Health & Fitness
"It's True- The Beatles Are Coming Back to Dearborn"
I was five years old, convinced that I was seeing The Beatles live and in person. 1964 the Tribute gave me an experience as close to the real thing as possible, and they're coming back.
It was a sunny day, and my family was going to a food festival in Dearborn. I was five years old. When my dad said we were going to see a concert at the festival, I asked him who was going to play.
1964 the Tribute would be performing their tribute to The Beatles, recreating the experience of seeing an actual Fab Four show in the early 1960s. At this point in my life, my dad had been playing Beatles music around the house, but all I was really familiar with was the kid-friendly "Yellow Submarine."
Before the show started, I was like any 5-year-old kid, constantly distracted by the sights, sounds, and smells of the sensory overload-inducing festival. But suddenly, four mop-topped musicians dressed in matching suits waltzed onto the stage and started playing this wild guitar music. People instantly began screaming, dancing, and singing along to every word at the top of their lungs. I was transfixed.
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The faces of people of all ages changed into looks of bliss as they nodded their heads and stamped their feet along with the timeless music. The musicians sang together in an accent I’d never heard before. They each had their own unique way of bopping to the beat, but every once in a while, they would all simultaneously shake their heads, causing the audience to scream in delight.
I wondered who these people were, that could walk onstage and instantly have the entire audience in the palm of their collective scruffy hand. This is the first concert I recall ever seeing. My dad was a musician, so I was already influenced to play the guitar. But it was this band that made me want to be a performer.
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When we got home, my dad bestowed upon me one of his Beatles cassettes. I nearly wore the thing out from incessant play. I became a lifelong Beatles fanatic. I was too young to ever see the actual group live, but I saw 1964 the Tribute every time they came to town.
Now years later, I’ve seen the real Paul McCartney live in the flesh twice and countless videos of the Fab Four from back in the day. But even so, watching the brilliantly accurate 1964 the Tribute always allows me to feel that, for one night only, it is the early 1960s and John, Paul, George, and Ringo have come to my town.
1964 the Tribute will be at the Michael A. Guido Theater April 19.
Jonathan Mazzei
