The Bangles kicked off their set at this year’s Kern County Fair with their cover of one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel classics “Hazy Shade of Winter.” ?It was that surprise that started off the night with a true bang, especially since their version was a pop and upbeat version of the folk original.
The Budweiser Pavilion was nearly full 30 minutes before the show got started. As the three members of the Bangles got on stage, the audience members, who were very diverse in age, appeared thrilled and soon the Pavilion was booming with cheers and of course the sounds of Bangles’ originals. The current members who make up the band are Susanna Hoffs, and sisters Debbie and Vicki Peterson. However, the fourth member, Michael Steele, appeared to be absent from the evening’s set and replaced by a male bassist.
The women, now all mothers and in their 40s, looked amazing in mini skirts while cooling fans on the stage blew their hair back. This, as well as the multicolored light sequence that corresponded to the beat of the music, all worked perfectly in unison throughout the show. During the concert, underneath the stage, there was a very animated woman enthusiastically signing the lyrics of every song in American Sign Language.
“Wait until we get to ‘Walk like an Egyptian,’ and then you’ll really be in trouble!” joked guitarist Vicki Peterson because the women of the Bangles revealed some of their personality to the audience during the show by joking and telling a bit of a story about each song, both their covers and originals.
The show ended with their biggest hit, “Walk Like an Egyptian.”?Everyone in the audience enjoyed this, especially the children who were not shy following along with the dance moves along with some of the more outgoing adults.