I Believe in Yesterday

The first thing you notice are the moptops. Then, your attention shifts to band members1 four matching suits and the high-pitched screams emanating from the first few rows. By the time the opening chords of 3I Saw Her Standing There2 fill the auditorium, you feel like you1re at the taping of the Ed Sullivan Show in 164.

That1s when you have to survey the scene a little more suspiciously. That swinging hipster next to you ain1t so swinging after all. He1s Joe Sandor, he1s about to collect his social security check, and he probably wants to sell you life insurance. Those shrieks from the front of the theater aren1t girlish moans either; they1re asthmatic chokes. And, the worst indignity of all, Paul is fat.

So, 1964... A Tribute, the Beatles1 3premier2 cover band, is not quite as cool as the original Fab Four. Not even close. But packed into the Carolina Theatre 40 years after the boys from Liverpool revolutionized rock music, I1m having a blast.

Despite 19641s being comprised of four goofballs who have dressed up and pretended to be other people for the last 18 years, there are just too many reasons to enjoy their show. First, the songs can automatically suck the cynicism out of even the most hardened misanthrope, and these fakes play Oem just like you remember Oem. Rockers like 3Eight Days a Week2 and 3Twist and Shout2 were surprisingly raucous, and ballads 3In My Life2 and 3Yesterday2 weren1t overly sentimental.

Second, anytime I diverted my attention away from the stage, a sea of completely off-rhythm, overly enthusiastic 50-year-olds attempting to recreate their glory days unfolded before me. During 3Help!2 one Golden Oldie started dancing so spastically that his dentures fell out.

The Faux Fab Four will return to North Carolina in October, and for a dose of purely unintentional comedy and for perfect renditions of some of the best recorded music ever, try to grab a ticket before some silver-haired slickster has a stroke trying to beat you to it.