Monday, November 11, 2013

Date 105 - Rock On!

Date: Sunday, November 3, 2013
Type: Out On The Town, Culture
Cost: $$
Planned By: Both

Cleveland is known for being the birthplace of Rock and Roll. DJ, Alan Freed,  popularized the genre by playing this type of music and coined the phrase Rock and Roll. I'm a fan of Rock and Roll, and took two classes on its history while in college. Surprisingly, neither Adam or I had ever been to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame! Until now...
 
We walked over to the Rock Hall after lunch in the chilly but nice weather. We got a discount for being Cleveland residents (but its still a pretty expensive admission price). 
We did a self tour and started in the largest area, the lower level. There were intereactive listening exhibits with legends and early influences for rock n' roll. There was also many areas for individual artists like Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, the Beach Boys and The Beatles. One of the coolest areas was cities and sounds, where there were all the main cities with tons of memorabilia and information about how they influenced the genre. There was even a room filled with information about Cleveland and how it influenced Rock n' Roll.  We also sat in the theater for a little bit and watched clips from Dick Clark's American Band Stand.
On level two we read about the architects of rock n' roll including; Les Paul, Alan Freed and Sam Phillips. They had a small exhibit for Video Killed the Radio star where many TVs were playing different music videos. One of my favorite interactive listening exhibits was the One Hit Wonder station, also on this level. 
Level Three included the inductee information. There was the glow in the dark inductee signature wall, a TV with induction nights and exhibits about the new inductees. There was also a theater with a video about the induction to the hall of fame, but we didn't stick around to watch it because it was so long.
Next, up on level four we listened to the Hall of Fame jukebox. It had so many songs from singers and groups inducted in the Hall of Fame. We also sat in the Foster Theater and watched a videotaped live performance of the Rolling Stones. Then we went over to The Wall. It was a really cool exhibit and we read about Pink Floyd and their production and making of it.
Levels five and six were all about the 50 years of Satisfaction of the Rolling Stones. There were a lot of cool things in this exhibit. Lots of guitars and other instruments used in performances. There were also ​many stage outfits that were quite scandalous. We read about how they became famous, their influence and also their drug problems. The Rolling Stones were very rebellious, but no one can say they didn't have a huge and amazing influence on music!
We ended with level one and the only exhibit down there was Right Here Right Now. There were only a few things to see like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Rihanna stage or video outfits, and some guitars from various groups. 
To keep up with the theme, for dinner we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Tower City. Adam and I have been to many Hard Rocks around the world (Paris, Sydney, Cancun, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, NYC, etc.), and its really cool to have one down the street from where we live. Adam got a burger, and I got the Texan pulled pork sandwich. It was a great meal. Afterward we got a shot glass to add to our Hard Rock Cafe collection. 
Overall, this date was great! We had this date planned for a long time, but never got the chance do it. I'm so happy we finally found time because it was definitely worth the experience! 

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