I Believe in Yesterday

The first thing you notice are the moptops. Then, your attention shifts to band members' four matching suits and the high-pitched screams emanating from the first few rows. By the time the opening chords of "I Saw Her Standing There" fill the auditorium, you feel like you're at the taping of the Ed Sullivan Show in '64.

That's when you have to survey the scene a little more suspiciously. That swinging hipster next to you ain't so swinging after all. He's Joe Sandor, he's about to collect his social security check, and he probably wants to sell you life insurance. Those shrieks from the front of the theater aren't girlish moans either; they're asthmatic chokes. And, the worst indignity of all, Paul is fat.

So, 1964... A Tribute, the Beatles' "premier" 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, I'm having a blast.

Despite 1964's 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 'em just like you remember 'em. Rockers like "Eight Days a Week" and "Twist and Shout" were surprisingly raucous, and ballads "In My Life" and "Yesterday" weren't 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 "Help!" 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.