With a little help from my friends, I saw the Beatles tribute band, The Fab Four for now a second time at Humphreys Concerts By The Bay this past Friday. Mary Kit and I invited some very close OG Santa Maria friends to visit us in San Diego: Ken and Vicki Forman, Ron Zieman, and Paul and Jane Hobbs. We topped the visit off with this concert. However, Paul and Jane couldn't make the trip and concert at the last minute.
Now, if there was anyone more fitting to go to a Beatle tribute band concert, it would be Paul. As a 9 year old lad from Santa Maria, CA, who upon first hearing The Beatles in 1964, went on to put his heart and soul into becoming a professional musician. The Beatles sonic influence on him continues to this day.
So what do with Paul's and Jane's two tickets? I immediately thought of my grandson, Brendan who is a big Beatles fan... and 9 years old.
Brendan, Shawna and, hey Grandude
Not only that... Maybe there's something more than a coincidence that Paul and Brendan are born exactly sixty years apart to the day! Paul born, August 14th 1954, and Brendan August 14, 2014.
Seeing the Fab Four would be Brendan's first live concert. My daughter Shawna who also loves The Beatles would be the natural choice to use the second ticket.
So Paul's unfortunate hand at missing a little San Diego vacation and Beatles with his buds, turns into a wonderful moment for three generations of McIntosh Beatle fans.
Life sometimes brings a sad song, and then it's just making it better.
Paul and Brendan I love you both. Let's just keep the cosmic forces working together for all of us! This eclectic Beatle playlist is for the both of you.
p.s. Brendan loved the show! His favorite Beatle song, Let it Be.
But first, let's talk about the cultural phenomenon The Beatles created after their first visit to the United States as a band in February, 1964. What follows for millions of young people across the globe is talking mom and dad into buying them, an acoustic or electric guitar, bass, or drum set.
Suddenly, the family piano became a friend and if your piano teacher was cool enough, they were starting to buy pop band sheet music and introducing it their students. My only experience in this area was convincing my 80 year old piano teacher to let me learn how to play, Windy by The Association a #1 hit in 1967.
In the months and years following Beatlemania and the British Invasion, kids started forming garage bands and started learning rock 'n' roll songs, together. Any musician and band that was ever born, started in someone's garage, basement, or bedroom, playing cover songs of their favorites. From 1964, Beatles songs were the bread and butter go to songs for such bands and their dreams.
Today, it's still so amazing that a band basically known to most Americans from 1964-1970 could still have such a hold on us today, from that 6 years and the body of work created by the best band of all time.
The Beatles not only launched thousands of bands world wide, but in the decades following 1970, launched hundreds of professional Beatles tribute bands. Most of us never saw The Beatles live. But, you can recapture that live magic again by going to a Beatles tribute bands concert worthy of their namesake heroes. Here are three tribute bands worth talking about, even though I've only seen two of them live.
My top Beatles tribute band, and one I have never seen live other than through the wonders of YouTube, are The Analogues. I might even postulate that they are the "ultimate" Beatles tribute band. And, for what it's worth, I cried while listening to their live performance of the entire The Beatles (White Album).
The Analogues are a Dutch tribute act to The Beatles. Founded in 2014, the Analogues' ambition has been to perform live the Beatles' music from their later studio years, using analogue and period-accurate instrumentation. The Analogues distinguished themselves by performing songs and whole albums live, which the Beatles never played live. While the band does not attempt to look like the Beatles, they have been noted for accurately recreating and reproducing their music and sound. Wikipedia
Note- From what I can tell, The Analogues from The Netherlands mostly stay in Europe 😞.
The next two are California bands, Rain, and The Fab Four. I've seen Rain twice, and The Fab Four once, all in either San Diego or Los Angeles. I actually don't have an opinion if one is better than the other, with both building a brand name even as band members come and go. I can tell you how I have felt after all three shows as audiences will concur; we were all one in the pure joy and happiness of having an "in the moment" experience of excellent live Beatles music in the 21st century. Note- Please bear in mind the sound quality from many of these two bands video clips were mostly shot in the audience with smartphones. Watching Rain, and The Fab Four live is really what's it all about.
Now I've also seen Paul live and Ringo's All Starr band live, and both of course were fabulous shows. Nothing like the real thing. But, be on the look out for these two California tribute bands, when yearning for that Beatles fix and its poppermost high.
Maybe Paul said it best a few years ago on Stephen Colbert..."These songs get into people's heads and they have this meaning."
Tribute bands are like horseshoes where close really counts to a paying audience. Enjoy this Beatles mix from The Analogues, Rain, and The Fab Four my friends!
