The Fab Four

Smokin' Toaster · #1 01-23-2011, 10:31 AM

I went to see these guys last night. Highly recommended. If you want to get as close as possible to a Beatles concert, this is it. They did just about as faithful rendition of a variety of Beatles songs as four humans could possibly do, even a very good cover of "A day in the life". The actor/musicians did a good job of portraying John, Paul, George and Ringo. They started off in suits a la the Ed Sullivan show appearances, and even had an Ed Sullivan impersonator who did some stand up comedic routines as Ed. Then a costume change, and it was Sgt. Pepper costumes and songs from that album and Magical Mystery Tour. Then it was John alone in his White suit giving a very moving talk about peace and love in the world, then doing "Imagine". The rest of the band came out after the first verse to join in. Afterwards they did "Get Back" "Revolution", and finished with "Hey Jude".

It was a sold out crowd at the Sanger Theater in Mobile, and a varied audience of young and old sang along, danced, and had a generally good time. There were some songs that were missing a part or two, but I have to say they play every part live and there's only so much four musicians with eight hands can do. I really can't imagine any band doing what they do any better.

The fellow portraying Ringo wasn't a dead ringer for Ringo (pardon the pun), but he nailed "A little help from my friends" and "Yellow Submarine" vocally.

The actor portraying Paul was very good, reasonable resemblence, and had Paul's mannerisms down pat. Played a Hofner and a Ric depending on the period being represented. Vocaly he had Paul down pat as well.

The fellow portraying John really looked A LOT like John, both the early John and the later John. Sounded just like him both speaking and singing.

Now George... DANG! I would have sworn George Harrison was standing on that stage!! Especially the later George with the moustache. He did a great job on "Here comes the sun".

If you are a Beatles fan I'd highly suggest this show. It's just about as close as I think you will come to an actual Beatles concert. As a musician, I'm sure that you will find a few things that aren't exactly like the Beatles did it, but all in all it's a great show and I'll go see them again.

SR505bassman · #2 01-23-2011, 10:39 PM

Way back in the 80's I saw a performance by a group called "1964". They really hit it perfectly. Don't know how long they lasted - a number of years I know of. I had heard each of them had had surgery to alter their appearance to look like "their" Beatle. It was uncanny to see and hear them.

Sounds like this band is similar. Hope they come up Michigan way - I'd love to see a show like that again - especially since I can so much more appreciate Paul's bass lines now than I could back then

Hoover · #3 01-24-2011, 10:27 AM

They should have a tag team no-holds-barred cage match between the guys in The Fab Four and the guys in Rain ...maybe throw in some of the Beatlemania (Broadway) alumni for good measure. Last band standing gets to be the officially-sanctioned Beatles Franchise® performing tribute band.

ggunn · #4 01-24-2011, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoover

They should have a tag team no-holds-barred cage match between the guys in The Fab Four and the guys in Rain ...maybe throw in some of the Beatlemania (Broadway) alumni for good measure. Last band standing gets to be the officially-sanctioned Beatles Franchise® performing tribute band.

Add the Eggmen (http://www.eggmen.com/) to the bill.

Smokin' Toaster · #5 01-24-2011, 05:38 PM

I know there are a bunch of Beatles tribute bands out there. The Eggmen... the sounded pretty good, but they aren't in the same league as the others. Rain... they look like the Beatles from a distance, and sound a lot like the Beatles, but I didn't sit there thinking... "this is uncanny, the resemblence". But the Fab Four.. I had binoculars and I was "in their face" so to speak. It WAS uncanny. I don't know if they've had surgery, but that dude was a dead ringer for George Harrison, Paul and John were like 95% look alikes. The only one who you wouldn't do a double take from more than 10 feet away was Ringo. I'll go see the others if I get a chance, but I really can't imagine a band doing a better job than The Fab Four.

Richland123 · #6 01-24-2011, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SR505bassman

Way back in the 80's I saw a performance by a group called "1964". They really hit it perfectly. Don't know how long they lasted - a number of years I know of. I had heard each of them had had surgery to alter their appearance to look like "their" Beatle. It was uncanny to see and hear them.

Sounds like this band is similar. Hope they come up Michigan way - I'd love to see a show like that again - especially since I can so much more appreciate Paul's bass lines now than I could back then

1964 is still together and touring. They make some very nice money. I checked into booking them for some concerts I was looking to promote but we did something else. I saw them and they were really good. Here is their website.

http://1964thetribute.com/