PGHS Class of 1974 Farewell Tour

 

From the Cambridge Online Dictionary:

farewell

noun [ C ]   formal

US  /ˌferˈwel/ UK  /ˌfeəˈwel/

 

An occasion when someone says goodbye.

 

tour

noun

US  /tʊr/ UK  /tʊər/

 

A planned visit to several places in a country or area made for a special purpose, such as one made by a politician, sports team, or group of performers.

Just the other day I was reading my newsfeed and came upon an article where Vince Gill talked about the joy of being in the Eagles. (I probably shouldn’t have used “the” but so it goes    https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-band-band-name-eagles/). Gill was asked to ruminate on this being the Eagles' Farewell tour. Really I don’t remember his answer but it got me to thinking about how many bands that were major parts of the soundtrack of my teens and twenties were doing, or had finished, Farewell tours in the last year or two, Elton John, Dead and Company, and numerous more.  (Here is a link to a list of who farewelled it in 2023 https://ultimateclassicrock.com/farewell-tour-tracker/). (Here is a link to who is farewelling in 2024 https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/music/info-2024/final-live-band-tours.html). 

It is not that difficult to understand why these bands are calling it quits. Clearly, the band members are old and time has taken its toll. I saw Gordon Lightfoot a few years before he died and his voice was shot. Same for Dylan when I saw him a couple of years ago. There comes a point where your voice sounds terrible even in a lower register and backup singers can only help so much. About the only singer from that era who held onto his voice is Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music. I am 68 and so most of the band members of my era are in their mid to late 70s. Bodies wear out. And the question of whether it is still the band when only the drummer and bass player remain from the original quintet looms large.

In less than a month I will be at my 50th high school reunion. Hmm? “A planned visit … made for a special purpose” matched up with “An occasion when someone says goodbye”. What are the chances I will see more than a handful of people from the upcoming event again?  Pretty darn low if you ask me. So, seeing them in the banquet hall is really an occasion where, even if we don’t speak the words aloud, we will say goodbye. Yup, I guess I am going on a farewell tour. Odds are slim, although not nonexistent, that I will ever return to Jersey. My guess is that for many people this is also their farewell tour of New Jersey, or at least of Penns Grove.

My thought is that it will be all of our greatest hits that get played. Stories will come out about well-known events, public nudity for some of us, and less well-known events. Confessions will be made and secrets revealed. We will all have to confess who we were with at Bridget’s party and talk about the madness we saw there. Hopefully all the ancient grievances will be forgotten or at least apologies will be offered and amends will be made. Kind acts will be honored. 

It saddens me that a number of the members of the band, in other words, the class of 1974, won’t be present because they are no longer with us. But we can still make joyous, audacious and loud noises just like the E. Street Band without Danny Federici and Clarence the Big Man. We will remember the missing and talk about the solos they took over the years. Yeah, it’s a farewell tour and as such it is bittersweet.  Don’t get me wrong I am looking forward to this just as much as I would be if I had a ticket to the current Bruce Springsteen world tour, or the Eagles last stand. Hopefully we will put on one last great show before we depart into that good night.