Beatles Impersonators Remarkably Good

“Classical Mystery Tour” Thursday, Dec. 7, Spokane Arena’s Star Theatre

There’s something slightly strange about watching someone impersonate John Lennon, who died almost exactly 20 years ago.

There’s something even stranger about watching three other people impersonate legends who are still with us. Let’s face it, if we want to see Paul McCartney sing “Yesterday,” we can just wait until the Cute One embarks on his next tour.

Yet, since about 1966 or so, there is one thing we have not been able to do - see the Beatles live, all together.

This, I think, explains why a crowd of about 2,000 at the Star Theatre went practically bonkers Thursday night at “Classical Mystery Tour.”

It wasn’t quite 1964-style Beatlemania, but it was close. There was, in fact, middle-aged screaming.

The show was a collaboration between four remarkably skilled Beatles impersonators and the Spokane Symphony. The band stood at the front of the stage and performed note-by-note renditions of songs like “All You Need Is Love,” “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The orchestra sat behind them, adding the string accompaniment, the baroque trumpet fills, even the occasional hand-claps.

I thought I saw a look of distaste cross the faces of some of the symphony players at times. They should get over it. The music often sounded quite terrific, with both the rock band and the orchestra giving each other the punch they can’t achieve by themselves. On “`A Day in the Life,” with its rising orchestral crescendo and its crashing closing chord, the sound approached the majestic.

The guitar sounds were reproduced perfectly (thanks mostly to David Brighton as George Harrison) but even more impressive were the voices.

Tony Kishman had McCartney’s voice down perfectly. I saw McCartney sing “Yesterday” about 10 years ago and there wasn’t much difference between the two, except that McCartney now has more trouble hitting the high notes.

Jim Owen was eerily good as Lennon. His rendition of “I Am the Walrus,” with its surreal lyrics and orchestral backing, was one of the high points.

Some of the sound tended to get lost in the high ceiling of the half-full Star Theatre, and in retrospect, the show might have been better in the smaller Opera House (or the Fox).

But those who showed up had a raucous good time. It’s the first symphony show I can remember in which the crowd demanded an encore through the medium of stomping.