6The Daily Tar Heel Monday, October 20, 1986
Concert shows a barrel, of Monkees is still fun
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The Monkees' Micky Dolenz gets off like a big dog playing his
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It was a real scream of a concert
the zany onstage antics, the way
the audience reacted, the fabrication
of everything from a recorded
emcee's welcome to Micky's synthes
ized drum set.
But, man, it was fun.
The Smith Center was the scene,
and the Monkees' 20th Anniversary
World Tour was the happenin'. A
near-capacity crowd of about 12,600
people shrieked, smiled, swayed and
occasionally cringed Friday to the
snap-crackle pop of Herman's Her
mits, Gary Puckett and the Union
Gap, The Grass Roots and The
Monkees. Or what's left of them.
The Monkees were the most
intact, with three-fourths of the
original members, and the group that
used to upstage Jimi Hendrix when
they toured together had no trouble
captivating the crowd after the
opening acts. The screams, from
both the 1966-68 NBC-era and 1986
MTV-era fans, were deafening as
Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and
Peter Tork appeared. You'd have
thought the Beatles had just arrived
from Liverpool.
The music, if not the musicians,
has aged well. Peter picked his
guitar, Micky tapped his drums and
Davy tried to look spiffy behind a
tambourine, the instrument that only
he could play with such excitement
(Tracy Partridge was a deadbeat in
comparison). A back-up band
included guitar, bass, keyboards,
drums and four-piece brass section.
Together, they played and sang
faithful renditions of the old favor
ites, opening with "Last Train to
Clarksville" and romping through
"A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You,"
"I'm a Believer," "Valleri," "Going
Down," "Shades of Gray" and others
an hour's worth of three-minute
hits.
There were painful moments.
Micky would bend and get stuck, ha
ha, or Davy would continue gestur
ing after a song had ended, ahem,
or Peter would whine about how he
never got to sing, awww. Then there
was the line from "Stepping Stone":
"The clothes you're wearing, girl, are
causing public scenes." This coming
from three middle-age men trying to
look hip in their plastic fashion
statements.
Two other songs came back to
haunt the encore. First was "Listen
to the Band," written by Michael
Nesmith, the Monkee who isn't
touring. Playing it accentuated his
absence (attributed to a busy sche
dule), an uneasy reminder that
somebody out there thinks he's
4
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Sat. 10-3
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Dave Schmid
Concerts
above all this Monkee business. And
the final song, "Pleasant Valley
Sunday," accentuated another
uncomfortable mix words of
social consciousness sung by a group
resurrected in the 'SOs by commercial
escapism, here in Status Symbol
Land.
But the music, upbeat and
melody-rich, mellowed the contrasts.
Very few bands these days can get
children, students and adults to
stand together and cheer. Maybe it
was hokey, a bit of a joke, but it
was a very good joke, the kind that
doesn't hurt anybody and makes
people laugh in spite of themselves.
The opening act, Herman's Her
mits (sans Herman and two other
original members), fielded its own
band with no backup. Included were
original Hermits' drummer Barry
Whitwam and lead guitarist Derek
Leckenby, who actually jammed to
"Henry the VIII" and "A Kind of
Hush."
Gary Puckett belted out his hits
"Lady Willpower," "Young Girl"
and "Over You" among them with
a voice as strong as ever, like a Tom
Jones who can hold a note. And
when he tossed off his shirt and
jerked his hips, the crowd screamed.
Rob Grill, lead vocalist for The
Grass Roots, didn't get a scream
until he mentioned The Monkees.
His set was refreshingly direct, and
at 20 minutes, it was the shortest.
Unfortunately, he had enough time
after singing such hits as "Midnight
Confessions," "Temptation Eyes,"
"Sooner or Later" and "Let's Live
for Today" to shout: "Y'know,
(insert town here), North Carolina,
you always could throw a party."
Somehow, the sound system
picked up such contrivances, where
as the music and lyrics often were
muffled. It was as if another '60s pop
phenomenon producer Phil Spec
tor's "Wall of Sound" technique
had resurfaced, dictating that some
instruments be felt more than heard.
Still, the screaming was clear. And
as it finally died down and the lights
brightened, you could see that The
Monkees no longer get the funniest
looks from everyone they meet
just looks of fun.
Dave Schmidt, a 1986 graduate
and former Daily Tar Heel co-editor,
lives in Raleigh.
the.
apartments
Smith Level Road
Carrboro, NC