Tonight, I attended my first concert in nearly two years on Saturday night when I ventured to NYC's Beacon Theatre to see The Monkees. I hadn't initially planned on going as I had seen them in Boston in May 2016. But the death of Peter Tork last month prompted me to reconsider. It would also present likely the one and only opportunity to see Mike Nesmith (who was absent during most of their 2016 tour) perform in person.
Billed as the Mike & Micky Show, the evening began with the audience singing "Happy Birthday" to Micky Dolenz who turned 74 yesterday. Dolenz, who was decked out in a black hat and black overcoat, was delighted at the tribute and undoubtedly still happy to be performing at his age. The same could be said for the 76-year old Nesmith who underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery last year.
The first half of their set featured Monkees' classics such as "Last Train to Clarksville", "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday". Dolenz's vocals shined on the Carole King penned "The Porpoise Song" which was the theme of Head, the's group ill-fated movie with Jack Nicholson. After Dolenz asked the audience if they had ever seen Head, he asked, "Could you tell me what it is about?" too much laughter. Another highlight of the first set was "Birth of an Accidental Hipster" which was co-written by Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher from their 2016 album Good Times!
The Monkees paid tribute to Tork first by performing "For Pete's Sake" (the closing theme of The Monkees TV show during its second season). Then at the conclusion of the first set, Dolenz, Nesmith and the rest of the band left the stage and we were treated to a video of Tork singing The Mills Brothers' "'Til Then". It wasn't clear if the video was recorded during the Good Times! sessions or if he recorded it knowing he didn't have much time left. Whatever the case, it gave the audience
The second set was primarily an acoustic, country rock set which is more in line with Nesmith's musical leanings and also helped bring out his voice which is not nearly as strong as Dolenz's on songs like "Papa Gene's Blues", "Joanne", "Me & Magdalena" (written by Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie) and "Auntie's Municipal Court." Nesmith sang "Joanne" (which was his only hit with the short-lived country rock outfit The First National Band) at the behest of MSNBC's Brian Williams because it was his wife's favorite song. As it turned out, Williams' wife couldn't come to the show, but Nesmith sang it anyway.
In some ways, this show was more low key than the 2016 Boston show. During that show, all the songs were played with TV clips from The Monkees. This was cut down considerably. Also gone was the shawl that Dolenz wore when he performed "Randy Scouse Git". But this meant more attention was paid to the music. It was also something of a family affair with Nesmith's son Christian on lead guitar and Dolenz's younger sister Coco on backup vocals.
The Monkees ended strong with "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", "Daydream Believer" and "What Am Doin' Hangin' 'Round?" before the band left the stage with the exception of Nesmith who feigned confusion. Nesmith then began "Listen To The Band" on his own before the rest of the band joined in. The good times came to an end with "I'm a Believer".
The audience left the theater delighted with the quality of the music many of whom like myself had never seen Nesmith perform having distanced himself from the group until the death of Davy Jones in 2012.
With half the group now gone the chances to see The Monkees live diminish with every year. The Monkees conclude their U.S. tour next weekend, but will travel to Australia and New Zealand for some dates in June. If you have the chance to see The Monkees, please take it. You'll be glad you did.
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