Ever wonder what things look like from the Fab Fourum eye view?
You can find out right here! On this page, we will be posting photos, musings, and observations written by (or recorded by, or taken by ... you get the idea) the individual members of the Fab Fourum, their associates, their loved ones, etc. during their many Beatle-related adventures ... and misadventures ... both past and present! This should be fun!
Ken Michaels Sees ...
Ken Michaels with Mark Rivera and David Bedford at the NJ 'Fest For Beatle Fans'
At the most recent New Jersey 'Fest for Beatle Fans' Ken Michaels had the pleasure of speaking with David Bedford, author of the great book "Liddypool". In this excerpt from Ken's interview, they talk about the "pretty nurse selling poppies' from the classic song 'Penny Lane'.
Ken also caught up with Mark Rivera. Among the things the two talked about were the responsibilities of being a "musical director", a title he has held a number of times on Ringo's "All Starr Tours".
More can be heard on his website.
Ken also caught up with Mark Rivera. Among the things the two talked about were the responsibilities of being a "musical director", a title he has held a number of times on Ringo's "All Starr Tours".
More can be heard on his website.
Peter Asher ... Live at the Iridium in NY
Read a review by JoAnn Michaels -->
| peter_asher_review.pdf |
Slideshow: Peter Asher - Slideshow
Ringo Starr's Birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe and Radio City Music Hall!
(Photos by JoAnn Michaels)
Yoko's "Birthday Concert" Live in Brooklyn February 16, 2010 (Photos by JoAnn Michaels)
It was a very special night indeed. Yoko Ono celebrated her 77th birthday two days in advance with a star-studded concert at BAM Howard Gillman Opera House (Brooklyn, NY.) on Feb. 16, 2010. The music encompassed Yoko’s entire career right up to her latest CD release “Between My Head And The Sky.” Yoko recently brought back the concept of the Plastic Ono Band to back up her concerts and current album. The idea originated from Yoko, who saw the band as an ever-changing lineup of musicians that would support John & Yoko’s solo-music. I must confess that overall I’ve enjoyed most of the music Yoko has given us. While I’m not that big a fan of the songs that focus mainly on her vocal shrieking, or maybe we should call them improvisations, the majority of her work really is quirky yet melodic, and certainly now not so out of place with much of what rock radio has played in the past 40 years. It should be no surprise that the rock press has embraced her work in recent years.
The concert consisted of two sets, the first of which consisted of Yoko fronting the POB. The band itself played extremely well and provided a suitable backing for Yoko’s music. Son Sean Lennon played a variety of instruments and served as music director. The set included some of her 70’s numbers, such as “Why,” “Mind Train,” from the 80’s an occapella version of “It Happened” which opened the show, a slower yet danceable version of “Walking On Thin Ice” for which Sean complimented her mother’s singing, from the 90’s “Rising” and new songs “Waiting for the D Train,” “Moving Mountains,” Ask The Elephant” and “Higa Noboru.” Two observations I made through the concert was how amazed I was at Yoko’s energy (she was dancing and moving around quite a lot while singing her songs) and how powerful her voice still is, remarkable for her age. And then there’s Sean…having seen him in concert a few times I’m thoroughly impressed with his guitar and piano playing. It seems like he just keeps getting better. Sean moved around from electric guitar to bass to piano and, in the 2nd set, even backed up Bette Midler on drums. I wanted to focus on Yoko, but I couldn’t help but notice how Sean was totally involved in every song, and only too proud to be playing his mother’s material.
