I have just returned from seeing The Goodies in concert as part of their "Still Alive On Stage" tour, and it's left me feeling a little unsure. I mean, sure, I enjoyed the show. Even without Bill Oddie (who wasn't available to tour due to filming committments with some show on the telly in the UK), I was satisfactorally entertained by the jokes, the snippets from the show, the commentary and the interesting tidbits of trivia (such as the list of phrases that were censored from the Australian version of the show, mostly containing the word "knackered"). However, and this was only pointed out to me today, perhaps it's best to remember The Goodies for what they were and what they meant to me growing up, and not taint that image with that of two elderly men staggering around on stage talking about the good old days.
But as I type this, I realise that in addition to the above, attending the show tonight has really accomplished a lot. Firstly, they made fun of the fact they are now so terribly old, so that we don't have to, because honestly, it was a bit of a shock to see them aged so much. Then I did the math, work out how much I, myself, had aged since the late 70's, then quickly got over it. I was reminded of a lot of great moments from my childhood. While I remember bits from the show being funny as a kid, I was a bit worried that my adult(like) mind wouldn't get the same appreciation from the humour, however, from the moment they played the opening credits, I felt like I'd gone back in time, and found myself lauging along with everyone else. Plus, with a lot of the commentary they gave on a few classic scenes, they've sated my incorrigible appetite for useless trivia, so that's a bonus.
The negatives: there has to be some, because as I got up to leave, I felt like there was something missing. I was expecting a bit more of the memorable music from the show, but without the main musical driving force, Bill Oddie, all we got was a 65-year-old Tim Brooke Taylor miming to Wild Thing with his gold jacket and spikey wig, which is better than nothing I guess. A lot of parents brought their kids, who I imagine spent most of the time scratching their heads wondering what the big deal was. And finally, the lack of Bill Oddie made the show feel a little incomplete for a full priced event. Like a two-for-the-price-of-three sort of deal.
Overall, I'm glad I went, if only so I can now say "I saw them performing live", and besides, they'll probably be dead soon.
