It’s Beatlemania Again in Honor of John Lennon’s Birthday
Blame it on the ever-nostalgic baby-boomers if you like, but after all these many years later, the Beatles are still in big demand.
You hear their music everywhere, and that’s just going to ratchet up a notch or two (or three) in the coming week and a half, as the calendar closes in on the 70th anniversary of the birth of John Lennon on Saturday, October 9.
In honor of the anniversary, the Beatles’ evergreen music is once again permeating every facet of pop culture.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the Beatles/Lennon related events that are slated here in Nippertown:
TODAY (WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29)
“LENNONNYC” @ the Bearsville Theater, Woodstock. Michael Epstein’s feature length documentary about John Lennon’s years in NYC – to be broadcast as part of the “American Masters” series on PBS-TV in November – kicks off the Woodstock Film Festival. Followed by a party in the lounge. 7:30pm. $25.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1
“LENNONNYC” @ the Rosendale Theatre, Rosendale. See above. 2pm. $5.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2
Beatlemania Again @ The Linda, Albany. The Fab Four tribute band returns to The Linda by popular demand with their three-act performance: “Meet the Beatles,” “Sergeant Pepper” and “Get Back.” 8pm. $20. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to this show! (see below)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6
The Quarrymen live plus the film “Nowhere Boy” @ The Egg, Albany. Amidst all of the tributes, this is the Big One. Why? Well, the Quarrymen was actually John Lennon’s first band, and all three members playing at The Egg played alongside Lennon back in their school days. Now that’s the Real Deal. But that’s only the second half of the evening’s entertainment. Prior to the Quarrymen’s performance, The Egg will host a preview screening of the new bio-pic “Nowhere Boy” – starring Aaron Johnson as the young Lennon and Kristin Scott Thomas as Aunt Mimi – which explores John’s coming of age as musician in Liverpool in the ’50s and the beginnings of the Beatles. 7pm. $18.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7
“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Lennon” @ Valentine’s Music Hall, Albany. The songs of John Lennon as performed by such Nippertown musicians as Ashley Pond, Michael Eck, In Defense of Autumn, Brad Jarvis, Matt Durfee, M.R. Poulopoulos, Harry J. Strole, Jim Ketterer, Roger Noyes, Marc Clayton, Rob Wright. 8pm. $5.
Soulive @ Northern Lights, Clifton Park. OK, this one isn’t an official John Lennon or Beatles tribute show. But you can bet your autographed Ringo Starr drumsticks that you’ll be hearing plenty of re-invented, jazz/funk/jam-band-influenced interpretations from the trio’s brand-spankin’ new album, “Rubber Soulive.” 8pm. $17 in advance; $20 at the door.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9
The Capital Area Indie Fest @ The Egg, Albany. The Nippertown indie music showcase features Imagining Lennon, starring Tom Raider, as well as a wealth of other local music faves including Sandy McKnight (celebrating the release of his multi-CD, 66-song retrospective, “How I Changed the World”), soul popster Charlie Phillips, funk rockers Capital Zen, punk-popster Vinnie Velez, a reunion of John Powhida & the Staziaks and maximum solo acoustic songsmith Michael Eck. A benefit for the Columbia Arts Team’s youth sponsorships and performing arts programs. 7:30pm. $20.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10
Twist and Shout @ the Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield. Yet another Fab Four tribute band unleashes the famous Merseybeat sound. 7pm. $25, $45.
Heeeey, we have a pair of FREE TICKETS to give away to one lucky Nippertown.com reader for Saturday night’s show by Beatlemania Again at The Linda in Albany. To enter, just leave a comment below with the title of your all-time favorite Beatles/Lennon song. Please leave your email address, too. We won’t publish it, but we’ll use it to contact you if you win. The winner will be selected at random and notified on Friday. Good luck! Congratulations, Pat!
There’s a wonderful podcast of the full-length audio interviews (so far with producer Jack Douglas, photographer Bob Gruen and drummer Jim Keltner) used in creating “LENNONNYC.” In the film, these comments will be edited down to soundbites, but they are very revealing and entertaining in their entirety — and not just for Lennon fans. All of the interview subjects have wide-ranging credits in the rock music world.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/american-masters-lennonyc/id392060166
It is all very nice but again, this is being done for a reason. The reason is John Lennon has Lovechild daughter. Face the facts people. It seemed in the last 30 years no one really cared about John Lennon. Every time I turned on the tv no one mentioned John Lennon’s death. Even Elvis gets way more attention two weeks before his birthday and date of death. Nothing for John. Only a few people show up at the Dakota every year or the put him on the radio. That’s it. Now John Lennon is everywhere. It is because the SECRET is coming. John has a daughter and to boot she is a native New Yorker who is 46 years old. The caption that says “Gimme some truth” being done by Ono and other Beatles. That is not a coicidence. This is what is coming. The truth about John Lennon.
Lovechildren have been prejudiced for years. They are told get out of here. We don’t want to know you. Well now you will not have a choice. You will see her everywhere and now the time has come for Lovechildren to rise up and become respected and understood for who they are. You will see truth in the making. Justice. Yes people justice for lovechildren who are victims of an ugly circumstance. Remember Cesar in the Ape movie? Conquest of the planet of the Apes? Well this is quite similar. A lovechild grows up many years later to find out who she really is. Now they are coming to knock on her door and give her an inheritance because they have no choice. She will have the spotlight on her for a long long time to come. Now everyone will know how hard and tough it is to be a lovechild and how she will stand up for other lovechildren of the famous.