Beatles Night on the Beach

A week of almost non-stop rain in Southern California tends to mean an oxymoronic week of hellish traffic and yet nobody apparently out anywhere.  Pleasant surprise, then, that Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach was already near capacity when I arrived about 45 min before showtime. Esteemed South Bay denizen Shaun Hague had put together a stellar bill of artists to perform dozens of Beatles songs throughout the night and I found myself going from doing six songs in the middle of the night, in the various guises of each Beatles save for Ringo.  Open your mind and relive the night with me…

I'm Looking Through You (pic by Kathy Sena)

Old Brown Shoe / Hey Bulldog: On short notice, singing backups into a mic that was conveniently placed somewhere around the area of my sternum.  About a 60% success ratio on actually remembering the lyrics.

And Your Bird Can Sing: Shaun and I were each geekily thrilled to be playing this song together, in harmony.  Even now in the post-Yngwie years, the guitar work on this gem of a tune remains a benchmark of cool. If this had been a throwdown, I think Shaun won by a note or two. But it was fuckin’ fun!

I’m Looking Through You / I’m So Tired / Baby’s In Black: I didn’t really go out on a limb for my own set, but then having been in a Beatles tribute band and having covered many of their tunes in just about every band I’ve been in, it would have been hard to pick a song I didn’t already know. I did, however, finally get to do I’m Looking Through You, which I have always loved but have never sung.  Shaun, Ryan MacMillan and Justin Glasco rounded out my fab four, with Jon Titterington as our Billy Preston, and they were great, with Ryan getting a gold star for his Ringoesque fills on I’m So Tired.  Justin had already claimed his crown by playing the “extra” doodledeedoo bass notes at the very end of AYBCS.

Some time shortly after that set I noticed a rising agitation in the green room. Now, everyone there pretty much loved the Beatles. The entire evening was unrehearsed and in all it was going very well. But somebody took umbrage at perceived liberties being taken with the material. Funny that he wasn’t tipped off right away when it became evident that nobody had donned Nehru jackets or Beatle wigs (though I did trim my bangs for the occasion and, no, nobody noticed) for the occasion. Finally, after much pacing and grumbling, he snapped. “They’re murdering this song! I’ve got to leave. Yeah, that would be best.” And he packed up his guitar, half-assedly asked someone to cover for him, and he was gone. Now that’s commitment!

Cry Baby Cry / Your Mother Should Know / I Dig A Pony: Next up was Matchbox 20/Break and Repair Method’s Paul Doucette, for whom I got to be George. I have always loved I Dig a Pony and Paul’s voice was perfect for this raw Lennon gem.  For me, I think, a contender for highlight of the night.

Shaun had the nads to bring string and horn sections onto the small stage and the brass band killed it on Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Really great way to break up the evening, varying the sonic assault. Then I found out who got screwed by our little Beatles princess of before, as a couple guys approached me and asked if I could sit in on guitar for Eight Days a Week.  Great for me, as it’s another one I’d never done before and it’s kinda one of those secretly great songs.  A bit corny, but the middle eight is, ahem, fab.

For some reason, I had agreed to sing lead on Hey Jude, naturally the final song of the night.  Problem is, I had always had a problem with the lyrics to that song.  Ever since I was a tot, I got thrown by the first chorus, always wanting to jump ahead to the ‘the movement you need’ line. Despite many run-throughs in the car on the way down, tonight was no exception.  But at midnight, with a room full of enthusiasts singing along it was of no matter.  A truly jubilant finale.  Unfortunately, though, I did forget to start it off by singing “If I Were Not Upon the Stage…”

There were TONS of other great players throughout the night and while I don’t know them all by name I give them a big Paul McCartney “great show, dooble dee doo!”