We had the chance to see The Monkees Farewell Tour Friday Night (11/5) when The Mike And Micky Show stopped by The Rosemont Theater.
[Special thanks
to David Salidor, Micky’s PR Guy, for helping to make this happen]
Now The Rosemont Theater is a BEAUTIFUL, underused venue in my opinion and the crowd on hand typified the "8 to 80" consensus that we hear about so often these days. But this WAS The Monkees, after all, who have been discovered by every generation since their TV show first aired in 1966 ... and really DO have fans from 8 to 80. As such, the souvenir line was absolutely insane and never let up as fans tried to grab up their last few pieces of Monkees farewell memorabilia. And seriously ... where else can you go these days and pay $5 for a bottle of water and $8 for the very last pretzel that didn't even have a single grain of salt left on it anymore?!?! $18 for two waters and a shared pretzel ... my dinner cost less than that before the show! And, you know, that $10 I spent on two bottles of water would have bought THREE CASES of water - 72 bottles - the very next day at Jewel!!! But hey, we were out to enjoy the evening and that's exactly what we did!!! (And I'm almost finished complaining about it ... really, I am!)
Who would have ever thought that this young quartet of actors first assembled in 1965 to PRETEND to be a rock band would still be resonating with us some 56 years later, allowing the two surviving members to travel around the globe, playing those same tunes to sold-out audiences everywhere they go.
As I have written
so many times before, I was a HUGE fan of The Monkees growing up … THEY were
the ones who inspired me to play music because it just looked like SO much fun
to be hanging with your best friends and doing what you love most. (Of course, I have since learned otherwise was typically the case within virtually EVERY successful rock act … but hey, I was a
kid and I was a dreamer!!!)
In the decades
since, I have seen virtually every incarnation of the Monkees … Micky, Davy and
Peter … Micky and Davy … Micky, Peter and Mike … Micky and Mike … Dolenz,
Jones, Boyce and Hart … as well as all four members in solo appearances … but I
NEVER had the opportunity to see all four of them performing together on stage
at the same time … and with Micky and Mike now officially hanging up The
Monkees’ moniker once and for all (and Peter and Davy gone), this will remain one of the
great musical regrets of my lifetime.
Although I have seen a slight buzz about The Mike and Micky Show continuing on another series of shows aboard a cruise ship (still waiting for official confirmation on that one), the current story goes that the wrap up of this tour will free up both Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith to do whatever they feel like doing within the comfort of their own solo careers. (Sadly, Davy Jones and Peter Tork didn’t make it to the end of the journey … because boy, that sure would have been a sight to see! What a Farewell Tour THAT would have been!!!) But it just wasn't meant to be.
Even so, The Monkees’ catalog is so strong
and such a big part of my life, it would be virtually impossible for me not to enjoy
the gathering of these two music icons … so I had high expectations going into
Friday Night’s Show … and I was not disappointed. (The tour has been playing to rave reviews
all over the country … I’ve yet to see a negative posting anywhere … and you’re
not going to see one here today from me either!
But I will point out some highs and lows along the way.)
The set list that
they performed Friday Night was slightly altered from the ones I have seen
circulating throughout the internet of late. Most
surprisingly missing was “Circle Sky,” a song performed by The Monkees even
WITHOUT Nesmith for decades and a popular concert staple for Monkees fans. This was especially unexpected since Micky
had just covered the tune … in a completely revamped Indian style … for his recent
“Dolenz Sings Nesmith” album. Also gone
were “St. Matthew,” “Me and Magdalena” (a popular track and highlight from
their recent “Good Times” comeback album) and “What Am I Doing Hanging ‘Round,”
long a favorite of mine, written by Michael Martin Murphy. Instead of coming back out on stage to do a
full-blown encore, they also incorporated “Listen To The Band” and “I’m A
Believer” right into the set list to close the show, leaving the stage as the
lights came on in the theater, indicating that there would be no more … this
truly WAS the end of the show.
As such, the
run-down of the show that WE saw Friday night was as follows:
SET ONE:
Good Clean Fun
Last Train To Clarksville
The Kind Of Girl I Could Love
Different Drum
Sunny Girlfriend
Mary, Mary
You Just May Be The One
For Pete's Sake
The Door Into Summer
Randy Scouse Git
Love Is Only Sleeping
Birth of An Accidental Hipster
As We Go Along
Pleasant Valley Sunday
INTERMISSION
SET TWO
Porpoise Song
While I Cry
Papa Gene's Blues
The Girl I Knew Somewhere
A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit
You
Tapioca Tundra
Auntie's Municipal Court
Goin' Down (with band intros)
Sweet Young Thing
(I’m Not You) Steppin' Stone
Daydream Believer
Listen To The Band
I'm A Believer
All of the
dropped songs mentioned above were tunes that would have featured Mike on lead vocals … so let’s
start there.
Michael looked
very thin and frail when the band first took the stage, yet he stood to sing
all of his designated tunes … already an improvement from some of the earlier
shows where he reportedly sat in a chair to sing all night. (The chair was
there Friday night … and he did sit down from time to time if Micky was
handling a lead or during an extended instrumental break … but more often than
not, he left the stage entirely to give
Micky his showcase, which kind of surprised me in that all this walking on and
off the stage had to be causing him to exert himself much more than simply “sitting this
one out.”)
Then again, maybe
this is his way of “getting in his steps” … all part of his recovery after suffering
a heart attack a couple of years ago. Perhaps
he wasn’t feeling well enough to perform these extra songs as part of a full
set. There were moments when he seemed
to be suffering up there a little bit, although ALWAYS conveying good spirit to
the audience. Mike clowned around (and
even danced ... if you could call that
dancing!!!), talked and told humorous stories throughout the evening, apparently
remembering much more of the good times during his tenure with The Pre-Fab Four
than the bad, which hasn't always been the case. (I cannot help but wonder why NOW … at this stage of his life, health and performing abilities, he
would choose to return to doing concerts, not to mention the grueling pace of
all the traveling and hotels, etc.
