You did ask!
Posted: 27 Jun 2010, 12:23
Up early here to watch the conclusion of WWII. The Americans have left early this time! Go England!
Actually this post is a response to this topic: http://www.cbfsim.org/cbfsim/cbfsBB/vie ... =8&t=19718 “You must let us know what you thought when the time comes”
So here are my thought on ‘Rain – A Beatles Tribute Band’ My daughter brought me tickets for this event for my birthday back in May and last night we attended the concert, which was held at Wolf Trap Farm Park, a beautiful setting about 8 miles from where I live. The venue is an open air auditorium with a roof and open sides. You can also sit on the lawn outside and watch. The auditorium is surrounded by several acres of parkland and we arrived with a picnic in hand. Fortunately, it had cooled down a little by that hour. It has been over 33C for the last eight days (and today we may hit 36C) We picked a spot to picnic (beer and subs from the local deli) under the welcome shade of some very large trees.
‘Rain’ performed to a sold-out house and are very entertaining. They did numbers from the entire Beatles repertory with several costume changes to capture the several phases of the originals career. With modern technology, a fifth member of the group was offstage with who knows what gadgetry so the group could perform songs the Beatles could only perform in the studio. Strawberry Fields was complete with the backwards tape loop ending. We had balcony seats so were far enough away that the illusion was sustained because I could not see their facial details, but it was obvious immediately that the bass (Paul) was right handed, unlike the real deal.
However, “Sir Paul” was especially convincing when singing. Performing “Yesterday” he sounded exactly like the real McCartney and “John” was also excellent in the Lennon numbers.. “George” kept doing the little dance Harrison would do – almost to the point of overdoing it. Musically they were very good. I did notice the odd drumming change on some songs and on “A Hard Days Night” the initial chord sounded to be at least a minor third lower than it should have been, but that is all nit picking.
Their on stage patter was very convincing, even if their Scouse wouldn’t convince many Liverpudlians. I am sure most of the Colonials present were convinced though. At one point, they asked for anyone under eighteen to stand up and to my amazement there were many. I had not noticed before but the entire row behind us consisted of teenage girls, fortunately all very well behaved. The Beatles music really does span the generations.
It has been 44 years since I saw the real Beatles perform and ‘Rain’ brought back many fond memories of growing up with the originals. I can tell you that was a great time to be a Brit in America as far as attracting the birds! I managed to hang on to my "accent" for several years just for that purpose and, like nearly every other guy in school, let my hair grow until the assistant principle insisted it be cut. The Beatles were a huge influence on my generation.
My daughter was concerned when she gave me the tickets that it might be a bit corny. Maybe it was, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and thanked her for a great gift.
Dave, aren’t you sorry you asked now?
Nigel²
Actually this post is a response to this topic: http://www.cbfsim.org/cbfsim/cbfsBB/vie ... =8&t=19718 “You must let us know what you thought when the time comes”
So here are my thought on ‘Rain – A Beatles Tribute Band’ My daughter brought me tickets for this event for my birthday back in May and last night we attended the concert, which was held at Wolf Trap Farm Park, a beautiful setting about 8 miles from where I live. The venue is an open air auditorium with a roof and open sides. You can also sit on the lawn outside and watch. The auditorium is surrounded by several acres of parkland and we arrived with a picnic in hand. Fortunately, it had cooled down a little by that hour. It has been over 33C for the last eight days (and today we may hit 36C) We picked a spot to picnic (beer and subs from the local deli) under the welcome shade of some very large trees.
‘Rain’ performed to a sold-out house and are very entertaining. They did numbers from the entire Beatles repertory with several costume changes to capture the several phases of the originals career. With modern technology, a fifth member of the group was offstage with who knows what gadgetry so the group could perform songs the Beatles could only perform in the studio. Strawberry Fields was complete with the backwards tape loop ending. We had balcony seats so were far enough away that the illusion was sustained because I could not see their facial details, but it was obvious immediately that the bass (Paul) was right handed, unlike the real deal.
However, “Sir Paul” was especially convincing when singing. Performing “Yesterday” he sounded exactly like the real McCartney and “John” was also excellent in the Lennon numbers.. “George” kept doing the little dance Harrison would do – almost to the point of overdoing it. Musically they were very good. I did notice the odd drumming change on some songs and on “A Hard Days Night” the initial chord sounded to be at least a minor third lower than it should have been, but that is all nit picking.
Their on stage patter was very convincing, even if their Scouse wouldn’t convince many Liverpudlians. I am sure most of the Colonials present were convinced though. At one point, they asked for anyone under eighteen to stand up and to my amazement there were many. I had not noticed before but the entire row behind us consisted of teenage girls, fortunately all very well behaved. The Beatles music really does span the generations.
It has been 44 years since I saw the real Beatles perform and ‘Rain’ brought back many fond memories of growing up with the originals. I can tell you that was a great time to be a Brit in America as far as attracting the birds! I managed to hang on to my "accent" for several years just for that purpose and, like nearly every other guy in school, let my hair grow until the assistant principle insisted it be cut. The Beatles were a huge influence on my generation.
My daughter was concerned when she gave me the tickets that it might be a bit corny. Maybe it was, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and thanked her for a great gift.
Dave, aren’t you sorry you asked now?
Nigel²
