A Hard Days Night

I’m not a massive fan of tribute bands but, as the chance of seeing the actual Beatles perform again is less than zero, I thought I’d see what this lot were like. It wasn’t exactly a difficult gig to get to as it was only half a mile away in Kendal Leisure Centre!
It was by no means sold out and there was a lot of moving around early on as people moved to seats with more room/a better view - including us. There were only four of us on our row but we were all jammed next to each other at one end. It wouldn’t have been so bad but one of the other people was doing so much arm waving, screeching, whooping and whistling that it was really spoiling the concert for us. So, two songs in, we moved back a couple of rows - much better.
We started with a full rendition of the Hard Days Night Album to coincide with its 60th anniversary. Then we had a few more from that early era to take us up to the interval. Dancing is normally forbidden in the leisure centre so we all remained resolutely sat down despite exhortations from the band to get up and dance. Eventually we realised that it might actually be permitted to get up tonight and soon almost the entire audience was on its feet, bopping away.
After the interval, they came back dressed in Sgt Pepper attire and gave us a few from that period. A bit of judicious juggling of numbers allowed for a final costume change as they did the “Let It Be” era numbers.
Musically, I couldn’t really fault them. They used period correct instruments throughout, though I suspect that the Vox amps on stage were just a front for a load of modelling amps hidden behind. And there were obviously a lot of additional backing tracks being used as they did a very credible version of “A Day In The Life” complete with all the orchestral bits. Their “Ringo” even sang like the real one!
Visually, it wasn’t quite as successful. They were obviously trying to look like their idols, changing wigs and donning false moustaches when required. Each sang the parts exactly as their Beatles counterparts would have done, even swapping guitar for piano if needed. But that is definitely the chunkiest “Ringo” I’ve ever seen! And the images on the screen behind them were themselves in a pastiche of the original films, which jarred slightly. They had a nice line in patter, playing the “jokey scousers” role perfectly. But every so often they referenced modern technology or things the actual Beatles had done and it was like they were fading in and out of character.
But maybe I’m just being too picky. They obviously weren’t the Beatles but you did get an impression of what those early sixties concerts might have been like. Except we got two and a half hours instead of the mere 30 minutes they would have done back then, and a modern PA and lack of screaming meant you could hear everything!
Would I see them again? A cautious “yes” I think. Which is good because they promised they be back next year.