Lennon’s 70th Birthday
Radio City Music Hall
New York, NY
It was to a familiar drone in C that the Fab Faux began their show Saturday night. They entered a darkened stage that for the hour before had been flanked on either side by video screens displaying a black-and-white photo of the night’s honoree. It was the first of many exciting moments during the show when I realized they might actually be playing this song. The band came on stage, and with an explosion of glitter dispatched from a tambourine shaken by de facto frontman Will Lee, the Faux started right in on “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
The players: Lee (notably of the CBS Orchestra) held fort at center stage in an uncuffed and ruffled tuxedo shirt. He would mostly play bass, but occasionally 6- or 12-string acoustic guitar. At stage right was Jack Petruzzelli, keyboardist and occasional guitarist/bassist. Stationed between Bill and Jack was left-handed rhythm/lead guitarist Frank Agnello. Behind them was auxiliary guitarist/percussionist Jim Boggia. Two drum sets were right behind Will Lee, and one at a time was played by Rich Pagano. At stage left was Jimmy Vivino (of the Max Weinberg 7). This is not to forget the occasional addition of strings, horns and a choir. No expense was spared.
It’s clear that these men are all versatile performers. Each (except Boggia) sang lead on at least a few songs. Happily, this was done not merely to impress, as some bands try in encores or otherwise, but also to nail a song as closely as possible, given the timbre and range of the singing voice, and that to me showed respect for the music and for the audience, too. From the start, these talented guys were giving life to songs I’d mostly heard on the radio or on CDs. I was thrilled to be hearing them, often nearly matching the recorded versions, sometimes surpassing them in energy. Even after typing up the setlist, I’m genuinely surprised by just how many songs they did play. The concert stretched on for almost three hours, certainly giving us all more than our money’s worth while doing right by Mr. Lennon.
I think the four highlights of the show, beyond a personal favorite in “Tomorrow Never Knows,” were “Cold Turkey,” “Yer Blues,” “I Am The Walrus,” and “Strawberry Fields Forever.” I was particularly surprised by “Cold Turkey” – a song I’ve always liked, but never really loved. They gave it a weight I’d never before heard or took the time to imagine, and it was particularly impressive. Incidentally, I also noticed for the first time that it has a good deal of structure in common with “Come Together,” up to an including the letters of the words in the title. These songs were among the bigger performances of the night, in spectacle and in personnel. “Yer Blues” was opened up so that four guitarists on stage each got a chance to shine. Normally I find extreme fault with excessive guitarists in a band (i.e. Bruce Springsteen and his cast of thousands of friends/rhythm guitarists) but throughout this night it was seldom that more than two played at once, let alone four. “I Am The Walrus” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” are simply two songs it was remarkable to see played live, and well, and the whole audience appreciated them.
It’s hard to find fault when the chosen setlist was comprehensive, about two-thirds Beatles songs, one-third solo stuff. All the big solo songs were there. Two of his later songs I would have loved to hear would have been “(Just Like) Starting Over” and “Nobody Told Me.” Three Beatles songs? “Dear Prudence,” “Yes It Is,” “And Your Bird Can Sing.” Though both “I’m a Loser” and “No Reply” were well performed and received, I might have swapped out one or the other for a song that the band would have really played the hell out of. I’ve never really been in love with “Power to the People,” despite its message, so for me that could have gone. Not for nothing, I’m a huge McCartney fan, but “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” wins the battle over “Listen To What The Man Said” for “Better Song By An Ex-Beatle To Feature a Saxophone.” I was glad they didn’t press too hard on “Imagine,” and even happier that it led right into “Revolution.” It was a night to reflect but mostly to be joyful.
Between the two halves of the show was a sweet little intermission featuring the Quarrymen themselves. The three men played two songs, a full version of “Maggie May” and also “Lost John,” a good song a la Lonnie Donegan. They were introduced by a guy called Martin Lewis, sort of the ringleader for John’s birthday celebrations, as well as a liaison among many in the Beatles’ extended family. He made the excellent point that we came together that night to honor John Lennon around his birthday. We were celebrating a life, not a death on a miserable day in December. He also delivered a message from Paul himself to the Quarrymen, and to us, for them to “keep digging up rocks.” All of it was nice to see and hear, for that extra measure of connection.
In short, it was a fantastic evening. The band played longer than I expected, offered many surprises, earned their standing ovations, and did Mr. Lennon and his music a great service. Honored to have been there.
SETLIST:
Tomorrow Never Knows
Whatever Gets You Thru The Night
Nowhere Man
I’m a Loser
Across the Universe
Come Together
Watching the Wheels
Jealous Guy
Rain
Norwegian Wood
Happiness is a Warm Gun
No Reply
I Feel Fine
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Strawberry Fields Forever
Cold Turkey
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
THE QUARRYMEN:
Maggie May
Lost John
Working Class Hero
Mother
Power to the People
Instant Karma!
Because
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Help!
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Mind Games
I Am the Walrus
Yer Blues
In My Life
Imagine
Revolution
A Day in the Life
(Encore)
All You Need is Love
[a bit of] Give Peace a Chance