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A
Tribute to Mike Smith
The BB King
Blues Club, New York City / August 2, 2005
Review by "Lady" Jane Rushmore
A
Tribute to Mike Smith
The
BB King Blues Club, New York City
Master of ceremonies: Paul Shaffer
Performers: The Fab Faux, Billy J. Kramer, Denny Laine,
Peter & Gordon, The Zombies
Special guest appearances by Donald Fagan and Max Weinberg
A
few weeks before the concert, I was listening to Andrew
Loog Oldham's satellite radio show. The guy's in his early
60's and is credited with discovering and managing The Rolling
Stones during the great "British Invasion" of
America. He was right there in the thick of it so when he
made the following statement I paid close attention: "The
Dave Clark Five in many ways were more a part of American
lives. We laughed at 'em. I mean, come on, the outfits,
you know, they looked like hairdressers. But they were The
Beatles for a good ten minutes."
Yeah, I know what he means, but as teenagers we didn't think
too much about their outfits. I mean, The Beatles set the
pace with those collarless matching jackets, the hair, and
boots. All the British bands, including Eric Burdon and
The Animals, wore matching suits. Ok, so when The Stones
debuted they wore t-shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, and so on
and that set them apart, but if any band was laughed at
because of their attire it was The Stones, at least, by
the older generation. My old man thought they were a joke.
Before you think this is an issue, rest assured that Andrew
was just being Andrew on his show and this was not an attack,
but rather just another cast away comment. Andrew's show
is a treat. He always speaks his mind and the music is fantastic.
Catch it when you can.
But the look wasn't the thing that made the Dave Clark Five
The Beatles for ten minutes. It was the music that did that.
They had a string of top ten rockers: "Glad All Over,"
"Bits & Pieces," "Can't You See That
She's Mine," "Come Home," "Catch Us
If You Can," and many others including "Because,"
a ballad that truly rivals The Fabs' "Till There Was
You." They were the number 2 group of The British Invasion,
trailing The Beatles by a hair, for over a year.
A guy who should have his own radio show and program a channel
on satellite radio is Paul Shaffer. This guy knows and loves
the entire history of rock and roll. It was his passion
that inspired him to put together a tribute show for the
DC5's singer and keyboardist Mike Smith. Smith wrote or
co-wrote all the group's hits and it was his raw or tender
vocals that put them over. He had a freak accident at his
home in Spain a few years ago. He fell from a fence and
broke his neck, leaving him a teraplegic with only limited
use of his upper body.
Shaffer
organized the show which took place at the BB King Blues
Club in New York City on Tuesday evening, August 2. The
joint was rockin' and packed with Dave Clark Five fans.
Shaffer spoke backstage before the first show:"I saw
Peter & Gordon in those days, in about 1966, they came
to my home town in Canada and they played for about 20 minutes,
but the excitement level was so high I don't think I could
have stood more than 20 minutes. Anyway, The Fab Faux will
do a set. Then they'll be a set change and, uh, the little
house band I put together for the occasion
will back up Billy J. Kramer, Denny Laine, and Peter &
Gordon, and then The Zombies will close, and hopefully I'm
going to try to get everybody on stage for a rousing finale."
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Billy
J. Kramer with Paul Shaffer
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Peter
& Gordon
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At
show time there was a major problem . . . no Zombies! They
were stuck in Toronto due to the Air France crash on the
runway. The airport was shut down. Shaffer called David
Letterman. The group drove to Hamilton where a plane that
Letterman chartered picked them up. While the opening acts
were performing at the first show, The Zombies flew to Teterboro
Airport in New Jersey and drove to midtown Manhattan. They
arrived at the club at 11PM, just when the second show was
scheduled to begin. It's interesting to note that all of
the Dave Clark Five's appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show
took place on the very stage where Paul and Dave do their
TV thing every night. Rock and Roll never forgets.
Several videos were shown before the live music: The DC5
in black and white from the 60's, Mike with his band Rock
Engine from a Letterman appearance a few years back, and
one shot in his hospital room where he expressed gratitude
and ended with "I better shut up now so the show can
go on."
The Fab Faux kicked things off with a phenomenal post-Revolver
Beatles set including "Penny Lane," "While
My Guitar Gently Weeps," and "Tomorrow Never Knows."
The only non-Beatles number they did was a note-perfect
rendition of the DC5's "Catch Us If You Can."
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The
Zombies featuring original members
Colin Blunstone (l) and Rod Argent (r)
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Billy
J. Kramer was next with "Little Children," "Bad
To Me," and the Mike Smith composition "Come Home."
Denny Laine, formerly of The Moody Blues and Wings, did
"Go Now" and a kick-ass version of "Anyway
You Want It." Peter & Gordon harmonized on "A
World Without Love," "Lady Godiva," "Woman"
and "Because." For two guys who hadn't performed
together in over 37 years they were outstanding. Schaffer's
backup band, with cellos and horns, aided them in sounding
just like their old records.
The
Zombies provided a high energy set: "She's Not There,"
"Tell Her No," "Time Of The Season,"
Argent's "Hold Your Head Up" and a great version
of "Can't You See That She's Mine" were treats
for all the fans in attendance. Original Zombies Ron Argent
and Colin Blunstone still have sensational vocal skills
and the musicianship of the band overall was outstanding.
Donald Fagan from Steely Dan and Max Weinberg from The E
Street Band joined the entire cast for the early show finale.
The second show ended a little past 4 AM after all the performers
joined together on stage to perform "Can't You See
That She's Mine" and "Glad All Over."
A DVD of the evening will be released soon. Paul Shaffer
is the best . . . period.
Thank you sir.
If
you would like to make a donation to Mike Smith, send it
to:
Mike
Smith Benefit
c/o Talent Consultants International, Ltd
1560 Broadway, Suite 1308
New York, N.Y. 10036
Concert
photos: George Napolitano
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