The 2nd set was made up mainly of special guests all coming to pay tribute to Yoko, each doing at least one of her songs. These included the Scissor Sisters with “The Sun Is Down” from the new album, Justin Bond with one of Yoko’s feminist songs “What A Bastard The World Is,” Gene Ween did John’s “Oh Yoko,” and Bette Midler, with a song she was meant to sing-“Yes, I’m Your Angel,” for which Sean moved over to drums. To some people this was the showstopper. A very special treat came when Paul Simon and his son Harper played their acoustic guitars, harmonized and traded vocals on a medley of Yoko’s “Silverhorse” and John’s “Hold On.” Their involvement with the concert came from Sean’s close friendship with Harper. The curtains were drawn while father and son played. After they left the stage the curtains opened to a vintage Plastic Ono Band, reminiscent of the Live Peace In Toronto lineup, though with a different drummer, and of course, without John. Accompanying Yoko and Sean were Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and Jim Keltner. The band kicked things in high gear with a rockin’version of “Yer Blues” with Sean belting out strong vocals. Sean even told the audience that prior to the show, Eric taught him how John played the guitar part for that song. Then an extra treat-the band backed up Yoko for “Death of Samantha” with Eric doing nice guitar leads, which you know he could do in his sleep. After that, another song performed at Live Peace in Toronto, “Don’t Worry Kyoko.” This was a surreal moment, sort of like the Concert for George, with these special group of musicians who have all been connected to John, gathered together out of respect for him and Yoko, making terrific music and honoring Yoko and her artistic contributions. After the band left the stage, all the guests came out for an encore (except Clapton,) and did a rousing version of “Give Peace A Chance.” This was a very memorable evening, and there were cameramen filming it, telling us that there are plans for a possibly DVD release. Let’s hope this will come out for all to see.
The concert consisted of two sets, the first of which consisted of Yoko fronting the POB. The band itself played extremely well and provided a suitable backing for Yoko’s music. Son Sean Lennon played a variety of instruments and served as music director. The set included some of her 70’s numbers, such as “Why,” “Mind Train,” from the 80’s an occapella version of “It Happened” which opened the show, a slower yet danceable version of “Walking On Thin Ice” for which Sean complimented her mother’s singing, from the 90’s “Rising” and new songs “Waiting for the D Train,” “Moving Mountains,” Ask The Elephant” and “Higa Noboru.” Two observations I made through the concert was how amazed I was at Yoko’s energy (she was dancing and moving around quite a lot while singing her songs) and how powerful her voice still is, remarkable for her age. And then there’s Sean…having seen him in concert a few times I’m thoroughly impressed with his guitar and piano playing. It seems like he just keeps getting better. Sean moved around from electric guitar to bass to piano and, in the 2nd set, even backed up Bette Midler on drums. I wanted to focus on Yoko, but I couldn’t help but notice how Sean was totally involved in every song, and only too proud to be playing his mother’s material.
The 2nd set was made up mainly of special guests all coming to pay tribute to Yoko, each doing at least one of her songs. These included the Scissor Sisters with “The Sun Is Down” from the new album, Justin Bond with one of Yoko’s feminist songs “What A Bastard The World Is,” Gene Ween did John’s “Oh Yoko,” and Bette Midler, with a song she was meant to sing-“Yes, I’m Your Angel,” for which Sean moved over to drums. To some people this was the showstopper. A very special treat came when Paul Simon and his son Harper played their acoustic guitars, harmonized and traded vocals on a medley of Yoko’s “Silverhorse” and John’s “Hold On.” Their involvement with the concert came from Sean’s close friendship with Harper. The curtains were drawn while father and son played. After they left the stage the curtains opened to a vintage Plastic Ono Band, reminiscent of the Live Peace In Toronto lineup, though with a different drummer, and of course, without John. Accompanying Yoko and Sean were Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and Jim Keltner. The band kicked things in high gear with a rockin’version of “Yer Blues” with Sean belting out strong vocals. Sean even told the audience that prior to the show, Eric taught him how John played the guitar part for that song. Then an extra treat-the band backed up Yoko for “Death of Samantha” with Eric doing nice guitar leads, which you know he could do in his sleep. After that, another song performed at Live Peace in Toronto, “Don’t Worry Kyoko.” This was a surreal moment, sort of like the Concert for George, with these special group of musicians who have all been connected to John, gathered together out of respect for him and Yoko, making terrific music and honoring Yoko and her artistic contributions. After the band left the stage, all the guests came out for an encore (except Clapton,) and did a rousing version of “Give Peace A Chance.” This was a very memorable evening, and there were cameramen filming it, telling us that there are plans for a possibly DVD release. Let’s hope this will come out for all to see.
