The starry silver glow of a mirror ball hovered above the stage while dancers gyrated and the crunching sonic booms of KC and the Sunshine Band filled The Sharon.
It looked like a disco. It sounded like a disco. It felt like a disco.
“But this ain’t no disco, KC hates that label,” said Vicki Morton, copping a lyric from the Talking Heads while shaking her booty and boogying down with nearly 800 other refugees from the 1970s.
Morton and everyone else went tripping through time Thursday in the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center. And their leader was a portly, aging, funky dude who didn’t need polyester suits, bell bottoms or John Travolta to catch some Thursday night fever.
“We’re going back to the ’70s,” said Harry Wayne Casey, leader of KC and the Sunshine Band. And KC is getting closer to another milestone with the number 70.
“I’m 67 years old – what the hell is that,” he said. “I can’t even remember ‘That’s The Way I Like It.’”
Age didn’t matter. What was important on this night was the music. KC and his 10-piece band – along with four female dancers and two backup singers – showed no signs of age.
KC went through his solid-gold songbook.
“The hits just keep on coming,” he said early on during the nearly two-hour concert. The setlist included such KC standards as: “I’m Your Boogie Man,” “Get Down Tonight,” “Shake Your Booty,” “Give It Up” and “That’s The Way I Like It.”
It was enough to warm the hearts of KC’s true believers, who find meaning in his music that goes far beyond any label.
“The disco label isn’t fair,” said Villager Charles Wright. “The music KC makes comes from R&B. It goes back to Jackie Wilson, Chubby Checker and Motown. KC took that rhythm and blues music and gave it a real South Florida, Miami sound. It was a new genre of music.”
KC grew up in the Sunshine State in Hialeah and scored his first hit when he wrote “Rock Your Baby” for singer George McCrae in the early 1970s.
“That was my first big record and I won’t forget it,” KC said before performing the song.
The Sharon crowd was dancing all night long. People in the first row stretched out their arms toward the stage and looked like they were doing “The Hustle” while standing near their seats.
It was all part of the KC vibe.
“You went to a club and when KC’s music came on, you had to dance,” said Villager Louise Berry, who attended the concert with Charles Wright.
“The disco was the place to dance,” Wright added.
Mike and Cindy Pilla agreed – they were jumping and jiving throughout the show.
“I know KC doesn’t like the word disco, but I think KC invented disco,” Mike Pilla said. “He brought a new style to music in the ’70s. It had a different pace, style and beat. He started a trend and influenced other artists.”
KC’s song, “Boogie Shoes,” was in the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. KC said on stage that both ABBA (“Dancing Queen) and John Lennon (“Whatever Gets You Through the Night”) were influenced by “Rock Your Baby.”
“John Lennon – wow, that’s something,” KC said.
KC showed his soft side with “Yes I’m Ready” and “Please Don’t Go.”
“I love the way he does ‘Please Don’t Go,’ it’s my favorite,” Cindy Pilla said. “I’ve been going to KC’s shows since 1974. I took a couple years off to have kids, but when they grew up, I came back.”
At one point during “Please Don’t Go,” a ballet dancer came out and she and KC moved together on stage.
But for most of the concert, the dancers and the band were in a blistering, rocking form. KC and the group sampled such numbers as the Commodores’ “Brickhouse,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” and Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy.” KC and the band really shined on a soulful cover of the Four Tops “It’s The Same Old Song.”
KC and his musical entourage were in a holiday mood. They offered rocking versions of “Little Drummer Boy” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” But it was the driving beat of “Keep It Comin’ Love” and “That’s The Way I Like It” that kept the people moving and grooving.
“I can’t sit down when KC plays; I’ve got to dance,” Vicki Morton said as she waved her arms and moved her feet while standing near her seat.
Even a dog got into the act.
“What do we have here – a golden retriever,” KC said as he moved to the far end of the stage where the animal was sitting near its owner. “What a great dog. I love dogs. I’ve got two of my own.”
It was a funky night for man and beast.
“It’s good to be here,” KC said. “We’ve had a hot time in the old town tonight.”
Just like the ’70s.
Tony Violanti is a veteran journalist and writes for Villages-News.com.
