The Fab Four

It is quite hard to believe that it was 43 years ago that John Lennon was shot and killed outside the Dakota apartments in NY.  So many of us were in shock.  How could this happen?  Answer– a deranged fan with easy access to a weapon. It is the plague that continues to destroy our country.  On a much happier note, this past Wednesday my wife and I got to go here the Fab Four re-create on the original instruments the wonderful music of the Beatles with the whole audience singing along.  It was magical.  The Fab Four are what is usually called a tribute band— they look like the Beatles, they talk like the Beatles, they dress like the Beatles, they serve up Beatle-like humor, and they ooze the joy it is to play the Beatles music and play it well— with excellent timing and harmony. In this particular show, they did the whole of Rubber Soul (the British version of the lp which had extra songs that in America were thrown into a separate lp so greedy Capitol records could make more money).  Then they did greatest hits early and late.   We ended by all singing  Hey Jude until the cows came home.   Here are a few shots of the concert—- you will notice that the dude playing John looks a lot like him, and is in fact the only man in the band who is a Brit— from Newcastle no less. He certainly doesn’t have to fake the accent, although Gordie is a long way from Liverpudlian.

‘John’ came out dressed as above and did standup Beatle’s style for a few minutes and it was funny— for example he squinted out at the audience and asked ‘why are all you teenagers dressed up like your parents?’  The crowd was overwhelmingly my age or nearly so.

Here he is in his Sgt. Pepper suit…

And here’s George of course…. ‘the quiet one’

And Paul…..

It was difficult to get a close up of Ringo as he was in semi-darkness on a platform in the back, but here they all are.

It was heartening to see parents with their children and even grandchildren at this concert…. we should have sung ‘When I’m 64’. Probably the very best and most impressive performance was of A Day in the Life, from the end of Sgt. Peppers— this is difficult and they nailed it, as they did so many other songs.   Since seeing the real Beatles is quite impossible now, this is a very good substitute, and done in a way that honors the original artists and their artistry.  Not bad for one Brit, and three lads from the west coast of the U.S.   Cheers!!