1964 THE TRIBUTE has been greeted by cheering audiences and sold out crowds wherever they have appeared world wide, headlining over 120 shows around the globe each year.

Indeed, fans from eight to 80 have been enthralled by the band's accurate re-creation of a Beatles concert performed live, with exact detailed reproduction of the songs, voices, instruments, suits, haircuts and even the iconic "Beatle Boots" made famous by the Fab Four.

Tonight, at an open air venue on a truly beautiful evening, come 8.40pm the sparce black set suddenly bursts into life with the musical magic of The Beatles. Casually walking out on stage, beige old-school Beatles jackets adorning straight black tailored pants, they wave, nod at each other, and then burst into both 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' and then 'I Saw Her Standing There.'

"Paul" asks the near-packed house if they are doing ok tonight, but what is immediately noticeable is that his impression of McCartney is obviously not meant to be spot on; moreover that of a Londoner whose spent way too much time on Merseyside! In truth, they all come across like that, not one of them nailing the true Liverpudlian accent of their heroes. Next up is 'From Me To You,' bathed in red light it is beautiful to hear on this summers night.

"John" gives us a "I, 2, 3, 4" lead in for 'Please, Please Me,' which features the true-to-life Paul and George-shared mic experience coupled with John adding the harmonica break. After most all songs, the trio bow in sync together, which is a very nice touch. "George" then comes stage front, as he does often in the show, to chat. "The next song we'd like to do is an oldie," he laughs, as do the audience and the band. That was another welcomed aspect to the show, the fact that these guys didn't take themselves too seriously and had fun at their own expense along the way. The song that follows was 'I'm Happy Just to Dance with You' which leads into 'All My Loving.'

"Paul" then announces that they are going to slow it down, as they break into 'This Boy.' Everything this band puts its musical mind to is incredible. The songs are spot on, the outfits locked into an amazing time warp, their approach to getting it all across incredible. Although, being that I was told by a man next to me that "John" was actually bald underneath his wig did tend to sit with my inner thoughts for the remainder of the show!

After 'And I Love Her,' "Ringo" gets to sing again on 'Act Naturally,' before "John" asks the audience, "How many people out there tonight are here tonight?" Next up is 'Eight Days a Week,' before "John" riffs a few more jokes, and then leads us into a frantic 'A Hard Day's Night.' "Next up includes a very special feature," explains "George," "because it features John on lead." It's at this juncture that "John" steals some mic time by informing him it also features Paul and Ringo. Which enables "George" to continue. "It seems it also features Paul in some small way, and Ringo too, sorry! It is a song from the Hard Day's Night album ..." It is at this point that he turns off mic to "John" and asks him for the title, which "John" gives him back as "Should Have Known Better, You Twit"! In fact, it turns out to be 'Love Me Do,' which is followed by 'I Should Have Known Better' and then 'If I Fell.'

With most everything centering around the rhythm guitar work of "George" it's his Harrison-esque footwork that seals the deal of true impersonation. His cuban heels just do that gentle shuffle oh so well, so perfectly, and his guitar work is fantastic too. In fact, they all personify their heroes in one way or another: "Paul" has that innocent look up to his left whilst singing, and his audience finger pointing after each song down to an art; "John" has the slung high guitar work perfectly suited to him; and "Ringo" has the little head flicks from right to left down to a tee when singing!

"George" then acts the goat again by introducing a cover of a Carl Perkins song ('Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby'), but stating he was from MI - when in fact, as "John" points out, he was from Tennessee! Next up is 'We Can Work It Out,' before "Ringo" brings everyone to their feet to sing, dance and clap away at 'Twist and Shout.' They then slow it down with 'She's A Woman,' sung by "Paul" with another "1,2,3,4" intro from "John" on 'I Feel Fine.' The brilliantly-sung (by "George") 'Drive My Car' is next and that bleeds into 'Ticket to Ride.' "John" thanks the audience for showing up, tells them that it's been 28 years now that they've been doing this show, and that wearing these shoes each show kills them come the second half of the set!

He then asks us to call a loved on, a friend, or just someone we want to annoy, get them on the line, and hold the phone up whilst they sing for them re: 'In My Life.' Then comes a splendid "George"-sung 'Tax Man,' before "John" introduces "Ringo" on 'Boys.' After "Paul" sings 'Till There Was You,' "Ringo" stands up to encourage us all to do the same thing, and backed by the rip-roaring 'Day Tripper' we all do just that. "John" then announces that this has to be the last song, and so they give us 'She Loves You,' before leaving the stage.

Back for an encore some three minutes later, 'Mr. Moonlight' is backed by 'I’m Happy Just to Dance With You.' Then they rock 'n roll their way through 'Roll Over Beethoven' and after "Paul" sings 'Long Tall Sally,' "John" again thanks everyone for being part of the show, before they all leave the stage for the very last time.

Review & Photo by: Russell A. Trunk

www.1964site.com

1964 THE TRIBUTE CONCERT SCHEDULE FOR 2012/13:

August
8/3 (Friday) Bass Hall (w/ Orchestra) Ft Worth, TX
8/4 (Saturday) Bass Hall (w/Orchestra) Ft. Worth, TX
8/10 (Friday) The Tennessee Theatre Knoxville, TN
8/24 (Friday) Red Rocks Amphitheatre Golden, CO

September
9/6 (Thursday) The Zwermann Theatre Robinson,IL
9/14 (Friday) Bronson Centre Ottawa, Canada
9/20 (Thursday) St. Joseph County Fair Centerville, MI
9/22 (Saturday) The Majestic Theatre San Antonio, TX

October
10/5 (Friday) The Apple Festival Paintsville, KY
10/6 (Saturday) The Civic Theatre Akron, OH
10/12 (Friday) The Dunn Center for the Performing Arts Rocky Mount, NC
10/13 (Saturday) Northside High School Jacksonville, NC
10/20 (Saturday) The Rosemont Theatre Chicago, IL

December
12/7 (Friday) Birchmere Music Hall Alexandria, VA
12/18 (Tuesday) Citrus Hills Country Club Citrus Hills, FL