It Rained down on my mother and I last Sunday afternoon as we took in one of the best cover bands that I have ever seen in my life! Being a Beatles fan since probably birth I would have to say that I was skeptical about this performance. After the first song I was hooked! These guys really did their home work. Every note was perfect and all manerisms were completely accurate. As a whole I rank this show 4 out of 5. However, in a tribute band individual performance is key. For that reason I will review each of the four members (there was a fifth who played keyboard, but he didn't have a charater to portray).
Paul: Played perfectly by Joey Curatolo. When more make-up and costume was used, Joey even looked a lot like Paul. His voice was spot on, and to be honest, he stole the show. His rendition of Yesterday was beautiful and if you shut your eyes you would swear the Paul himself was in the room. Even using Pauls wittiness fun banter in between songs was done vvery well.
5 out of 5
Ringo: Although he didn't look very much like Ringo, Ralph Castelli performed perfectly on the drums, but was most impressive when he sung. He sounded almost exactly like Ringo when he performed A Little Help From My Friends. He didn't really talk much (if at all) but he did carry his weight (sorry about that one) through-out the show.
4 out of 5
John: With short hair Steve Landes looked more like John Sebastian, and more like a young Ozzy Osbourne when he had lo hair. His singing was very close to John's, but he tended to sing through his nose too much. At one point he sounded more like Greg Keelor from Blue Rodeo than John Lennon. All of that aside Steve did a great job. His antics and bantor in between songs where very much like Lennon's and he played his instruments very well.
3.5 out of 5
George: Played by Joe Bithon I found the George character to be my least favorite. He didn't look or sound like George, and his guitar wasn't loud enough on While My Guitar Gently Weeps. While My Guitar... also seemed to be at a very slow tempo. Kind of like playing the album at a slower RPM. George didn't seem to do much, but he played his guitar very well.
3 out of 5
Overall the show was great. My favorite part was when they played most of side 2 of Abbey Road. Golden Slumbers right through to The End. Fantastic! I wasn't expecting it, but they even performed an encore. Starting with Let It Be, then Imagine, and then capping the show off with a great sing-a-long rendition of Hey Jude. A good time was truely had by all.
And in the end...