It would perhaps come as no surprise to readers that this twisted, malcontented soul is not a fan of public displays of rhythm. One has no problem seeing it on stage, but when a concert provokes such gyrations in the audience, one’s sensibilities are touched to the quick. I realise that the fault lies entirely within myself, not society at large, but nevertheless one is who one is, and change is unlikely to come in the near future. The first manifestation of spontaneous dance happened during the first half of the show, in a particularly upbeat number, when a lovely, uninhibited couple took to the aisle at the side of the State Theatre and danced, in the relative dark, under a bust or two that protruded from alcoves in the wall. There was much bopping up and down, much spinning of the woman around by the man with his hand holding hers above her head, and much enthusiasm. (One was slightly concerned to find, when they resumed their seats after the song had been sung, that they were not sitting on the end of their row, but somewhere in the middle, and as such had to push past others – but when you’ve got a groovy beat, who needs etiquette?) Then came the encores at the end of the night, and the floodgates broke, and the bacchanal began in earnest.
Oh, dear reader, how unfortunate such moments can be for such a prude as I! Sometimes one will stand, but not move, merely to enable one to continue to see what’s happening on stage. This time one chose to continue in the seated position, and though one has developed a social carapace for such situations, there was still a tinge of awkwardness about the whole affair, like standing in the corner of a room and reading a book while an orgy’s in progress. There were other fellows in my misery, however, like the two teenage boys and their father in the row in front, who stayed seated while their mother rose to her feet and started to move in time to the music. But, on the whole, most of the theatre was dancing, which, one assumes, means that everyone was enjoying themselves. And so they should have been.
The concert in question was a collaboration between the Sydney Symphony and a Beatles cover band – the Classical Mystery Tour – with Martin Herman conducting. Songs by The Beatles were heard, plus a few by members of the group. And what is there to say, critic-wise, about the evening? If one enjoys music by The Beatles, then one would have enjoyed this concert. If one doesn’t enjoy The Beatles, then you should get yourself to a doctor as soon as possible and have your tongue checked out, because clearly you have no taste. (Even I, young and foolish and convinced that older generations are clinically insane in many of their musical proclivities, find much to like in The Beatles.)
But this hasn’t been the only Beatles concert in Sydney this year, no. Earlier we had the Sydney Philharmonia Choir give their rendition of all those classics tunes in a concert entitled Beatles Unplugged, with the choir itself and Rob Mills taking the audience on a technicolour journey through the oeuvre. There, in the City Recital Hall, there was no attempt at imitation, but rather an evening which involved many an arrangement and a lot more voices than the merely four. There were a cappella renditions through to music from the band. But here, with Classical Mystery Tour, the audience was treated to four doppelgangers (Jim Owen as John Lennon, Tony Kishman as a quite convincing Paul McCartney, John Brosnan as George Harrison, and Chris Camilleri as Ringo Starr), with the music itself being just how the Beatles had it on their albums (or so the blurb says). Both concerts had their strengths, and both were equally valid. Whereas the SPC seemed concern with providing a fresh take on the numbers, the Classical Mystery Tour were here to serve nostalgia, and serve it they did, with a great deal of banter to boot.
All in all this critic counted 26 songs, so there’s very little point in naming them, one thinks, for if you’re wondering whether they played your favourite Beatles song, chances are they did. But as to highlights: ‘Penny Lane’, ‘Eleanor Rigby’, and ‘I am the Walrus’, to name a few. The only particularly disappointing part of the night was the opening ‘Beatles Medley Overture’, which these types of concerts always seem to have in some form or other, which are never all that exciting or engaging (not that it was poorly played, by any means, but why find pleasure in listening to a snippet of a tune, when you know you’ll hear it in full within the next two hours?). An enjoyable evening, and one for the fans, as well as newcomers, even if there was a tad too much dancing.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Classical Mystery Tour
Sydney Symphony
Martin Herman (conductor), Jim Owen (rhythm guitar, piano, vocals), Tony Kishman (bass guitar, piano, vocals), John Brosnan (lead guitar, vocals), Chris Camilleri (drums, vocals)
State Theatre, Sydney
14 December
