Rain @ SKyPAC 2/25/2013

Rain, a tribute to the Beatles that has played on Broadway, took its’ road version to SKyPAC. There were videos of the 60s, retro stage sets and costumes that captured various phases of the Beatles’ relatively short but varied career, and all those great tunes that a show just cannot go wrong with. The group even recaptured some of the good-natured banter typical of interviews that the Beatles did with the media back in the day. For Beatle fans old and young, and there were some under 20 years old in the crowd (the band did a stand up if you’re 20 or under check), it was a treat and a true trip down Memory Lane.

The show starts off with the British invasion year (1964), and then continues into “A Hard Days’ Night” period, and then the “Help” era. I know, it’s almost laughable to think of these as eras since the first Ed Sullivan appearance was in February of 64, the first film came out later that year, and “Help” came out in 1965. But musically, I feel a distinction in each of these “eras”, and Rain sort of bears that out.

Now the Beatles’ catalog is huge, so you can’t expect them to play nearly all the songs you’d like to hear. But I was surprised when the transitional “Rubber Soul”/”Revolver” period was largely ignored. It did not help that “Rubber Soul” is at the top of my list. But for the “Sgt. Pepper’s” fan it was a dream come true. They spent lots of time doing those tunes (including “A Day in the Life”) with the day-glow costumes on. The show continued with a bit of “Magical Mystery Tour”, very little of the “White Album” (but thank God they did “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”), a nice bit of “Abbey Road”, and not so much of “Let It Be”, but they did do that song. The third song of the encore, and I just knew it was coming, was “Hey Jude”.

Highlights for me were “Blackbird” and “Here Comes the Sun” in a very impressive acoustic set, “Day Tripper” with its’ prominent bass line, “Twist and Shout”, “Revolution”, “Come Together”, and “Get Back”. Big omissions I would have liked to hear (and these are just a few, of course) were “She’s a Woman”, “Back in the USSR”, “Rocky Raccoon” (would have went down nice during the acoustic stuff), “You Won’t See Me”, and maybe another Ringo song or two (they did do “A Little Help from My Friends”).

Other aspects of the show were pretty impressive. The lighting was good, an invisible screen was lowered in front of the band during “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” that had diamond shapes floating between them and the audience (far out man!), and the sets reflected each era nicely.

If you’re a Beatles fan at any level and didn’t make this show, you missed a good one. I haven’t spoken to anyone who was there who was disappointed. But how could it have been bad? The magical mystery tour that is the Beatles’ catalog really doesn’t include a bad apple in the bushel, and that was apparent throughout this performance of Rain.

Rain performed at SKyPAC on February 2, 2013

For more on Rain go to raintribute.com.

For info and scheduling on SKyPAC, go to theskypac.com. If you’re into the 60s, Dreamgirls is on the way.

About the author: Pennman bought his first 45 at age nine and has been hooked on rock ever since. He has spent much of his disposable income on music, especially live performances. He writes reviews of the shows he sees and keeps a keen lookout for upcoming shows in or near Bowling Green. He has a BA in Communications, specializing in journalism, and has dabbled in music himself, both as a player and instructor. Find more of Pennman’s work at www.associatedcontent.com/user/165511/pennman.html or visit him at www.myspace.com/pennman_bg or www.facebook.com/pennman