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The Monkees – Live At The Star Plaza Theater in Merrillville, Indiana
The Monkees – Live At The Star Plaza Theater in Merrillville, Indiana
Incredibly THIS was the only show I saw all weekend that wasn’t a complete sell-out … and the very idea blew me away. When Micky, Peter and Mike reunited after the death of Davy Jones last year, there wasn’t a ticket to be had … a fact not lost on Peter Tork who remarked from the stage, “Thank you all for coming … those of you who are here … and you know who you are!” (lol)
It was quite a multi-media extravaganza Saturday Night … a giant movie screen was perched directly behind the band and it never stopped all night long, showing vintage clips from their old television series (that virtually every fan in the audience was able to recite right along with them, word-for-word, forever embedded in our memories and known by heart.) There were also quite a few outtakes shown, including much more from their original screen test / audition tapes (which kicked off the show prior to The Monkees Theme coming on), including scenes of each of the Pre-Fab Four auditioning with other actors who did not make the final cast. (Sorry, no … Charles Manson was NOT amongst them … but that was all just a big rumor anyway!!!)
Musically, the trio was supported by what was in effect a ten-piece band … so we were treated to a very full and rich sound … musically speaking, it may have been the best backing I’d ever seen afforded a Monkees concert.
Over the years I have seen some various incarnation of the Monkees at least forty or fifty times … Davy, Micky and Peter, each as a solo act (again and again and again) … several of the usual, post-MTV comeback “Here We Come … just the three of us (’cause Mike’s not here)” shows that have happened all over the midwest during the past forty years, Micky and Davy (doing their “Just Monkeeing Around” schtick at this very same theater AGES ago where I’ll bet there weren’t 28 people in the entire audience!), as well as a few of the original Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart / “The Guys Who Wrote ’em and The Guys Who Sang ’em” Reunion Shows (including their very first gig together at Six Flags Amusement Park in St. Louis, Missouri, way back in 1976!) Speaking of amusement parks, I’ve seen Peter at the long-since-gone Old Chicago indoor amusement park in Bolingbrook, too, as a solo act (where he signed a napkin for me with a green felt-tip pen!) as well as at various clubs around the city back in the early ’80’s … and Micky and/or Davy at many of their local summertime neighborhood fests in and around the Chicagoland suburbs … everything from the beautiful “Music In The Park” Wednesdays in Bensenville, IL, to the echo-bouncing-off-the-walls Elk Grove outdoor concerts to Franklin Park’s “Railroad Days”, which was held across the street from the train tracks (where the music was drowned out every time a train passed by … which was about every twenty minutes or so!)
But I had NEVER seen Mike Nesmith before. (The one chance I had to go was a LONG, long time ago when he did a solo date at a club in the Wrigleyville area … but I got sick that night and was unable to attend. Based on all the subsequent reunion shows that never included him, I felt like I had blown my one and only chance to EVER see The Nez.)
But Mike was in full view Saturday Night … taking center stage on a great number of songs throughout the night, revisiting a part of The Monkees catalog that has long since disappeared both from the radio and the concert stage over the past 40+ years. (I couldn’t get over the way Mike was dressed … blue jeans … a white t-shirt … very “down home” … but then these black, sparkly, glitter shoes that seemed so COMPLETELY out of character for him. When I had the chance to visit with him a little bit backstage after the show, he had changed into black sneakers … and I told him “I had REALLY hoped to get a picture of you in those shoes!” Mike laughed and said “Well, you’re too late … those came off a half hour ago” to which I replied “You probably can’t wear those in Texas, right???”) He was gracious enough to then pose for a photo (taken, as was the shot below of me and Micky, by Micky’s wife Donna.)
Speaking of Davy, his name was NEVER mentioned once during the course of the entire show … quite a surprise to me. I guess by now, everybody just knows and accepts the fact that he’s gone … whereas the first Micky / Mike / Peter reunion shows were staged as more of a tribute to Davy. In fact, other than a short film clip of Davy’s song and dance routine from the film “Head” (Harry Nilsson’s “Daddy’s Song”) the only other Davy song performed all night long was “Daydream Believer”, where they guys (including Mike) each took a turn singing a verse. (Mike’s reading was especially moving … he might most likely deny it, but his voice cracked during his verse and in my heart I believe that was due to the pure emotion of performing a song SO associated with Davy … and knowing that Davy will never be able to sing it again.) The performance rendered a well-deserved standing ovation … and was an emotional highlight of the night. (I got choked up just telling this story the next day!)
Addressing the elephant in the room, I will also admit that I am more than a little bit heart-broken every time I think about Davy not being here to be able to share in what fans have waited SO long to see … a full-fledged Monkees reunion featuring all four original members. But, shame that it is, it just wasn’t to be … and fans truly do appreciate the return of Michael Nesmith to the fold to help keep the legacy going.
A very good review!! Thanks a lot!!