Still More Pictures

More of the Hot August Nights Parade

This was one of only two Crown Vics I saw during this year's Hot August Nights.




"Elvis" and "Marilyn" were in the parade.

Hot August Night Parade Pictures, August 10, 2008

Here is the first of a couple of posts of some of the 205 pictures I took of just a portion of the hundreds of cars in Sunday's closing day parade:

Gerry & the Pacemakers--"Singin' the Blues"

Gerry Marsden and company take on the old Marty Robbins standard:

'Ferry Across the Mersey"

Update: Here is the movie clip from 1965:

Gerry & the Pacemakers

This grandfatherly-looking guy may have been the best entertainer of all of those I saw this week, which is saying one hell of a lot. Gerry Marsden, who will be 66 years old next month, is best known as being the "Gerry" of one the earliest of the British Invasion bands, Gerry & the Pacemakers. Of course, the other band members aren't original at all; they are way too young, and Marsden's brother, who played drums in the original group, died some years ago. The original band was the second one signed up by the legendary Brian Epstein (the first, of course, was the Beatles). Marsden considered John Lennon his best friend.

I wasn't going to go anywhere tonight, but I changed my mind and went to Sparks for the first time for this event this year. There was a small crowd of people of the baby boom generation or a bit older, and I thought to myself, my God, nobody even remembers Gerry & the Pacemakers, and everybody will be watching the cruise in Sparks instead of listening to the music. But when Marsden and the band came on, well, things changed. That guy rocked his ass off and could do it better than people 1/3 his age. He was tremendous. More and more people came around to listen to him and the band.

I decided for the hell of it I would bring the camcorder and get a few of the songs. I wasn't worried about videotaping because it is okay to videotape the free concerts at Hot August Nights, but I don't have a battery which lasts more than an hour anyway to record all of the shows. I did get a few tunes and didn't record some I should have.

This is what Marsden looked like in his heyday around 1963-1966. He is with singer Cilla Black:



And here is another picture of him tonight:





I'll post a couple of video clips of the performance.

Hot August Nights "Show 'n' Shine," August 7, 2008

This is a three-part video of the HAN "Show 'n' Shine" at the Grand Sierra Resort. (The other two clips are being uploaded.)

Part 1:





Part 2:




Part 3:

Grand Sierra Resort "Show 'n' Shine," August 8, 2008, Reno, NV

Here are a few of the many cars getting my attention late this afternoon:

Davy Jones Blew It

I got to the Grand Sierra Resort about two hours before Davy Jones (formerly of the Monkees), 62, was to appear. It was a good thing I got there early, for it was not too long before thousands jammed the parking lot. I was able to get a great view just off to the left of the stage. Naturally I stood up the whole time.

I hadn't seen Jones in years, so his appearance rather shocked me. It wasn't that he looked bad; it's that he looks so much different than he did years ago. I wouldn't have recognized him if I saw him on the street.

He gave a great performance. People like myself were singing along with him, and he seemed to enjoy himself. The audience certainly loved him. This was the first time in years he had been to Reno.

It could well be his last, to hear people afterwards. It has ALWAYS been the case with Hot August Nights performers at the free concerts to stay after the show and sign autographs and meet with fans. Almost ALL of them have done this over the years, to the best of my knowledge. Peter Noone, for example, stayed until everybody left last night. A veteran of many years of this event , he knows how important it is to meet and greet with people, many of them having traveled from all over the country to attend HAN. Noone apparently never told Jones about this important aspect because Jones REFUSED to come out of his dressing room after the show to sign autographs. Security told the long line of fans that they could buy CDs, pictures, and other items at the table (and many did BEFORE the concert expecting Jones to sign the items) but that he wasn't coming out. At first people thought Jones was kidding, and that he would come out eventually. Well, he never did. I, like a few people, hung around for 15 or 20 minutes, and still no Jones. He probably went back to his hotel room by that time.

People were FURIOUS. He might have lost a good chunk of his fan base right then and there. It is simply NOT done to stiff fans at Hot August Nights.

It was a MAJOR faux pas which unfortunately will be remembered long after Jones has left the area.

Hot August Nights, August 8, 2008

Once again the 1955 Ford Crown Victoria from Wyoming is back. It was parked at a tire garage.















Back to the cars.






Not a great picture because of objects being in the way, but this is one of the cars that was used in the film.





His co-star in the film, Cindy Williams, best known for her role in the seventies sitcom Laverne and Shirley, is happy to talk with fans.





Dreyfuss is busy signing autographs. He is left-handed, like Barack Obama, John McCain, and yours truly.




Richard Dreyfuss is interviewed by local media. I believe this is his first appearance in Reno for Hot August Nights.


Many of the cast members of the 1973 film American Graffiti are in Reno at the Peppermill today and tomorow. Since it is the 35th anniversary of the movie's release, Richard Dreyfuss also joined Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Bo Hopkins, Paul LaMat and others for meeting and autograph signing with fans.