Over six decades, The Beatles have not only brought joy to millions, they also changed the course of pop music more than once. And if you’re a huge Beatles fan, the place to be last weekend was at the TWA Hotel, where for three days The Fest for Beatles Fans celebrated two auspicious anniversaries.
It was not only the 50th celebration for the event itself, but even more importantly, it also marked the 60th anniversary of the Fab Four landing on American turf, at that very building, when it was the TWA Flight Center. An estimated 3,000 fans were there to greet them back then, which coincidentally was the amount of paying guests for this year’s celebration.
While it’s easy to joke about the stereotypical aging Beatles fan standing in line to meet the guy who served Ringo a hot dog in 1964 (actually, that guy couldn’t make it this year, but his son stood in), the reality is that it’s a wonderfully positive event that leaves fans feeling like they’ve connected with the source of their joy.
Devotees had a chance to browse through vintage (and current) merchandise, sit in on Q-and-A sessions with musicians and authors, collect autographs and chat with people who were there way back when, including former Beatle associates Freda Kelly and Chris O’Dell. Both of these lovely, cheerful women spent hours signing books and pictures, chatting with fans and loving it.
Kelly, the subject of the lively documentary “Good Ol’ Freda,” noted that “everyone is so pleasant — not one awkward person in the bunch!”
O’Dell was busy signing “Miss O’Dell,” her very worthwhile memoir about her time with the lads and beyond. “I was happy to connect with the people who enjoyed the music so much,” she said. “I can help people understand what it was like back then. It seems like it all happened yesterday.”
Of course, there was music everywhere — from the space age sunken lounge to the main ballroom, where, according to Fest organizer Mark Lapidos, “some of the finest musicians in the world — including Laurence Juber, Mark Rivera and Gregg Bissonette — were on stage together.”
In addition, special guests included Billy J. Kramer, who sang his 1963 Lennon/McCartney penned hit “Bad To Me,” and Mickey Dolenz, who — despite having been in “The Monkees,” a band that was denigrated as the “Prefab Four” — was friends with John Lennon and was an invited guest to the Sgt. Pepper recording sessions. His set was brief – three songs – but it included a Beatles tune, “Oh, Darling,” which was a big hit with the crowd. His autograph signing line was the longest, with some fans bucking the trend by wearing Monkees t-shirts.
The house band, “Liverpool’,” was one that the fest producers call “the finest Beatles tribute band,” and we would like to point out that they should not be confused with “Made In Liverpool,” “Liverpool Band KC,” “Liverpool Legends,” “Liverpool Lads,” “Liverpool Live” or “Four Guys Who Wish They Were a Certain Band From Liverpool” (okay, we made that one up).
At any rate, Liverpool did a fine job of whipping the crowd into a dance frenzy on Friday night and backing up the special guest artists on Saturday and Sunday.
While in the past, the goal of Beatles tribute bands was largely to present note perfect renditions of the classics, there seems to be a trend for combos such as NYC’s Blac Rabbit to put their own spin on the tunes.
Michelle Joni, daughter of Fest founders Mark and Carol Lapidos, took over the Apple Jam Stage with her Expandaband and chose to play the set list from the Beatles’ Ed Sullivan debut, with a twist.
“While my vocals and scatting inherently change up the songs,” she explained, “the arrangements were mostly straightforward from an instrumental standpoint – except for the scheduled “dreamjam” parts which were all improv. I thought, ‘What if these simple early songs were made in the psychedelic Beatles years?’”
Other takes on the classic foursome included “Penny Lane,” a group of women from Nashville; and the duo Starfox and Ion, who added some glam to the mix.
First time fest-goer Christine Hauer walked away invigorated by the whole thing.
“I felt so inspired to create music after the Beatles Fest that I recorded two new songs in a new realm of sound I had only imagined in my head before!” Hauer said. “I saw at the Fest the great impact that music can have on the world, how much it heals and connects. It inspired me to be a part of that.”
Marlene Weisman, an artist herself who designed much of the Fest’s signage, was one of the people helping out in the popular Fan Art Gallery where attendees were invited to display their creations, which ran the gamut from depictions of the legends in painted driftwood to origami.
“My experience while helping to staff the gallery really says it all,” Weisman mused. “So many people, spanning the generations, find inspiration from the Beatles’ music and are moved to create something to express that.”
Mark Lapidos couldn’t be happier with the weekend.
“It was very heartwarming,” he told us later. “There were so many high points! It’s a great feeling to be able to do this for 50 years. It’s like a gigantic family.”
Info on upcoming events at thefest.com
