Concerts, like dimly lit chandeliers, are more impressive outdoors and are more enchanting when adorned with strategically placed glow sticks. Gawk at radiance with this GrouponLive deal to the California Music Festival, featuring KC & the Sunshine Band, at the Greek Theatre on Sunday, May 20, at 6 p.m. For $15, you get one ticket for seating in section C (up to a $79.25 value, including ticketing fees).
Throughout the 1970s, KC & the Sunshine Band soundtracked countless nights of disco balls spinning and bellbottoms flapping with hits such as "That's The Way (I Like It)" and "I'm Your Boogie Man." Each cut teems with upstroke guitar intermingling with celebratory bursts from the horn section and the full-bodied tenor of frontman Harry Wayne "K.C." Casey. Whether he's telling the audience to get down on that very night or shake their collective booty, K.C. gleefully belts partying orders like a drill sergeant at a singles mixer as he claps and patrols the Greek's outdoor stage. The pine trees of Griffith Park tower over his funk collective while they blast their hook-laden cuts and infectious optimism into the night.
An all-star opening lineup further buries ears in the sounds of the '70s, with Heatwave bringing celestial harmonies to romantic grooves including "Boogie Nights" and "Always and Forever." Cheryl Lynn, best known for her brassy hit "Got To Be Real," struts across the stage backed by slap bass and galloping keyboards, and R & B chanteuses Thelma Houston and Maxine Nightingale perform solo sets of their own. Proceeds from the California Music Festival will benefit several local AIDS charities.