The Beatles released the song “Rain” in 1966, promoting their album “Revolver” which would be released a few months later. Nine years after, in 1975, an original band formed, taking the name “Rain” from this song.
I got the opportunity to watch this band, now a Beatles tribute band, perform in concert at the Verizon Theatre. From before the curtain even rose until the time they walked offstage, I was completely in awe.
They not only looked exactly like The Beatles, but they also sounded like them. It wasn’t until their first costume change that I remembered that I was, in fact, not watching the Beatles themselves. They sung roughly two hours worth of Beatles music, songs ranging from the first few albums produced to their last, and with each change of album, their attire changed to match. Their faces, clean-shaven, with the well-known “Beatles hair” displayed in older albums slowly changed over the course of the performance, as they grew facial hair and longer hair. Their outfits also changed accordingly, matching the ones worn in the albums’ cover art, going from tuxedos to Sgt. Pepper outfits, and everything in between.
Not only were the costumes breath-taking, but so were the curtains and background. The curtains appeared to be a hand drawn collage of pictures relevant to the Beatles, showing images such as screaming fans, The Cavern Club, and an Abbey Road street sign. Then, once the curtains were raised, the backdrop for Rain’s performance was a set of TVs, which aided in the performance in a number of ways. At times, they showed video clips of original Beatles footage, other times showing close ups of the band as they performed. Animations and live footage of the audience as they sang along was also shown at select times.
One thing I appreciated about the performance was how they mentioned the youth. Three generations, they said, were involved with The Beatles, and so they asked children under 18 years of age to stand, and dedicated the song “When I’m 64” to them. Standing, I had the opportunity to look around and see just how many youths were present, and I was amazed at how few of us there were. For all the people I see in the school hallways wearing Beatles clothing, only a few in DFW were present in the completely full stands.
The audience began singing along with the band after the band asked the audience to stand, dance and sing with them. After that, even when they weren’t specifically asked to, the audience participated fully.
The last song they played was “Hey Jude”, to which the audience full-heartedly sang along to. They asked first the women alone, then the men, and then the youths to sing the “na na na” parts. My face was shown on the screens several times as I sang along, which was a very cool experience for me. Even after it had ended and the crowds had left the theater, the song could still be heard- People were loudly singing it in the restrooms and the foyer, continuing the performance even after Rain had left.
I would recommend seeing this band live to anyone who enjoys The Beatles. It was a fantastic experience visually and audibly.
