing and carrying on with total strangers like we were at northern California’s biggest family reunion.
The ever-superb concert lineup is one of the annual highlights of the California State Fair. All concerts are free with your paid admission, but you’ll want to show up at the Golden 1 Stage before 7pm to ensure a wristband that will guarantee you a seat in the shade.
And do yourself a favor: make time to grab one — or two — of those wine slushies before the show. You won’t regret it.
The California State Fair runs through Sunday, July 29. Information on the Fair, including the concert schedule and the wine slushies, is at castatefair.org.
Connect with Sacramento-based freelancer Michael P Coleman at michaelpcoleman.com or follow him on Twitter: @ColemanMichaelP.
