Shelley Sweet-Tufano is back with another Guest Concert Review ...
This time around ... The Fab Four!
I wonder … when asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” did they answer, “The Beatles!”???
The
string music begins, followed closely by Penn Gillette’s recorded
introduction. And out comes … George Trullinger, as Ed Sullivan.
I
have been so tickled to see all the hype here in Forgotten Hits around
The Fab Four. I have been following them since the beginning of the new
century, bringing my kids, their friends, and my students to various
locations to experience the music and the historical representations.
Sure, I have tons of videos of The Beatles and their movies, but the
magic of seeing them perform live (even when it was over the telly) was
something breathtaking. This was as close as I could give to the
children around me, who were soaking up 60’s music like it was water,
and they were parched. So on with the SHOE!
The
Fab Four is an all-live show that portrays, in progressive form, The
Beatles' performances. It continues through the time that The Beatles
retreated into the studio and lets us hear and see what would have
happened if The Beatles had performed their studio hits live on stage.
Tonight they begin in the Shea Stadium suits and open with ‘Please
Please Me’. They continue:
‘All My Loving’
‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’
A new number for them - 'It Won’t Be Long’
‘A Hard Day’s Night’
‘Eight Days A Week’
The
show is a multi-media performance blending the music with actual
Beatles footage and typical Beatles banter with the audience. On the
screen, I am watching the same bespectacled girl in a shift jumper,
experiencing a musical orgasm, that I have been watching since I was 12.
Wonder whatever happened to her? And in The Wolf Den, here in
Uncasville, CT, people are dancing. S*I*G*H. This section of time ends
with:
‘Can’t Buy Me Love’
‘Day Tripper’
‘I Saw Her Standing There’
‘Twist And Shout’
I
have been up twisting with most of the audience and literally twisted
my pen into pieces somehow. I sit down, pull out another pen, and
continue on taking notes.
And
now a transition / costume change. Ardy Sarraf as Paul, accompanied by
Ron McNeil as John, performs ‘Yesterday’ ... except it begins as
“I’m … dreaming … of a white … Christmas.” Clever. The lyrics DO fit into
the melody of ‘Yesterday.’ Beautiful portrayal.
And
WHAT IS NEXT?? After a brief media presentation of Beatle songs sung by
people on the streets of England, comes THE PEPPER SUITS! Colorful and
sparkly, the audience starts to clap as soon as Gavin Pring, portraying
George appears. I remember when Gavin joined The Fab Four Ultimate
Tribute. A rather loud audible “WHOA!” came out of my daughter’s and my
mouths simultaneously. In our case it meant, “He’s nailed it. That’s
George.” Ardy and Ron have always been as close to John and Paul as
imitation can allow, and adding Gavin (who coincidentally rises out of
Liverpool) strengthened the show. Joe Bologna appears as Ringo tonight.
He is so happy and joyful in his portrayal, as well as accurate in his
drumming. The cast can change, but these four are the major players.
‘Sergeant Pepper/With A Little Help From My Friends’
‘Sergeant Pepper Reprise’
‘A Day In The Life’
STANDING OVATION … INCREDIBLE LIGHT SHOW AND LIVE SOUND EFFECTS
‘Got To Get You Into My Life’ (Ron is offstage changing for next set)
When
Ron returns to perform ‘Imagine,’ he has a monologue that pays tribute to John
Lennon. Ron, I can help explain the audience’s quiet reaction when you
expected more applause for what you said about Lennon. We knew you were
not Lennon, but at that moment, in that time frame, to us … you were. So
for you to be talking about him when we were buying the fact that he was
there in front of us … was confusing. We caught on and cheered you
soundly as the other three returned and all are enmeshed in the ‘Let It Be’
era. Gavin performs ‘Something’ and OH MY … it IS SOMETHING. Such a
beautiful song, I am thankful it is performed so well. And to end?? You
say you want a ‘Revolution’? Holy Cow! All these songs performed live!
You know we can’t let them go yet. A song to help us collect ourselves and warm our hearts, ‘Hey Jude.’
I
put my glow stick back in my bag and leave for dinner, echoing my
friends’ voices, “THAT was fun!” Thank you for coming with me.
Next stop
is Art Garfunkel in Tarrytown, NY.
-- Shelley
Great job, Shelley! (Now I wanna see them again!!!)
You can catch our review of The Fab Four from earlier this year here:
http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-fab-four.html
