We were lucky to catch Peter Paul & Mary at the State Theater last night. I first remember them from my teens, when they were leading the Peace March in Washington, and they were marching with Dr. King - and their songs like "Blowin" In The Wind" were essentially the musical soundtrack of the protests.

As you can see from the photo, they don't look quite the same as you may remember - a tall willowy blond with long flowing hair and bangs, bookended by tall darkhaired men with goatees. Yes, they're older, and yes they're sitting, and yes (what you may not be able to discern in the photo) Mary Travers is on oxygen.

In '04 Mary was diagnosed with leukemia, since then has had a bone marrow transplant, and though fortunate to be alive has suffered damage to her lungs, thus the oxygen. And at 73, still has the gumption and guts to perform. OK, she is no longer has that iconic long blonde hair that flowed with every twist of her neck, but what she does have is readily apparent on songs like "If I Had A Hammer", where her voice just shines.

It was great to see them, and great to see how they were able to still work together and perform so well, given challenges that might easily prevent most people from going on the road at all.

So we got to hear, "Puff The Magic Dragon", "Leavin' On A Jet Plane", "If I Had A Hammer", "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" and two and a half hours of other stuff, and I got to sing "This Land Is Your Land" with them (well, actually me and about 2,500 other people).

It was really bittersweet to see them, all now in their 70's, Mary struggling with her health - if you can find a way, see them soon.

tags: music