concert reviews, when they get down to it, can be summed up in about three or four words -- "you shoulda gone," or "i shoulda stayed home."as the classical mystery tour is in the middle of a two-night stand with the west virginia symphony orchestra, mine will be even more abbreviated.
"go."
if you're a fan of the music of john, paul, george and ringo, you will love this show.
i've never seen a beatles tribute band before last night, and i suppose i won't want to watch another. i'm almost certain none other will compare.
the problem for another band won't be a lack of vocal chops or musicianship; it's going to be production.
working as they did with producer george martin, whose background with emi records was in classical music, the beatles benefited greatly from his knowledge in how to make orchestras work.
four other fellows armed only with drums, guitars and bass would be hard-pressed to do justice to the catalog without the backing of a symphony orchestra.
the program advanced more or less chronologically, with nods to lennon and mccartney's work after the band's demise.
the orchestra's opening medley set that tone, from early hits to last works.
then the band came on stage as the mop-topped, savile row-suited quartet that led the 1960s british invasion. from our vantage up in the cheap seats, it made a pretty good illusion of, say, the way they looked on their first ed sullivan appearance.
their first number wisely made use of their orchestral setting with the horn section burst from "got to get you into my life" with uptempo vocals and able guitar work -- the perfect mix of transitional beatles as they added instrumentation to their oeuvre.
tony kishman did a fair "paul" impression and david john hit the right marks with his "george" guitar accents. along with jim owen as "john" and "ringo" chris camilleri, their harmonies and look clearly evoked the lads from liverpool.having established the partnership with the symphony, the group ripped through earlier work and finishing with "yesterday" before their first costume change.
the group emerged next in full "sgt. pepper" regalia for a set of the band's more psychedelic and introspective works.
as highlights, the collaboration of rock band and orchestra seemed to reach its full fruition in their renditions of "sgt. pepper" and "a day in the life." the merger of nimble pluck and full swell created a great, crashing wave of sound and melody that was absolutely exhilarating.
oddly, my favorite part of this portion came during "penny lane." i think the entire audience watched the trumpet break on the bridge.
listening to a recording, it seems such a simple, straightforward line, but for some reason, in concert it stood out like a familiar friend in a crowd.
as he played, i wondered if the trumpeter was thinking "i'm playing the trumpet part in 'penny lane'!" the audience actually applauded the solo and gave him extra applause when he stood to be recognized after the song.
the band changed costumes again after intermission, strolling out in the group's waning "abbey road" and "let it be" incarnations.
here, compared to the high energy of the first half, the program seemed to flag, not for want of performance so much as by the selection of the group's mid-tempo work from this period.
the set got a pick-up from a mccartney solo effort for the james bond movie "live and let die." full of big screen drama and driving orchestration, the number provided a glimpse into the energy of the big finale.
("john" got to answer with his own solo in a lovely rendition of "imagine," confirming my sense that he was the strongest of the four in vocally recreating his beatles counterpart.)
the show closed with the three-song suite at the end of "abbey road" -- "golden slumbers/carry that weight/the end" -- in a tight, powerful performance that brought the crowd to its feet.
(kris and her buddy heidi, in town for a visit, got no small amusement from watching me air-guitar the ax battle between "john" and "george," probably the closest thing the beatles ever got to a conventional classic rock band in simply rocking the house.)
the crowd brought the performers out for three encores and probably would have listened all night if they could.
i've been lucky enough to attend a number of symphony shows with enthusiastic audiences. but this combination rock show/symphony performance brought out something in the crowd i'd never seen before.
i'd say it was the familiarity with the material that brought them in, but i think the manner in which it was presented made the people want to stay, listen, absorb and love it.
sure it was a pops show, but i'll probably never attend a symphony performance again where i can say i knew all the selections in the program. (and i can unequivocally say i'll never attend one where i can watch little old ladies out of their seats and doing the "twist and shout.")
tickets are relatively cheap.
go.
