On Saturday night, mowed crop fields became parking lots, boats anchored in tidal creeks became outdoor box seats, and a plantation pasture became a makeshift amphitheatre as Boone Hall Plantation hosted The Village People and KC and The Sunshine Band as part of its summer concert series. Like a scene from “Field of Dreams,” people came through the front gate and rolled through the dusty hall of oaks, past the old slave quarters, in front of the master mansion, out into an old cotton field where they parked their vehicles and made their way on foot, carrying blankets through the woods and over a boardwalk through chirping marshes until they reached the stage. The bands, though older by decades and retaining only a few original members, can still sing and dance, and so can the generation of fans that grew up grooving to their disco and funk tunes in bellbottoms?and platform shoes.?The Village People took the stage with an hour to sundown and fired up the crowd with classic hits like “Macho Man,” “In San Francisco,” “In The Navy” and, of course, “YMCA.” The band consists of six men clad in various costumes, dancing hilariously: a Native American in feathered headdress; a construction worker in a sleeveless flannel shirt, jeans and orange hardhat; a G.I. in full camo; a biker in leather and chains; a cowboy in a black stetson and unbuttoned flannel; and a ponytailed cop with knee-high leather boots. Besides their most famous hits, the band played two more recent songs: "Trash Disco," a medley of many disco-era hits, and "Take My Breath Away," a solo by original member David Hodo.
Despite the past-their-prime status of the bands, the show brought in visitors of all age groups.
Calle Hydrick and Erin Samuelson, both college students from Mount Pleasant, said they came with a group of friends to "put on our boogie shoes and do the YMCA."
Siblings Christina and Juan Carlos Faust, 20 and 19 respectively, also of Mount Pleasant, came to the show with their parents.
"I thought it would be fun to see all the different age groups," said Juan Carlos, seated beside his sister on a table near a placid creek, where boaters watched the show through low oak branches dripping with moss.
"Plus these bands were so iconic in their time," he said. "It's a good concert to come to with our family," added Christina.
A few tables away sat Daryl Metts, who runs a 900-acre cotton farm in Douglas, Georgia, and his wife Becky. The couple came to the show to celebrate their 37th anniversary.
"KC and the Sunshine Band started the year we got married," Daryl said, smiling at his wife.
"The 70's were of a time of really good music."
A brief intermission followed The Village People and then, as the sun went down over the plantation marshes, KC and the Sunshine Band took to the stage.
KC, his hairline now receding and his belly protruding, interrupted his singing to tell the crowd a few "old-age" jokes.
"I'm 59 years old," he yelled at the crowd.
"I don't even know if that's the way I like it anymore," he said, punning the title of his popular song.
"Now I know what you're thinking," he went on, glancing down at his bulging belly, "It's KFC and the Sunshine Band!"
Only KC and his drummer, Fermin Goytisolo, remain from the original group, and the set featured two drumsets, an electric guitar, keyboard, and a full brass set with two trumpets, a trombone, and a saxophone.
Also, perhaps to restore to the Sunshine Band a little youthful glow, KC now performs with four female backup dancers, one of which sang a duet with KC.
The band played its classic hits, including "That's the Way," "Get Down Tonight," "Keep it Comin Love," and "Boogie Shoes," which was featured in the iconic dance film "Saturday Night Fever," starring John Travolta, as well as a cover of John Mayer's hit "Say What You Need to Say," and their energy carried through the crowd like an electric current.
"They're still tight, they sound good," said Chuck Anton, who served food Saturday with caterering company 82 Queen. Anton, 57, said he remembered hearing KC's music in dance clubs when he got out of the military in the winter of 1974.
"It's a good show--good vibes, good atmosphere. I haven't seen any rowdiness," he said. After playing the crowd favorite, "Get Down Tonight," KC took a moment to remember Americans serving overseas and those struggling with the Gulf oil spill, and then broke into a funky version of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Backstage after the show, KC informed Moultrie News that his business partner of 18 years, Howard Gatch, is a native of James Island, and regarding the show he said it was a great crowd but that he felt hindered by the Lowcountry humidity.
"It was so hot I feel like I didn't connect the way I wanted to," KC said. "It was draining me a little bit; I was giving it my all but it was just not coming across the way I wanted it to," he said.

Click here for more photos from the event!
(Chris McCandlish can be reached at news@moultrienews.com. Visit www.moultrienews.com to see more stories).