Press release:
Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has announced they will be putting on their very own Woodstock Tribute with “BATAVIASTOCK,” taking place on Saturday, July 20th. The show will consist of five tribute bands of artists who played at the original Woodstock Festival and will be headlined by Melanie, who actually performed at Woodstock in 1969.
Other performers include: Green River Revival – A Creedence Clearwater Revival Tribute, Abraxas – a Santana and Sly & the Family Stone Tribute, The Who Show – a Who Tribute, and Piece of My Heart – a Janis Joplin Tribute.
Concert Headliner Melanie hails from Queens and was one of only three women who performed solo at Woodstock in the summer of '69, playing on the first day of the festival. Known for her hits "Brand New Key," "Ruby Tuesday," "What Have They Done to My Song Ma," and "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," she continues to perform across the country. She will be joined by her daughter, Layla.
Tickets will be available at www.BataviaConcerts.com beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14th. Individual pre-ale tickets will be $10 for General Admission while VIP tickets will again be just $15. Concertgoers will be able to purchase tickets in the Premium Section directly in front of the stage for $20. Tickets can also be purchased at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel at the Lucky Treasures Gift Shop located in the lobby.
“With the original Woodstock festival celebrating its 50th anniversary, we were inspired to put on an event that showcases tribute acts from that iconic concert,” said Henry Wojtaszek, CEO/president of Batavia Downs Gaming. “We are so pleased to welcome Melanie, who performed at the original Woodstock, to our stage as well.”
Hotel room/ticket packages will be available. Purchase of a hotel room on the night of a concert using the code BS720 includes two VIP tickets to the show while supplies last. Each concert ticket is also redeemable once at Player’s Club in the three days following the concert for $10 Free Play to be used on one of Batavia Downs Gaming’s 800+ gaming machines. The concert is held Rain or Shine. Additional information may be found at www.BataviaConcerts.com under the BataviaStock event.
Melanie Safka -- AKA "THE
Melanie Safka -- AKA "THE Melanie" -- had a huge hit with the quirky "Brand New Key," which she's described as a veritable "ear worm," that sticks in your head when you hear it.
Roller skates that required a key to unlock and attach to your shoes were before my time and I grew up in the '60s. But they existed and my mother tried to explain them to me once.
Melanie wrote her own songs and like the lyrics say in this tune "she's done all right for a girl."
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQOWQeLKxZQ]
Double entendre
Double entendre
Billie, talking about steel
Billie, talking about steel roller skates brought back a flood of boy hood memories. Back in the day we wore leather shoes with hard soles. The claw locking mechanism of the front of the skate would grab the edges of your shoe. You had to have a key to turn the square shaft of the locking claw. The back of the skate was held on by a leather strap. I use to skate all over the NE section of Batavia. My favorite was the smooth blue slate sidewalks on Summit Street. Some of those still exist today. We never had to worry about molesters, and druggies in those days.