No panties thrown but ...

The four guys on the makeshift stage didn't exactly look like the four famous skinny Brits but they sure sounded enough like them to keep the crowd smiling.

"Did you see that girl slow dancing with herself?" WannaBeatles lead singer Dennis Scott asked the mostly mature crowd at the Music & Memories benefit concert Thursday night at the Fifty Forward Martin Center.

Turns out Martin Center masseuse Kathy McFarlane, dressed in her '60s best, just couldn't stop herself. But most in the audience seemed content to sway in their chairs. Scott seemed a little disappointed that "no underwear is being thrown at us."

It really was a fun night and one that raised much-needed funds for the senior enrichment center. You see, the beautiful facility in the heart of affluent Brentwood suffers from a perception problem. People think it, and its members, are flush with cash. Not so. So fundraising is always a struggle.

If you have some extra funds to disburse, consider a visit to the center. There you can talk to the staff, volunteers and members and maybe throw a few of those extra ones, or hundreds, or thousands, its way.

And if you weren't at last night's concert, here's a taste of what you missed (to the tune of "Yesterday"):

Creme Brulee
I signed up for Jennie Craig today
They said as I was being weighed
"You've had too much Creme Brulee."

You have another chance to hear them June 28 at Crockett Park as part of the city's Summer Concert Series.

Sweet!

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Busy Thursday and beyond

It's time to get out your calendar, Blackberry, whatever and mark down some important times and dates. For starters, here are a few opportunities you may want to consider on Thursday:

• Want to hear the nitty gritty about what the city commission will discuss at its next meeting? Then the 9 a.m. City Commission Information Meeting is for you. It takes place at the Brentwood Municipal Building's board room, 5211 Maryland Way. And a gentle reminder that the regular commission meeting has been moved to next Tuesday, May 26, because of Memorial Day.


• Another informational meeting, this one to discuss the possible formation of "Brentwood Future," a group that reportedly is shaping itself after the non-profit Franklin Tomorrow (http://www.franklintomorrow.org/), is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Organized by local architect Walter Kiskaddon, AIA, this one takes place at the opposite end of the municipal building in the Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce offices. I've put out emails to several people on the invite list and hopefully will have more information and thoughts about it soon.


• After the Brentwood Future meeting, you can switch gears and have a little fun at the Music and Memories at the Martin benefit concert featuring the WannaBeatles (see yesterday's post for details and the Top 10 reasons you should go).

Looking further out, at 6 p.m. June 9, the Environmental Quality Coordinating Committee is hosting a "public input session" designed to gather input and ideas from people like you and me interested in environmental issues affecting the Brentwood community. In the meantime, please go ahead and participate in an online survey the committee has designed to help get feedback from city residents. You'll find it at www.brentwood-tn.org/greensurvey. I'll have more on this meeting closer to the actual date.

And finally, Mayor Betsy Crossley tells me she's asked City Manager Mike Walker to schedule a meeting on June 18 for Town Center land and business owners as well as any else interested in the area's redevelopment. While she cannot attend Thursday's Brentwood Future meeting (she had already committed to volunteer at The Martin Center), she tells me "I don't want to stop any dialog about Town Center. Let's keep the dialog moving forward."
Should have more details on this meeting next week if not sooner.

Top 10 Reasons to be at Music & Memories

Now, some may ask: Why should I pay to see the WannaBeatles at the FiftyForward Martin Center Thursday night when I can see them for free on June 28th at Crockett Park?

Let us count the reasons....

1. Because you can!

2. Over the past three years, the Music and Memories at the Martin benefit concert has proven to be a fundraiser worth far more than its very affordable ticket price (a mere $35).

3. Can you spell M-O-S-Q-U-I-T-O-E-S?

4. Because I'm four months from turning 50, the age you can officially become a Martin Center member (FiftyForward, get it?) so I'm taking this ticket promotion task seriously!

5. Because Martin Center's executive director Joyce Keistler is a great lady who needs to keep her job.

6. At the Martin Center, you'll be sitting in an intimate audience instead of contending with all those pesky teenagers at the park.

7. Did we mention that Mallory Lane Wine and Spirits is one of the concert's sponsors, the operative word here being wine?

8. There are only two real Beatles left but at the Martin Center you can hear four of them.

9. Because two WannaBeatles concerts are better than one.

10. And finally, because you wannabe!

Tickets for Thursday's concert are only $35 and can be purchased at the center, 960 Heritage Way, just north of Concord Road. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7. For more information, call 376-0102.

For more information on the center, visit http://www.themartincentertn.org/.