Michael was always the one who didn’t want any part of that during all
of the previous reunion tours and albums … although all four Monkees were
present for the recording of their “Just Us” album in 1996.)
Then again, consider this ...
After having major heart surgery ... and seeing your tour postponed and rescheduled a couple of times due to Covid ... MOST artists may have taken this as a sign that it was time to finally hang things up ... why go out there and expose yourself to all that can hurt you.
But Mike didn't take that route ... he chose instead to keep playing the music ... and the truth is, he
genuinely seems to be enjoying himself … and let’s face it, the bulk of the
show is spent showcasing his tunes, many of which have stood the test of time
and are still so familiar to those of us who grew up during The Monkees era … which
is to say, virtually EVERYBODY, because each new generation to come along since
has also enjoyed and experienced these songs as part of the never-ending legacy
of The Monkees’ television series that is STILL airing some 55 years
later. As such, The Monkees have become
frozen in time … which, to paraphrase Me-TV-FM’s slogan, pretty much becomes
the very definition of Timeless and Memorable Music.)
There were
moments when Michael sang that he sounded exactly like those old recordings
from over half a century ago … but most of the time, he kind of half-talked,
half-sang those lyrics and, quite annoyingly, nearly always sang them half a step behind
the melody, as if he was trying to stretch everything out a bit more for the
sake of some type of dramatic performance effect. The
melodies are strong … there is no reason to mess with them.
Micky Dolenz, on the other hand, was in fine voice (as always) and also appeared to be having a good time up there reconnecting with the past … which, as Michael so eloquently pointed out, includes ALL of our pasts, as we went thru this whole thing together ... and are forever intertwined.
To address a
topic that’s become quite popular here lately, Dolenz retains all of the
strength, sound and texture of his original vocals … he may have lost a little
on the high end (and shied away from even trying to hit some of those high
notes he did way back when … and even as recently as a decade ago), but overall
his voice is everything it used to be … and he was in complete control of
it. Listen to Micky singing virtually
ANY song in Friday Night’s set and compare it to Paul McCartney singing
virtually any song in HIS current set and you’ll see exactly what I mean.
The crackerjack back-up band
was stellar … all fine musicians throughout (and Micky’s sister Coco helped
carry some of those high notes alluded to earlier in the way of background
vocals. Her vocal contributions to the
band also date back to the very beginning.)
One particular highlight
of the show for me included the introduction to “Different Drum,” another song
Dolenz has covered and reinvented for his “Dolenz Sings Nesmith” album.
When Michael
first presented the songs to the producers of the television show for
consideration, he was told, “No, that’s not a Monkees song” to which Nez replied,
“Now wait a minute … I’m a Monkee … and I wrote that song … so how can it not
be a Monkees song?” Because Screen Gems
had already contracted some of the best songwriters in the business (Carole
King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart,
David Gates, et al), they had a very definite, marketable sound in mind for the
group … and for the most part they were proven right, time and time again. Music Director Don Kirshner had the final say
on this material and his ears were impeccable when it came to hearing a hit. All things considered, it’s really quite
remarkable in hindsight that Nesmith was allowed to submit as many songs as he
did that were actually recorded by the group.
(Sadly, this was never played up or given any attention in the
television series … instead, Mike had to endure the indignity of fighting a
copyright battle for Boyce and Hart’s novelty hit “Gonna Buy Me A Dog,”
presented as Mike’s own in one particular episode. Truth was, he was writing MUCH better songs,
much more often, that were making their way to both the records and the
television series … but with very little fanfare for Nesmith himself.)
After being told
his song wasn’t a hit, Michael gave it to a young, unknown female singer who,
at the time, was fronting a band called The Stone Poneys … and “Different Drum”
became the first of many, many chart hits for Linda Ronstadt. (Guess it WAS a hit after all!)
Some of Michael’s
songs presented Friday night just sounded SO good to hear again as they’re not
really part of the oldies radar that most radio stations follow. This was especially true during his songs “Good
Clean Fun” (a minor hit and the show opener, which included the prophetic line “I
told you I’d be back and here I am”), “Mary, Mary” (always a favorite, and sung
by Micky), “You Just May Be The One,” “Papa Gene’s Blues” (which drew a loud
applause from the audience when Mike said, “Play, magic fingers” at the
instrumental break, just like he did on the original recording back in 1966)
and the Shoulda-Been-A-Top-Ten-Hit Monkees classic “Listen To The Band.” Tributes were done to Davy and Peter along
the way and a group sing-along to “Daydream Believer” was quite moving.
All-in-all, a
very enjoyable evening of some very enjoyable, fun, feel-good music. The Monkees may have been created to cash-in
on the times … turning the antics of The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” into a
weekly television series was the original concept for the show … but they have
proven to be SO much more than that over the years.
You cannot help but get wrapped up in this music … whether you’re
hearing it again for the 2000th time … or discovering it for the
very first. (On the way into the
theater, I heard a young girl … maybe 8 or 9 years old … telling her father that
she couldn’t believe that her teacher didn’t know who The Monkees were when she
told the class that she was going to see them that night. “How can that be, daddy? I mean, even if she didn’t know all of the
songs, she MUST know some of them, right???”
Now that’s a kid who was brought up right! (kk)
JUST ANOTHER MAIC MONDAY:
Arrrg!
Time to Face Another Monday again!
Or . . . maybe not . . . !
CB ( which stands for "CrackofDawn Boy!" - He said Never! )
