Concert Guy

Starring Peter Noone

The Beach Boys came to Mashantucket, CT on June 26th with Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noon. Two old school acts dating back to the 60s, who have kept their torches burning since then. The Beach Boys have had countless hits across generations that so many people know. You know them even if you think you don’t. Perhaps you heard them on the radio back in the day, saw them on Full House in the 80s/90s, heard them on other countless TV shows, Movies, and Soundtracks. Or, if you live in or have ever visited anywhere remotely tropical (a plastic palm tree at a club counts) and the radio was on, or a DJ or band was performing, there’s a damn good chance you know at least one Beach Boys song. But…

The night started with Herman’s Hermits (Starring Peter Noone). That’s how it’s billed, I’m not Peter Noone obsessed…but my mom might be! So that’s who I took to the show. Let me tell you, this dude and his band were great! He’s 77 but you wouldn’t really know it. He moves around all night across the stage, off the stage, back on the stage, up the aisles, etc. He does goofy dances (sometimes intentional, other times maybe that’s just how he dances), and his voice sounds great. He does not sound like a 77 year old man. He maintains the voice of Herman’s Hermits and it’s quite impressive. The night was filled with classic hits, some of his and several covers.

They started with I’m Into Something Good followed by Wonderful World – their song, not the sappy Louis Armstrong song. Look it up if you don’t know it…because you probably know it. They then broke into Love Potion Number 9 (first recorded by The Clovers but performed by lots of bands) for a delightful cover! The crowd work and comedy began. after this, with him leaving the stage and heading into the crowd. As you may imagine, the crowd was on the older side, filled with folks who grew up with this music. He made a comment that, “This is the youngest crowd this tour!” which is hilarious whether true or not. Then some late arrivals came strolling down the aisle and he asked them where they were coming from. First answer was “dinner” followed by “Plainfield, CT” to which he commented, “It’s amazing. I came all the way from England and still got here before you!”

They went into Listen People, Dandy, one or two others, and then a brief Johnny Cash cover (Ring of Fire) and a Monkey’s cover (Daydream Believer). A bit later on, he dropped his phone from his back pocket and started talking about how it wasn’t very “teen idol” of him. He then started marching around doing his best Mick Jagger impression as they did a brief version of Start Me Up before going into their own song, Can’t You Feel My Heartbeat.

Of course they did Mrs. Brown as well, and performed I’m Henry VIII, I am which turned into a singalong and a lot more crowd work. And if you don’t know that song from the radio, perhaps you know it from the movie “Ghost” with Patrick Swayze.

Anyway, he was a great storyteller, quite the comedian, and just an overall solid entertainer. It was a fun show, and the crowd seemed very pleased. He kept the energy going for his full hour, always smiling, goofing around with the band, and just having what seemed to be a truly good time. When you can tell that the performer is having fun, it just adds to the show.

After a short break, the Beach Boys came out. I was excited to see them, but with Herman’s Hermits setting the bar, I was a little nervous. Would they be as good? I was really looking forward to this show because my first concert ever was seeing the Beach Boys…when I was a young lad. This is a bookend concert! Start with Beach Boys, end with Beach Boys (not that I’m done with concerts…I’ll just start a new book!) But anyway…

I didn’t recognize the first song and it was a little sloppy if you ask me. Vocals seemed off and the mix of guitars sounded like they weren’t always on the same page. Surfin’ Safari was next I believe followed by another I didn’t know before getting into Rockaway Beach, Surfin’ USA, Littler Surfer Girl, Don’t Worry Baby, Little Deuce Coupe, and 409.

Brian Wilson, founding member of the Beach Boys, passed away a week and half or 2 weeks before this show, but he hadn’t been performing with them in quite some time. They did do a nice video tribute to him during the show. But I state this because at this point, 84-year-old Mike Love is the only original member, with another longtime member from the 60s (Bruce Johnston). The rest of band have been picked up along the way with varying tenure including Mike’s son Christian Love and 6 other dudes to bring 9 guys to the stage. Mike Love’s voice is about what you’d expect an 84-year-old to sound like. When he talked to tell stories (which didn’t really happen until about 5 or 6 songs in) you had to be quiet and listen. He has that wispy tone. The wispiness went away while singing, but his volume was overall lower than the others. The drummer was a young dude and a pretty solid sing, Christian was good singer, and I believe it was Brian Eichenberger doing the higher pitched vocals.

As a whole, the band does a great job. They’re all professional musicians with a lot more musical talent than I’ll ever have, but it wasn’t quite the Beach Boys sound. Seeing Mike Love barely moving, having trouble picking up his tambourine off the floor after dropping it, and his wispy voice was just a little sad. I love that he’s still trying to bring great music to a city near you, but the magic is gone. Also, there was no John Stamos for this show. He is joining them for some dates, but not this one. Stamos was there in ’88 or ’89 when I saw them the first time, and that was cool!

The still did a ton of songs including I Get Around, Be True to Your School, California Girls, Sloop John B, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Help Me Rhonda, Good Vibrations, and of course Kokomo. There were also a couple covers, one that changed And Then He Kissed Me (by the Crystals) to And Then I Kissed Her and a cover of California Dreamin’ (The Mamas & the Papas).

Overall, they were fine, and people knew the songs, but it wasn’t great. Sadly, a lot of people started leaving fairly early in the set and they continued to trickle out throughout the night. As it got to the end of the night, a lot of our section was already gone, probably half. And you could see other sections with plenty of empty seats as well. This isn’t what you expect to see with a sold-out show.