Beatlemania ... Again?

If you catch them at the right angle, you could swear it was those fab lads onstage at Livingston High School -- Dirk, Stig, Nasty and Barry ... um,wait -- that was the Rutles.  

Oh well, I would have liked to have seen them onstage.But this is Beatlemania Again, a four-piece group that does its best to recreate the Fab Four's deceptively simple repertoire.

The details are correct -- moptop wigs, black suits, beatle boots, Paul's Hofner bass, the way John holds his guitar up high and Ringo's slanted head and goofy grin. The man behind the bass is the most convincing physically, as he somewhat resembles Paul and has McCartney's body language down pat.

The first set consisted of tunes from the early years, such as "Please Please Me," "Help"  and Can't Buy Me Love," which were enjoyed by the large multi-generational crowd. Grandparents sang along and kids jumped around with balloons provided by Regal Bank, the show's sponsor.

Part two saw a few costume changes as the band morphed into the hippie years, beginning with Sargeant Pepper's uniforms and ending with their more individual styles. The Beatles stopped touring in 1966, but Beatlemania Again strove to recreate a concert that never was by playing many numbers that were not  played live by the Beatles. The band played "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "Come Together" and tunes from the White Album a little less faithfully, giving the members a little room to throw in their own musical ideas. 

Several audience members recalled seeing The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, "on that little black and white TV." Spending a pleasant evening watching a recreation of a phenomenon made one wonder what it must have been like being there for the real thing. There was at least one major difference this time around: "John " had to ask the girls in the audience to scream.