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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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