Get Your Ticket to Ride
by Rickenbacker on 7/13/09The Starlite Theatre - BransonI work in the music business and am impressed by the musicianship of this look-alike\sound-alike foursome. All the instrumental and vocal music is produced by the "Fabricated Four" live on stage. Additional music (synth strings, horns, etc.) is ably played by a keyboardist who looked a bit out-of-place on stage. The live concert is enhanced by video footage of the Beatles. Some will be familiar (Ed Sullivan Show etc.) while other clips are more rare. One bit is from home movies of George (before the Beatles first U.S. tour) visiting his sister who lived in Midwestern U.S. In fact, George's sister, Lou Harrison, is integral to the production and before the second act, she fields audience members' questions from the stage. One brief "American flag-waving" departure seems an odd choice for a Beatles tribute. But I'm told that, in Branson, "patriotic infused" shows are the norm. On the whole, it is a tight show full of Beatles hits, played live by solid musicians. Now shake it up, baby!