A TRIBUTE
The Beatles’ early 1960s concert experience gets star treatment in touring show heading back to Perot Theatre on July 20.
The Beatles’ early ‘60s concert experience receives star treatment in “1964: The Tribute,” a touring show coming back to the Perot Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 20.
This tribute has attracted Beatles fans for roughly three decades as it brings John, Paul, George and Ringo to life on stage with a lovingly-crafted live show experience from those days when The Beatles were all the rage—youthful, exuberant and rocking. It played here at the Perot three years ago.
The role of John Lennon goes to Mark Benson, who says the unusual thing about The Beatles is that there isn’t a demographic that doesn’t love them. Different generations, different types of people, love to hear their music.
“It’s just amazing,” Benson said. “When you look out there and see a 7-year-old kid singing the third verse of ‘Nowhere Man’ it’s amazing.”
He says those fans don’t just know the songs, too. They know all about the band. The video game The Beatles: Rock Band has also opened up a new audience of Beatles fans, as well.
About the “1964: The Tribute” approach to recreating a Beatles experience, Benson says, “It’s a Beatles concert rather than a Beatles story.”
This show concentrates on that uptempo rock and roll music crafted by The Beatles during the early ‘60s, pulling music from the first six or seven albums, Benson said. “It’s amazing how much they
covered.”
The Beatles had four naturally charismatic guys, so one of them didn’t have to carry the whole load, he said. This added to the diversity of their music.
As Benson puts it, somebody introduced them as the band where you don’t have to state their last names to know who they are.
And as for how “1964: The Tribute” has changed over the years, he says it really hasn’t.
“That is the hardest thing about doing what we do: not to change,” Benson said. Typically, an artist evolves and changes over time. But with this tribute show, their challenge is to learn the music the way most people remember it as it was back in the ‘60s and not change it.
They aim to stay true to the records, give people what they remember and put the live entertainment factor into the experience, Benson said.
His work as a guitar-making luthier gives him an appreciation for how guitars sounded for The Beatles, who had a unique team around them and unique guitars, he says.
“It’s really nice when you can match all the construction and all the nuances in a guitar and get it to sound like the thing you hear on a record,” Benson said.
He’s custom-made Rickenbackers to sound like Lennon’s instruments. In addition to period instruments, the show includes period hairdos, dress and conversation.
They play about 100 shows a year and demand for the show is great. “1964: The Tribute” heads overseas, but most shows are here in the U.S. where they’ve sold out venues like Red Rocks and Carnegie Hall.
“I swear there are more Beatles fans popping up all over the planet,” Benson said.
Benson is joined by Graham Alexander as Paul McCartney, Tom Work as George Harrison and Bobby Potter as Ringo Starr.
For more information on “1964: The Tribute,” check out 1964site.com.
(Tickets: $49, $43 and $33 with half-priced student tickets in the balcony. Ask about senior, military and group discounts. More info and ticket purchase: 903792-4992 or TRAHC.org.)