Play… Something Other Than Freebird!

The fact that Lynyrd Skynyrd is still touring baffles me. Not too many bands have suffered through more adversity and few have had a lineup that changed half as much. Consider that Skynyrd has 21 former members. That's unbelievable. And it's not as if the majority of those former members just faded into obscurity. Some seriously bad things happened to a pretty good chunk of them. Obviously Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines were killed in the plane crash, but beyond that, consider the following:

–Allen Collins was paralyzed in a DUI accident that killed his girlfriend
–Artimus Pyle was convicted of sexually abusing his daughters.
–Leon Wilkenson died before turning 50 after suffering from chronic liver and lung disease.
–Hughie Thomasson died at 55 of a heart attack.
–Billie Powell died at 57 of a heart attack
–Ean Evans died at 49 of cancer.

And yet Lynyrd Skynyrd keeps trucking on. Why? Because people keep paying them to. If there's one thing we all should have learned about actors, athletes and rockers, it's that they'll work until no one will pay them to work. They'll be playing with Kid Rock at Hersheypark Stadium Friday night, and you never know, if you're close enough to the stage you might get drafted into the band! If that doesn't sound particularly appealing, here are some other suggestions for this weekend:

Friday, the Lebanon Area Fair and the Marysville Lions Carnival both roll on. Both of them end on Saturday. The Harrisburg Senators will be at home on Friday night against the Portland Sea Dogs, and the Whitaker Center is coming out of its mini-lull with musical comedy, Church Basement Ladies. Those two have absolutely nothing in common, but I slammed them into one sentence anyway. See how I did that? Staying in Harrisburg, the Abbey Bar at Appalachian Brewing Company is hosting a Uganda Rocks Benefit featuring four bands, while in Lancaster, the Chameleon Club has The Wallflowers. The late-summer Music at Gretna series also kicks off Friday night with The Wister Quartet.

Saturday there’s a Family Fishing Program at Codorus State Park in Hanover and no license is required. Wildwood Park is also offering a Historic Canoe Trip down the Susquehanna River. The Levitt Live! Series in Reservoir Park will have its annual Reggae Festival on Saturday night, and the Abbey Bar has a pair of awesome local bands; Farewell Flight and the Click, Clack Boom.

Sunday the Italian Lake Concert Series has The Mumbles, the Sunset Performing Arts Series is having Diva Night and the Longs Park Summer Music Series has the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Have fun kids.