Old act, new venue provide memories

An old act plus a brand new venue equals one great walk down memory lane.

On a recent autumn Saturday evening, a show was held in a brand new showplace.

As we entered the new facility, the smell of new construction still hung in the air. Fresh paint, drywall and such.

The guy we were going to see was anything but new.

He was one of the founding members of REO Speedwagon in the 1960s who had went his own musical way years ago.

He's been much better known as Dr. Duke Tumatoe and has had a few different backing bands over the years since his REO Speedwagon days.

For several years, Dr. Duke Tumatoe was a regular performer right here in Jay County at Key Palace Theater in  Redkey.

Duke played two shows a year on average and always reserved the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving show. It was almost always a sold out, standing room only show.

I've seen Duke at fairs, festivals, in bars, small theaters and clubs over many years now, and he is a consistent performer.

So, it came to pass, on this recent Saturday evening I was able to gather up a few family members and an old childhood friend, and we went to the brand new showplace — the Gas City Performing Arts Center.

It's a spectacular place to see a show. Close to home, easy to access, no lines to get in, ample parking on site — it's a home run, especially for a small town.

Duke is age 77 now and can still play and sing live as well as ever without using recorded tracks or computer-generated AI voice software, like a lot of live acts do these days.

As we sat there, surrounded by fans from every level of the socioeconomic strata, every race, color, gender; we shared the mutual enjoyment of the music. 

All was well with the world for those all-too-brief moments.

It was another cherished memory with family and friends of a shared journey that the common enjoyment of great music and a live performance can take you on.