Good to see John, George, Paul and Ringo again...
It has been quite a while since I last saw the Beatles in concert.
It was 1965 in San Diego.
I was working as a staff photographer for the Union-Tribune newspapers and used my press pass to enter the downtown rather small football stadium for the evening show.
I had covered the press conference that morning when they first arrived in town. It was a stop on their way up to Los Angeles.
The paper a while back did a "50 years ago" recap story and used some of my morning photos..and even included my
Photo By Chuck Boyd byline.
My more recent time with the
Fab Four was a few nights ago when this widely-acclaimed Tribute Troupe came to the Charleston Music Hall.
The talented foursome said they had been in Florida the night before and would be in the Raleigh-Durham area next. Part of their Southern Tour.
We all were invited to tag along. I was really tempted..they were that good.
The evening started when the spotlight shone on "Ed Sullivan" and he introduced the talented performers we all were there to see and hear.
They did not disappoint.
("Sullivan" also did a fair comic impression of "Tricky" Dick Nixon. Hmmm, had not seen the resemblance before.)
Ringo set the beat and the show kicked off with early Beatles hits like "Love Me Do," "I wanna Hold Your Hand," and other "bubble gum" wonders.
Actually, that was closer to the 32-minute show I had covered in San Diego 54 years ago.
But, this time you could hear the lyrics without the screaming emotional young girls!
I was seated in the 8th row this night so had a good view of the overall stage with projected actual Beatles crowds and reaction images as a backdrop.
Added a lot to the show.
Later, toward the end, we were invited to come on down close to the stage.
I sprinted forward because no "real" cameras were allowed and I was using my cellphone one which did a manageable job for the evening.
We were informed that these four young men were actually playing each instrument, sang with similar voices and really looked the part.
Also, we were told there were no recordings, hidden tapes or CDs.
The last mention caused the man playing Paul to ask aloud
"Eh, so wot's a CD?"
A rare moment when they stepped out of well-trained character but it got the expected laugh.
Others humorous reactions happened when "Sullivan" remarked about "all the young people in the audience."
Looking around at all the gray hair and bald heads, it obviously was a comment the real Ed Sullivan made back in the 1960s.
But there was a large family seated near me that qualified as young and who were very much moved by the music.
The two youngest stood and danced for most of the nearly 2-hour show.
Ah, Youth and stamina!
There was a tender moment when "John" sang about "Give Peace a chance."
He was wearing the white suit often seen on the original Beatle and dramatic lighting culminated in forming a word that epitomized his intent.
There were other moving reminders of the loss of two key members of the original group.
Lennon and George Harrison performed songs closely affiliated with them.
The audience was totally in tune with the intent of the evening to bring back warm memories.
A costume change produced long applause to salute the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band and even moments of life in a Yellow Submarine.
The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has a widely recognized album cover that depicts several dozen celebrities and other images.
... It was created by Jann Haworth and Peter Blake, who in 1967 won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts for their work on it.
Here George and John team up for a colorful reminder of how great the album was.
And the imaginative outfits produced for it.
When we were invited to come closer, there was a lot of good-natured mugging for the cameras - er - cellphones.
I had seen Sir Paul McCartney twice in recent years, performing with an energy level that answered the question: "Will you still love me when I'm 64?"
This man's version of Paul McCartney added charm and chuckles to the evening.
We all had a chance to get up close and I even held up my palm to receive an offered guitar pick.
I was forgetting for the moment these men were recreating an era from long ago.
(I do have picks handed to me by Buddy Guy, BB King, and c.d.lang.)
All in all, it was a fun, fanciful evening at the Charleston Music Hall.
In a few days, I will be there again to enjoy another evening with The Taj Mahal Trio.
Don't think it's hard to see that I am a supporter of live music.
Doing my share to keep 'em coming by being part of an appreciative audience.
(Click on the photos and links for more details.)
Thanks for coming with me to an evening of live music and great memories. I wish us all many more.
Labels: #CMH, Fab Four Tribute band, George & Ringo, John, Paul, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Band, The Beatles, Wanna Hold Your Hand
DIGNITY on stage, above all else...
OK. I understand showmanship.
It's "all part of the act."
It demonstrates a side of the performer not quite perceived at first.
A well-rounded person has many aspects.
Performers "do what hits them" at the moment.
Unconventional often is entertaining.
All of this describes
St. Paul and the Broken Bones..
He opened on a darkened stage and a spotlight showed him wearing a priestly cape.
The rest of the soul-searing sextet were arrayed behind him in this very dramatic start to a curious evening
There were songs from Paul Janeway's first album Half Of The City and the newest SEA OF NOISE.
But, I was waiting for the Zany to start.
I first saw St. Paul at the relatively small club The Pour House, just a few years after they had formed in 2011.
Impressed by the raw energy of this smiling/grinning young version of James Brown, I enjoyed the Southern-fried Soul and Gospel-soaked goodness of his vocals.
I planned to keep an eye on this guy.
Next thing I knew he was opening for the Rolling Stones in Atlanta!
I was there in the audience and saw how well-received he was as he reminded the huge crowd they were from Birmingham, Alabama.
I also enjoyed Mick and the Stones.
This was night number two at the sold out Charleston Music Hall.
Previously I had seen him there and he threw his shoes into the aisle and crawled on his hands and knees to retrieve them. Then, he walked atop arm rests back to the stage.
That was quirky.
This night he threw one gold shoe back over his shoulder, dropped to
his knees and crawled backward under the draped space beneath the drummer's riser.
There he found a stash of fresh fruit and a red apple shot out toward the front of the stage.
That was followed by a yellow banana that he peeled as he emerged, taking a bite and squishing the rest in his hand.
Messy!
He was already prone as he crawled out, so no chance of slipping on the peel.
It was dangling from his hand as he dragged his right knee through the mushy mess.
A lady in the audience offered him a t-shirt to clean his slippery hands and face as he began to sing again.
(Frankly, I don't recall if he was singing during the previous backward crawl and fruit-tossing action.The visuals filled my consciousness.)
He finished the show and came out for an encore
"I won't sing one song...I'll do FOUR," he announced.
The crowd had stood for most of the show and applauded his intent to give a little bit more of his shake and sweat evening.
No other fruit was introduced and Paul joked that some crew or band members had surprised him with the fruit when he did his crawl.
I had kept my camera ready for any more surprises.
And I was rewarded when he finished his last song, stooped down and started ripping up the gold-colored carpet that had been taped down before the show started.
He thanked us for coming as he fashioned a "cape" and wrapped it around him as he exited stage right to an appreciative -though startled - crowd.
I am so glad there were no restrictions on photography that night!
(Click on the images and links for more details.)
The CMH has exploded with hundreds of shows the last few years under the guidance of Executive Director
Charles Carmody.
Thanks, Charles, this evening had a lot of a peell
Labels: # Paul Janeway, #Atlanta Rolling Stones, #Birmingham Alabama, #carpet cape, #Charles Carmody, #Charleston Music Hall, #CMH, #Half of the City album, #Sea of Noise album, #St. Paul and the Broken Bones
