The Beatles, often recognized as the most successful music group in history, have been injected into the musical lives of people all around the world since 1960.
People of all ages have come to love the “Fab Four” and their music. They have touched the lives of many, even now, more than 40 years after the group went their separate ways.
Rain, a Beatles tribute band, has mastered every song and mannerism of the group. In its live performances, it plays each song note-for-note. Tonight, the Palace Theatre is scheduled to host the show.
Their show starts off with The Beatles in the time of the Ed Sullivan Show, then reappears as the group from its Sergeant Pepper days. Next, the group comes back with the hippie look and finally evolves into the Abbey Road look.
“We go all the way from ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ all the way to ‘Let It Be’ and The Beatles break-up,” said Jimmy Pou, who portrays guitarist George Harrison.
Rain’s members have played in other Beatles tribute bands and they each were part of the Broadway show “Beatlemania.” Pou said by the time they joined Rain, they knew what they were doing.
As the group is performing, there will be multimedia playing on screens around them, in the form of films, slides and TV commercials from the ‘60s. Some of the clips are funny, while others show historical events like the John F. Kennedy assassination and protests over the Vietnam War.
“It’s basically an education, not just musically, but also historically about what was going on during the ‘60s, and how The Beatles music influenced the times and how the times influenced The Beatles music as well,” Pou said.
The portrayers of the Fab Four, along with a fifth band member who plays the keyboard, have all been Beatles fans for a long time.
“I saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show when they were on TV, and I told my parents that night that that’s what I want to do; I wanted to play guitar and have girls screaming at me,” Pou said.
During the show, the group asks the younger members of the audience to stand up to show the older fans how The Beatles are still influencing and touching the lives of young people, Pou said.
Caroline Stunek, a second-year in art and technology, has been listening to The Beatles since before she was born.
“My dad would come home from work to find the Beatles serenading me through headphones on my mom’s stomach,” Stunek said. “I could’ve been the world’s youngest Beatles fan.”
Established musicians and bands dedicated to playing strictly Beatles music have been around since the 1960s.
“I’ve yet to hear a tribute band that does the Beatles justice,” Stunek said. “Acts like No Doubt and Steven Tyler, however, are successful in my eyes because they contribute their own elements of style.”
While other bands are more successful at bringing their own style to Beatles songs, Rain has made its mark playing just like The Beatles did, right down to the accents and specific dance moves with particular songs.
“I think tribute bands are neat,” said Jason Groh, a third-year in finance, “because it allows other people to try to experience what it would be like to see the real band in concert.”
