I have to apologize as I have been remiss in actually getting the thoughts out of my head where you all can read them.  The holiday season is busy.  The mileage is cranky up for my  marathon training – 41 this week which I am just not sure how I am going to get it in with Christmas this week.  No real excuses except I have been ignoring my blog.

When I first heard Kenny Rogers was coming to Binghamton to do his “Hits and Christmas” show, it was bittersweet.  Even though my dad has been gone for almost two years, I know this concert would have been one he would have been arranging his schedule around.  He would have been willing to work earlier in the day and go back after the concert if it meant he could go to the concert.  I thought I should get tickets and go but I then decided I really couldn’t afford to go this year.

Then, a week before the show here in Binghamton, my friend Christine – who lives in Ontario – tweeted that she was taking her parents to see Kenny Rogers.  I was torn again.  I really wanted to go but knew it was not in my budget this December.  Christine told me that the show was fantastic.

The day of the show I received a message from a co-worker of my father’s.  He had two tickets if I was interested.  He indicated he couldn’t find anyone interested enough in country music that wanted the tickets.  I was a bit thrown by that as I don’t think of Kenny Rogers as country.  You see, I remember Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.  I have actually – admittedly it was past their peak of success – seen them in concert.  The gist is that karma was on my side and I ended up with two tickets to the Kenny Rogers show in Binghamton so my 23 year old daughter and I headed out for the concert.

The show was absolutely amazing.  Rogers – who is 72 and has 6 year old twins – had a little trouble moving on the stage but his mobility did not hinder his voice at all.  He started the show with a set of about 40 minutes that was his hits.  He sang all the favorites from his country career (oops, I guess he is country) – “The Gambler,” “Islands in the Stream,” “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” “Coward of the County,” “Lucille,” and many more.  He had a guest that sang a couple of songs also.  One of my favorite moments was when he sang the First Edition song “What Condition My Condition Is In.”

There was about a 20 minute intermission before the Christmas section of the show began.  This is the part of the show that is personalized to the area Rogers is in.  It included five young (elementary school age) children who came out and sang with Rogers’s guest.  It also included the concert choir from Binghamton High School who sang with Rogers and his guest.  Can you all tell I can’t remember the guest singer’s name?  Ooops! Notes are a necessity once you reach a certain age.  I absolutely loved the Christmas portion of the show.  There was not a song I would recommend removing at all.

I would highly recommend one of Kenny Rogers’s Christmas shows to anyone.  Next year I will be looking for when he is going to be local.

Special thanks to Chris for the tickets and to my daughter Elise for the photos as I didn’t haul my Nikon D3000 to the Arena with me.