I’ve been a pretty big fan of the Beatles since I was a little kid. Am I a Beatles junkie? No—not like some people I know; but, I do consider them to be the greatest music makers of all time. I wouldn’t necessarily argue they were the best musicians, but let’s face it, there’s nobody out there that comes close to competing with them when it comes to creating hits.
My taste in music is very broad: I can listen to anything from classical music to heavy metal. Over the years I’ve gone through different phases in which I’ve favored various genres. I may go through a classic rock phase, and when I tire of that, perhaps I’ll move on to a blues phase. But no matter what kind of mood I’m in, there’s always room for the Beatles. I guess that’s because—for the most part—they pretty much offer music that fits into any genre you can think of. Want something soft? Yesterday. Heavy? Helter Skelter. Trippy? Revolution #9. Want an orchestra? Eleanor Rigby. I can keep going, but—I think you get the point.
A Chance to See The Beatles
Considering the Beatles final performance occurred nine years before I was born, it’s evident I haven’t seen them perform live. A few years back, however, I saw Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles. Coined as a theatrical production rather than a concert, Rain—in essence—is a Beatles cover band. They look and sound like the real thing, truly providing you with the feeling that you are attending a Beatles concert. It was pretty cool.
I’ll often hear people say they would have no interest in attending something like this; that they have no desire to see a “cover band.” Having attended this show, I would encourage you not to think that way. Are they a cover band? Yes, but so what! At the end of the day, I’m never going to get the chance to see the Beatles perform. But—if this is the next best thing, why wouldn’t I want to see that? Personally, as a fan, I loved it! I felt like I was seeing the Beatles.
Another Chance to See The Beatles, Only Different
Thank you Facebook, for knowing me so well. Their ads are so specific, at times I would swear they’ve hacked into my brain. Recently, through an ad, Facebook said to me: hey, the Philly POPS are playing the Beatles’ Abbey Road in celebration of it’s 50th anniversary. Interesting, I thought. I had never seen a symphony performance, though it was something I have always wanted to do. I had also wanted to see a performance of some sort at the Kimmel Center, which happened to be the home of the Philly POPS. Well then, if they were going to be playing the music of the Beatles, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Count me in!
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Kimmel Center is a performing arts venue located on South Broad Street in Philadelphia. It is situated within close proximity to the Academy of Music and the Merriam Theater at a location that is referred to as the “Avenue of the Arts.” The center—consisting of Verizon Hall and the Perelman Theater—is enclosed by a distinctive vaulted glass ceiling.
- Construction began November 12, 1998
- Official opening was December 16, 2001
- The center occupies an entire city block
- Verizon Hall capacity: 2,500
- Perelman Theater capacity: 650
Verizon Hall
Verizon Hall is the main performance hall at the Kimmel Center, and the arena for today’s performance. This was my first visit to Verizon Hall, and I was impressed. I have attended several events at the Academy of Music—home to the Philadelphia Orchestra for 101-years before moving to the Kimmel Center—and though I knew it would have a similar design, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
There is no bad seat in Verizon Hall. No matter where you sit, you will never be far from the stage—and don’t worry about the sound, the acoustics are superb!
Showtime: Philly POPS & The Classical Mystery Tour
Out of respect—the law abiding citizen that I am—I adhered to the “no photography” rule. As a result, I am not able to provide a look at the amazing show in which I experienced. I will do my best to describe it.
I’ll begin by telling you all about the wonderful location of my seat. While it is true there is not a bad seat in the house, I would have trouble finding a better seat than I had for this particular performance. I sat in the first tier (one level above the stage) in a first row box. To top it off, it was center stage. Absolutely perfect!
The show itself far exceeded my expectations. In fact, it was quite different than I expected—in a good way. I came to watch the Philly POPS play the Beatles legendary album Abbey Road in it’s entirety. I wasn’t sure how a symphony would pull that off, yet there was no doubt it would sound amazing.
Surprise: the POPS would not be playing the album in it’s entirety. They would play several Beatles songs, with a good portion of the songs coming from the Abbey Road album. But—the biggest surprise was that the POPS weren’t alone. It was a Beatles cover band, the Classical Mystery Tour, at the forefront of this performance. They played along with the POPS, and it was great!
The Classical Mystery Tour are a Beatles act: they dress like, look like, and sound like the Beatles. No kidding, they’re pretty spot on. They duplicate a Beatles concert, and they do so with an orchestra. In this case, they were performing with the Philly POPS.
The four members of the Classical Mystery Tour represent the four members of the Beatles. The instruments they play and the songs they sing are specific to their respective roles. Even their mannerisms are true to character. In fact, when they speak to the crowd between songs, you’d swear you were hearing a recording of the original members. Like, there’s no way that’s not Paul talking right now, went through my head a few times.
As for the POPS, their role was a bit less than I originally anticipated. Initially—unaware of the Classical Mystery Tour—I fully expected the POPS to carry the full weight of the music, reconfigured to an orchestral format. This was not the case! The show is designed to replicate the sound of the Beatles exactly as you hear it on the album—meaning, the POPS were limited to the orchestra parts as played in the original songs.
It’s funny—as familiar as I am with the music of the Beatles—I never really took notice to the fact that so much of their music involves an orchestra. At first I wondered, what is the orchestra going to do while these “imposters” play away? But then they churned through song after song—Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, A Day in the Life, Hey Jude—and so many more, all of which feature extensive orchestral arrangements.
Con-clusion
If you are a Beatles fan, you need to attend this show! Imagine the opportunity to see the Beatles perform live. Then, imagine them bringing along an orchestra (something they had never done) to complete their sound—ensuring you hear the music just as it was meant to be heard. If you’re a fan, you’d probably attend that concert. Unfortunately that will never happen. But—that doesn’t mean you won’t have the opportunity to experience what that would be like. The Classical Mystery Tour provides just that. It’s amazing!
Pizzaria Vetri: Post Concert Dinner
Any good “Conahan Experience” ends with great food . . . great spirits! A short walk from the Kimmel Center is Pizzeria Vetri, located in the Rittenhouse section of Philadelphia. Philly offers so many incredible options when it comes to food, but—should you find yourself in Philly, and you have pizza on your mind, you need to check out Vetri’s. So good!
I’m not particularly a big pizza person, but I’ll never turn down a Vetri pizza. On this Sunday night, the town was bustling; restaurants were overflowing—Pizzeria Vetri seemed an ideal choice. I opted for the Wild Boar Pizza, a seasonal pizza I had never had. Topped with eight-hour braised boar rubbed in cocoa, red wine soaked cherries, mozzarella, parmesan, and parsley; how could I go wrong? I couldn’t—it was amazing!
Very important: if you’re the type of person that passes when the server asks if you would like to see a dessert menu, I’m here to keep you from making a mistake! Do you like coffee? Do you like ice cream? If you answered yes to these questions, then you need to order the Affogoto: a shot of expresso with soft serve vanilla ice cream. What can I say, it’s like ice cream soup—yum!
Cask Beer at The Dandelion
Ever since I was introduced to cask conditioned beer in London, I have been on a constant quest of tracking it down whenever I can. In the U.K., a typical pub offers an array of cask beer, or as they would call it, real ale. Outside of the U.K.—for instance, in the U.S.—it’s virtually impossible to find. Fortunately it can be found at the Dandelion Pub (a British themed pub, also located in the Rittenhouse section of Philly), which just so happens to be a short walk from Pizzeria Vetri. Certainly I couldn’t head home without going there first. It was a delightful end to this wonderful day!