"Rain: The Beatles Experience" Grade: A
Beatlemania is sweeping the nation once again. "Rain: The Beatles Experience" played the first of three weekend shows on Friday for a packed crowd at the Warner Theatre. As covered in a previous issue of The Eagle, Rain is the preeminent Beatles tribute band in the United States. The show traced the musical history of Britain's famed rock band from the early '60s mop top to the psychedelic later years. Rain had audience members from ages 8 to 80 singing along and dancing in the aisles to the iconic music.
Rain kicked off the concert by acknowledging the Ed Sullivan Show and the prominent role it had in bringing Beatlemania to the United States. While playing earlier hits like "She Loves You," "Twist and Shout" and "Yesterday," the band dressed in matching collarless suits, had set designs matching those on the TV show and included "Applause" machines that dropped from the ceiling. The songs were played in rapid sequence, and the few rows in the back of the theater were quickly flooded with Baby Boomers partying to their favorite tunes. With a string of three-minute hits and little banter among the band, the first 15 minutes of the show were a dynamic beginning.
The only let down came early during a few brief interludes when the screen behind the stage presented skits featuring the cover band imitating conversations the Beatles had with Ed Sullivan and the press. The production quality for these videos was poor and the idea seemed unnecessarily contrived. This was a small misstep, however, because the screens later featured real commercials for cigarettes and shampoo that were hilariously dated for both older and younger audience members.
The middle section of the show highlighted a bevy of tracks from the landmark album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." This part of the concert came complete with the costumes from the album's cover and songs like "With a Little Help from My Friends," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and a rousing version of "A Day in the Life." The band members were incredible musicians and technically perfect, and the lead singers, despite being Americans, sounded remarkably similar to the unique voices of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Because Rain learned the songs only through imitation and not sheet music, the performance sounded almost exactly like a recording of the band. Many audience members commented that when they closed their eyes, it was as though they were really listening to the Beatles. The audience simply enjoyed a group that could reproduce live the songs that many had listened to for years on their radios, record players, CDs and now Mp3 players.
Although the band closely followed chronological order, there were a few moments where tracks from different albums were played together for effect. For example, later in the concert, the well-known ballads "Across the Universe," "Blackbird" and "Here Comes the Sun" were presented by the musicians playing John Lennon (Steve Landes), Paul McCartney (Joey Curatolo) and George Harrison (Joe Bithorn), respectively. Even Ringo Starr (Ralph Castelli) eventually got a chance to solo. Despite the fact that each of these songs came from different Beatles albums, they worked well in succession, because they proved that some of the most beautiful music produced by the Beatles came from different creative directions.
The audience really got excited when the band played "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and stayed on its feet through the end of the show, dancing in the aisles, holding up "peace signs" and screaming almost as loudly as one would expect for the real Beatles.
After chanting for an encore, the audience was rewarded with "Imagine" and a true sing-along of "Hey Jude." No one who came to the Warner Theatre left dissatisfied with two hours of music that remained just as accessible in 2006 as it was in 1966, and many loudly declared it "the best show I've ever seen" and "the most fun I've had in years" on their way out.
