The Monkees - Turn it all Bluesy in London!

September 4th 2015

London, Hammersmith Apollo, UK

***1/2

Hey! Hey! here's a couple of Monkees!!! They’re “just tryin’ to be friendly”!!! or is it Monkee magic!!!

The Monkees ***1/2 are legends and teen idols from the 60's, but not many people now would actually remember that this was a band that were bigger than The Beatles at points in time, as Monkee-Mania took a grip both sides of the Atlantic. Those of a certain age remember that they had their own TV show. The show had numerous re-runs in the UK during the 80’s, which helped keep a love for them going as they formed a fond part of childhood memories for many. Including us... we both watched it when we where kids, so tonight's show was a trip down memory lane.

The Monkees were one of the Worlds first proper boybands. They were formed after Bert Scheider put out a casting call for “four insane boys”. The intension was to make an American version of the Beatles after Bert was inspired by the film, ‘A hard day’s Night’. You wouldn't believe that this band was ever manufactured after tonight's performance, which had the stamp of maturity all over it. Although, to be fair, the Monkees always had massive scope to improvise and do their own thing, and so could never really be labeled as contrived.

Clips from the TV show were projected onto a screen as a backdrop, but they weren’t interested in regurgitating the songs in the original format, they added strong element of the Blues to it. This show was as much a reflection of where they are now, as celebrating the last fifty years. My feelings about this were mixed. The show was fun, but there was melancholy in the soup. The Monkees are now only a two-piece, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork, with Michael Nesmith leaving the band recently and Davy Jones sadly passing away three years ago.

It's a real shame that Michael is not part of this year’s fiftieth anniversary tour because all the previous tours he was on with The Monkees did not come to the UK. We really missed out on seeing the three surviving members on one stage together. I didn’t like the little digs at the ex-members, albeit that they carefully wrapped it in humour. It seemed a little disrespectful because most of the people in attendance are fans of the other two members too, and we were there to celebrate the entire band. These sort of comments are best left off the stage. The funny thing is the picture t-shirts at the merchandise booth all still have the last three members on them.

So, you can still purchase one of the t-shirts from the 2014 tour if you want. There wasn’t an official show t-shirt for this very special gig. Peter Tork joked about how embarrassing it would be for them to ship the merch back the States in a plug for people to buy. I am sure that a lot of Monkees fans, would have really liked a unique London show t-shirt and a fifty years commemorative programme would have sold well for them. The fans were looking for something special. The Monkees don't come to the UK often so there was a great deal of anticipation. Like all LA superstars The Monkees duo oozed confidence, with their strong personalities and jokes coming off well on stage.

They are veterans of their game and use their charisma to command the stage. I think this has grown stronger and stronger over the years – they have mastered this monkey business. Mentioning age can feel like a taboo when it comes to pop stars, but considering their age, I have to admire the stamina they demonstrated to play two sets. They managed their energy by cleverly giving each other space to perform solo bits. They opened up their performance with one of their biggest hits 'Last train to Clarksville', written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Do you remember how this song shocked the Pop World when it was released? I am too young to remember!!!.

It may still be too subtle for some, but it was actually an anti-Vietnam song. The song is about an encounter before a serviceman departs to fight in the war. Clarksville, Tennessee, was one of the first stops for troops on their way to South Vietnam. The TV show was laced with jokes about Vietnam and conscription, which was most likely a reflection of Schneider’s political stance on the war. This was lost on me as a child. It is a pity that during this retrospective show no reference, however obscure, was made to signpost this as a significant subtext to both the TV series and one of their biggest songs.

This angle certainly adds more substance to the band, and makes you think a little differently about the show - there was more to it than four guys Monkee-ying around. Still there is plenty of silliness to band as Micky demonstrated by wearing an odd chintz curtain as a poncho. It was meant to be reminiscent of one he wore on the show. Way back when it looked cool, but this one made him look like a cat wrapped up in granny shawl. I really do wonder where the original is now, maybe we will be seeing it in a museum soon.

The first set continued with a mix of jokes and 60's Rock 'n' Roll mixed with Blues and reflected the bands Pop tendencies. The first set ends with the Rock 'n' Roll sound of 'Words' and 'No Time' you realise the first half has gone in the blink of an eye. Watching the chemistry between Mickey and Peter is great. These two guys just love playing together. Even if not all the music still sounds the same, the duo's love for each other really shows. I think most of the Blues additions to the bands music come from Peter Tork who's recent solo projects have been Blusey.

For me the Bluesy-ness detracted a little from what made the The Monkees a mega band in their time. What worked for me in this show was the moments that they recaptured the sound within songs that worked so well on 7' single format, as one off hits. This was a format that was very popular at the time the band first emerged. 'Your Auntie Grizelda' was just one of the singles that worked very well for them.

They performed it in Hammersmith like they had just written it yesterday, with a totally flawless rendition. They also showed their flamboyant side with the 1967 hit 'A little bit Me, a little bit You', which like the song before sounds a little dated, but still hits a home run with the bands fans. The second set started off slow and Blusey with a new rendition of 'Tear the top right off my Head' and a different acoustic version of 'The Last train to Clarkville'.

The mood was lifted when an old picture comes above the stage and the two Monkees are joined by Mickey's sister, Coco Dolenz. This was one of the best moments in the second set and made the show feel more celebratory. ‘See song’ was a great moment in the bands performance and a lot of people really enjoyed singing along with it. Happily ‘Porpoise Song’ made the setlist. Not only is it easily one the Monkees best songs, but it epitomizes the Psychedelic music of the 60’s.

It was quite interesting that a cover of Jeff Barry and Andy Kim’s 60’s hit, ‘Sugar, Sugar’ was included in the second set. The song was originally a hit for the ‘Archies’, but back in the day it was rumored that it was first offered to The Monkees. For fans who always wondered about this, it least they got to hear The Monkees interpretation of this classic hit. They ended the second set with '(I'm not Your) Steppin' Stone' which was originally done by Paul Revere and the Raiders, but a lot of people know it best from the Sex Pistol’s brilliant cover.

They came back on for a two song encore, which included the little sickly sweet ditty 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' and the monster hit 'I'm a Believer' which to this day gets a lot of air time. Vic Reeves took a cover of this song to No.1 with a little help from the 90's Indie / Rock band EMF. This was always one of my favourite Monkees songs and the perfect close to the show. They went offstage to an instrumental outro of '(Theme From) The Monkees'. One of the big surprises was that they didn’t sing the title song of the show live, which is something the fans were gagging for.

I have never been a great fan of a lot of 60's music, but The Monkees was a band I remembered from my childhood. Especially from my mum and dad playing them and their ever popular TV show. I really thought they had more songs I knew, or maybe it was the fact that they did new versions of them in the Blues format that just confused me a little. I thought they were more of a Pop / Beat combo than a Blues band. These versions were just a little too different for someone that is not a diehard fan and wants to hear the hits, although I do appreciate that all artists seek to evolve their sound.

I respect someone that tries something new or different, but I would have liked to have heard more of their original sound coming through, since the show commemorates the last fifty years. Saying this they put a good steady performance, and for artists of their age they can still deliver the goods and a great stage performance. The Monkees worked best as a unit and they were more than the sum of all their parts. I felt the other members of the band were missing, but I can see why for an avid Monkees fan tonight was a real treat.