Rain Concert

April 30, 2009

Tuesday night we went out with some friends to see the tribute band RAIN. For those of you who don't know, RAIN is a Beatles tribute band, and I have to say, they are really a lot of fun to see in concert. Doug and I took our daughter Brianna, and our friends Jim and Anja brought Jim's daughter Kathryn. Let me tell you, the fifteen year-olds had just as much fun as those of us who grew up listening to the Beatles.

RAIN takes you through the decades and evolution of the Beatles look and sound. They have perfected their looks, mannerisms, and accents, as well as their muscial and vocal nuances. The lighting and video show that interspersed live action shots with old footage of the Beatles concerts and appearances certainly added to the atmosphere. Their "Paul" was the voice of the band for the most part, and he was charming and engaging as the MC who moved the concert along. If that's the way Paul was in concert, it's no wonder all the girls were swooning for him during their heyday.

Besides the concert itself, we really enjoyed the people-watching. There was a huge bald guy, probably in his fifties. He was just throwing himself into the concert with abandon. (We were in the balcony, so we could see across the whole audience.) He was dancing, he was swaying, he was throwing his hands in the air, he was throwing his head back to let the songs come flowing out of him. I loved it! Now THAT'S the way to experience a concert! I thought he was just adorable.

The only thing that I had a problem with was not so much the concert itself, as it is with concerts in general. The obligatory 'encore' at the end of every concert these days is so staged and contrived that it just drives me crazy. It's not really an encore; it's a charade. Every band goes into a concert knowing that they are reserving two or three of their very best, most beloved songs. They aren't part of the concert, because we, the audience, will demand that they come back on stage. When they leave the stage, we pretend to be begging them for more, and they pretend that since we've been such an amazing audience, they'll oblige us. It just seems like an exercise in pre-planned narcissism that we as an audience are happy to participate in. Can't they just play all the songs they are planning to play already? We promise to still clap at the end. The REAL end.

Don't let that last paragraph make you think I didn't enjoy the concert. I really did. That little pet peeve of mine was just a momentary irritation, and the rest of the night was fabulous. I love date nights with hubby, and a night that includes our good friends and our charming teens is just a bonus.

P.S.--For those of you who read my last post, I did, in fact, go buy myself some flowers for my table yesterday. And it made me happy: )