- RAIN – A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES
- STARLIGHT THEATER – KANSAS CITH, MISSOURI
- JULY 21, 2023
I was 9 years old when the Beatles broke up, almost four years after the band stopped touring so I never had the opportunity to see them perform live. As a child of the 1960s, I was swept up in Beatlemania. The very first record I ever bought with my own money was the “Hello Goodbye” 45 single. I have a couple of older friends that did see the band live, one of which grew up in Liverpool and had the band play his school dance, back when the lineup included Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe. I’ve seen Paul McCartney live many times, and it’s always great to hear him do a Beatles song, but I always thought that was the closest I’d ever come to seeing the band on stage. I was wrong!
A musical/multimedia celebration, RAIN is a two hour journey through the adventures of the Fab Four, from their appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show’ to their final roof top concert. Each song is performed flawlessly, both musically and vocally. The show consists of four featured mjsicians – Steve Landes on vocals/rhythm guitar, Paul Curatolo (vocals/bas), Aaron Chazza (drums) and Alastar Mcneil (vocals/lead guitar). Landes and Curatolo also handle piano duties. They are joined by a very talented Mark Beyer, who handles the background instruments, including piano, strings and horns. I look at him like Billy Preston.
If you are wondering why I don’t list Mr. Landes as John, Mr. Curatolo as Paul, etc it’s because that is not how they are identified in the program. I know from doing research on a Beatles themed book that the lads are very protective of everything of theirs, including their names. Over newsreel footage from the past, familiar quotes by the lads are heard, but they are recreated comments. The boys are even protective of their voices.
Each member is outstanding on their instruments, with Mr. Chazza providing a perfect backbeat. Mr. McNeil had the licks down perfectly, but was indeed playing the “quiet” Beatle as none of Harrison’s songs were performed. I do see that a couple of Harrison’s songs are noted In the program, so maybe the set lists change nightly. One thing that did catch my attention was that, even though “Paul” was playing bass left handed, when he brought out the acoustic guitar to solo on “Yesterday,” he was playing right handed. Which to me, someone who plays guitar, is an amazing feat! I’ve never heard of an ambidextrous musician before, but Mr. Curatolo excelled on both instruments.
RAIN runs through July 23rd at Starlight Theater. For tickets to these or future shows, please click HERE.
RAIN receives five out of a total of five stars!
