Come and Watch Us
Sing and Play
The Monkees at the
Fabulous Fox Theater, June 5th, 2014
Part One
This was my sister’s
fourth Monkees concert - two with Davy and now two with Mike. This was my
first. I was a Monkees fan before I was even a Beatles fan - the pre-Fab Four’s
TV show reruns on Saturday mornings helped their songs to be as familiar to me
as the theme songs to HR Pufinstuf or Scooby-Doo.
With some exceptions I
have retired from concert-going since 1992. Shows were expensive even back then
and my poor ears were suffering from enough tinnitus I didn’t need to aggravate
it. I wore earplugs to my last shows - even Bob Dylan. During one, ZZ Top, I
pulled out an earplug just to see how bad it was. I winced. Not at the music - they
were in good form and supporting a great album - but at the volume.
I’ve come out of
retirement twice not counting this show - Ringo Starr playing free at the VP
Fair in St. Louis (a Beatle for free? Yes, I will come out of retirement to see
a Beatle for free) and Rik Emmett playing a solo show in San Antonio
Until now.
The Monkees concert was a
gift from my sister in exchange for purchasing some DVDs for her at Comic Con. She
took her ten-year-old son and asked if I wanted to go.
They’ve toured
extensively over the past eleven years; but I had to ask myself: “when am I
ever going to get to see the Monkees again?”
Their story is familiar:
NBC wanted a TV show to cash in on the success of the Beatles and capture the fun
of their movies “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help”. The execs thought about
getting an actual group - legend says the Loving Spoonful was considered - but
decided to cobble together a group from actor/musicians. Stephen Stills tried
out and convinced his friend Peter Tork to do likewise. Mike Nesmith was
another budding musician. Davy Jones appeared on the famous Ed Sullivan show
featuring the Beatles’ first appearance along with his fellow cast-members of
“Oliver”. Mickey Dolenz was also child actor.
The plots of the show
dealt with an up-and-coming band playing gigs and getting into various zany antics
- spies, monsters, gangsters, and mistaken identities - the gamut of 1960’s
sitcom fare.
But the music set it
apart. During this show the band showed their admiration for the many wonderful
song-writers they used and named them - Goffin/King, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka,
Harry Nilsson, etc. And rightly so...
At the time the songs and
the Monkees - although very successful on the music charts - were written off
as bubblegum music. Well, that term came a few years later, but the criticism
was the same.
The Monkees were mocked
for not playing their own instruments on their songs and albums. The band
members complained about this too, and were allowed to do so beginning with
their Headquarters album.
Eventually the show was
cancelled, their movie and TV special each bombed and their albums and singles
failed to chart. One by one they left the group to do their own thing.
Their popularity grew as
new fans discovered their show’s reruns on Saturday Morning (me) and in the
1980s on MTV (my sister). Their detractors were silenced over time as their music
aged well. Very well.
They would reunite
throughout the decades, usually Mike being the hold-out as his career was moving
along and his participation was not necessary.
I am a big fan of
Nesmith’s solo music and a subscriber to his video ranch productions. Check it
out: http://www.videoranch.com/
Nesmith appeared on stage
with the other three on occasion and helped with the album and TV special for
their last album “Justus” in 1996. But otherwise, when the members were not
doing solo shows or participating in “Teen Idol” festivals, the Monkees toured
as Davy, Mickey and Peter.
Davy Jones died in 2012. Mike
agreed to tour with Peter and Mickey in 2012 and again this year. Among the
excellent band members were Mike’s son Christian on guitar and Mickey’s sister
as one of the back-up singers. The other back-up singer, Circe Link and
Christian are in a band called “Circle Jerks” and the bass player is their
manager - so there was a lot of family up on the stage.
The musicians were
wonderful. They rocked even during the more poppy numbers. Throughout the show
I was amazed at how well these songs have aged.
And the Monkees
themselves have also aged well. Mickey can still hit the high notes -
particularly on “Words” and “Randy Scouse Git” and only rarely being unable to
hit the higher ranges - most notably on “She”. Mike still sang with a caramel
smoothness. Peter suffered the most from comparison, but then, he was never
known for his strong vocals.
Recommendation: the
Monkees should think about making a studio album of their live set to show off
their musicians and the new, wonderful arrangements of their classic songs.
Their version of “Daydream Believer” will likely make the charts, or at least
be a popular download.
A video screen above the
band showed constant clips of the TV show, their movie and TV special. At times
I found it distracting. I’m there to watch the show, not clips from “The
Monkees' Paw”. But it helped give the band a break during sets and keep the
audience cheering.
Next: Part 2 - the set
list!
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