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A Valentine's Date with Aztec Two-Step
By Michael E. Driscoll, Torrington
Valentine's day has come and gone. I was not fortunate enough to have a date, so I took it upon myself to make sure not to sit home and pout. My bed and breakfast was filled for the weekend, and the younger lovers had made their plans for the night. One party was going to the Venetian Restaurant, and my other guests were going to visit Alan and his staff at the Gilson Theatre in Winsted to enjoy dinner and a movie. Both couples were from the Woodbury area, so I was happy they were coming to Torrington to spend money within our community.
I went to see my Mom, gave her a kiss and wished her a Happy Valentine's Day, and then my pondering on how to spend the rest of the evening was over. My favorite band when I was in high school was playing on this cold Valentine's Day night at the University of Hartford in West Hartford, and I decided to attend. The venue was the wonderful Millard Auditorium, where a full house of 500 people saw a great opening act called Mad Agnes, who are fabulous. Then we were all treated to almost two hours of wonderful music from Aztec Two-Step. This event was put on by Music for a Change and was very well organized—thanks in part to a great guy named Irwin Nussbaum, Director of the Center for Community Service at the University of Hartford.
I arrived a little early, as I am not familiar with this area close to the Bloomfield line in West Hartford. I cruised the campus looking for the auditorium and stumbled about the dorms, where there were hundreds of college kids celebrating their night in the cold in a way that would make even John Belushi smile. But there seemed to be no college kids at this show, and that was quite alright with me.
If you are between the ages of 40 and 60 you know the name of Aztec Two-Step, the pioneers of music who made you "listen, think, laugh and cry." Rex and Neal have maintained their zest and their ability to play and sing even after 30-plus years together. It was one of the longer shows I have seen them perform—and I have been following them for many years. They have separate careers now, as Rex is quite a golf professional in the greater Hartford area; he also runs a music agency and has had a successful solo career—his CD Gettysburg is awesome! I believe Neal also runs a music agency in New York City, or is involved with one.
As I have no problem striking up a conversation with people I do not know, I sat with and enjoyed the company of a very nice couple from Haddam. I am sure I was not the only 45-year-old person (male or female, give or take ten years) who was alone on Valentine's night. There are a lot of us. I look at it this way: while this year I did not have the opportunity of having a female companion, I had the second best thing—a night of music with Aztec Two-Step.
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