Featured Blogs From the Past: SIX of TEN

I remember taking piano  lessons when I was a kid.  I remember writing my own songs at the age of seven or eight.  What I remember most, though, was that my piano teacher gave up teaching when she had a child.  The new teacher, in a dark, upstairs room overlooking the Ozark square, was about 90 years old, had rotting teeth, and ancient, wrinkled hands.  I never took another lesson.  Rare is the parent who can spot talent in a child.  Rarer still is the parent who can inspire a child to actively pursue their talent.  So, kudos to Arnold and (the late) Joyce Knudsen, the parents of Barry, Kevin,  Lynn, Jak, Owen, and Curtis Knudsen, better known as the Knudsen Brothers, or simply Six.

Six is comprised of the six oldest Knudsen Brothers (six of ten boys, no sisters); the four younger brothers are actively involved in the business, but do not perform on stage.  Six is back in Branson again this year, and are still at the Hughes Brothers’ Theater on West 76, less than a half mile west of the Titanic.  My wife and I took our grandson, Peyton, and our granddaughter, Marisa to the show.  It was a sell-out show, and we arrived late, so we were in the back row of the balcony, but even from there, the show was enjoyable.  Honestly, it was a hoot.

When my wife first suggested that we see Six, three years ago, I was not enthused.  The idea of an a cappella group didn’t thrill me.  Think Barbershop.  But, Six is as far removed from Barbershop music as The Black Eyed Peas are from Buddy Holly.  Six is truly enjoyable, and their show this year is even better than last years.

When one first hears Six, one wonders how they can harmonize so well.  Then, one wonders how the percussionist can do that “mouth thing” so well, for so long.  Then the next thing one thinks is, “How can they make it sound like they are backed by a band, when there are really no instruments?”  Then, one stops thinking about it, and simply enjoys the show.

The Knudsens give a nod to Sinatra, the Beach Boys, and to the songs they grew up with, and a good time is had by all, even my four and five year old grandchildren.  Even me.  This is one of my wife’s two favorite Branson shows, and in my top ten.  To my wife, Kathy, this is a show is a “MUST SEE.”

Featured Blogs From the Past: Brule’ – Branson’s Most Unique Show

The 2010 Season has opened in Branson, and my wife and I are once again dragging our grandkids to see all the shows, and reviewing them for you.

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When I was a maybe ten years old, my mother and step-dad took me to the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds for an Indian powwow.  I remember it like yesterday.  Last night, my wife and I took Peyton, our five year old Grandson, to see Brule’, at the RFD-TV Theater in Branson, and I suspect that, forty years from now, he will remember it as well as I remember that powwow.  Brule is like nothing else you will see in Branson.  It’s roots are not in the Ozark Mountains, but in the Great Plains of South Dakota.  One will find no hillbilles, or toothless humorists.   There is no country music at Brule’, and there are no cowboys, only Indians.

Brule’ was the inspiration of Paul LaRoche, a Lakota Sioux who has lived an incredible journey with one leg in the white man’s world, and one leg in the world of Kul Wicasa Oyate, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.  Given up for adoption at birth, LaRoche grew up without any idea who his real parents were, or what his heritage was.  Once he discovered his Lakotan heritage, LaRoche embraced it.  His Native American heritage gave his music direction, and for the past fifteen years, LaRoche has shared his incredible journey through his music, in the form of Brule’.

To try to describe Brule’ is like trying to describe the sunset; one can describe the colors, or the clouds, or the hue that is cast by the fading light, but unless one experiences it, one can never know the beauty.  LaRoche, who plays keyboards, is the group’s anchor and host as he guides us through the story of his life, but the show is not a drama.  I have heard Brule’ described as a rock opera, and Paul’s son, Shane (lead guitarist), plays some screaming riffs, but the group cannot be called a rock band.  Paul’s daughter, Nichole plays classical flute, but the group cannot be described as classical.  Brule’ defies description.

So, put away any preconceptions, drive to the west end of Branson’s strip, and prepare for a uniquely memorable experience.  If you like rock music, if you like new age music, if you love the pulse of the earth as interpreted through authentic Native American drums (hewn from the trunk of a cottonwood tree and covered in buffalo hide), if you love the Native American culture,  if you love to be entertained, then you will love Brule’.  An integral part of the show are the traditional and fancy dancers, who perform an incredible eagle dance, a buffalo dance, a chicken dance, and a courtship dance.  The show would be incomplete without these performers, but as it is, Brule’ is one of the best shows in Branson.

Here for the entire season (plus a Christmas show), Brule’ is a “must-see” at RFD-TV Theater.  The show plays at 8 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays, (3 and 8 PM, Wed-Sat).  RFD-TV Theater sits on the corner of the Hwy 76 strip, and Shepherd of the Hills Expressway, next to the Butterfly Palace.