‘A Night at the Museum’ – Did we just go through a time warp?!?

If you walked into Front Royal’s Virginia Beer Museum, Saturday evening, June 26, you may have experienced a flashback – to the 1970s and ’80s. It was a fashion-themed evening recalling those decades that also hosted a birthday party or parties, whose guests appeared locked into the theme. And a musical backdrop in the well-air-conditioned first floor’s George Washington Room was provided by Boo Snider, whose mix of originals and classic rock covers flowed seamlessly through the ’70s and ’80s, among others, on a musical trip across the decades.

In fact, a promised Snider cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” led to the retrieving of one patron’s, circa 1969-1970-ish poster for Child, an 18-year-old Springsteen-led Asbury Park band. The poster noted the New Jersey band’s two-night-stand “Sept. 19-20” at “The Center” featuring an “Aireflow light show”, in Richmond, Virginia, near the VCU campus, at a cover charge of $2-dollars. – Those were the days, my friend …

Boo Snider hovers over ‘Child’ poster featuring a 17 or 18-year-old New Jersey rocker named Bruce. – Yes, that scruffy-haired guitarist is ‘The Boss’ Bruce Springsteen, pictured on an earlier visit to Richmond, playing in Monroe Park. Below, Snider’s promised cover of ‘Dancing in the Dark’ with a visual reference attracts the attention of DJ Jani (and George Washington). Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

And as the evening progressed and the birthday party(s), along with other patrons gravitated outside with cooling temperatures and an end to the indoor entertainment, a very-‘70’s themed vibe first expressed by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, seemed to take hold – “Free your (backside) and your mind will follow” – with a recorded musical backdrop provided by Eric Bartok:

Talk about dancing in the dark – ‘Totally Awesome’ from any perspective

AC/DC off the shoulder and ‘stylishly’ sliced jeans, open shirt, and headband – I’d vote for that ticket if it were 1970, 1980 or so.

Another Bruce’s ‘80’s look was driving the girls wild.

The top costumed girl competition goes to a dance off

‘They say it’s your birthday, it’s my birthday too’ – No, wait, that was The Beatles, so that’s a ‘60s musical reference. – But hey, without the ‘60s, the ‘70s could never have happened.

Handling the later evening outdoor soundtrack duties, Erik tries to teach the girls ‘The Fly’ – Wait, that was the ‘60’s too, so maybe he’s just trying to teach them to fly.