Better than Paul?

August 31, 2008 - 9:27 AM by

With Beatlemania belatedly in full swing in these parts, ahead of the September 25 appearance in Tel Aviv of Paul McCartney, the $130 tickets are being gobbled up at a rapid pace.

I’ve been underwhelmed at the prospects of seeing Sir Paul with 69,999 other aging Beatles fans. Sure, if I was presented a ticket on a silver platter, I’d be there without a moment’s hesitation. But aside from hearing maybe 8 or 10 Beatles classics, one of them probably being “Michelle”, the only clunker on Rubber Soul, the rest of the show is going to be… well, Paul’s solo career.

Let’s face it, the legends that claim an imposter took over after Paul was killed in that 1966 car crash, may not be too far from accurate. Sure the fake Paul mustered on with stellar work through the White Album and Let It Be, but by the time his solo career was launched, he was plumb out of ideas. There have been occasional moments of that old Beatles magic in “Band on The Run”, and, uh… er.., well, some of those songs with Elvis Costello in the late 80s like “My Brave Face” were pretty punchy. But is anyone going to be happy listening to his latest offerings off Memory Almost Full, albeit his critically lauded latest album?

Pondering these issues, I took the wife and younger kids to see a Beatles tribute band on Thursday night in Jerusalem’s Safra Square at an end of summer free show for the city’s residents.

The Magical Mystery Tour Band has been together for seven years, and man, are they good! Not only do they sound as close to The Beatles classic sound as is humanly possible, they also play with the enthusiasm of the Fab Four on The Ed Sullivan Show.

It was one classic after another non-stop, from “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “All My Loving” to “And Your Bird Can Sing” and “Back in the USSR”. Even though these guys are native Hebrew speakers, their vocals are dead on, and their harmonies were fantastic.

As much as seeing Paul McCartney up on stage, even if he looked like a postage stamp in size, would be a once-in-a-lifetime thrill, for reliving the magic and wonder that was The Beatles, the Magical Mystery Tour did just fine.

Tags: , , , , • Category: General, Music, Pop Culture 

Comments

2 Comments on Better than Paul?

  1. Brian Blum on Tue, Sep 2nd 2008 10:52 AM

    2. I saw these guys at a benefit concert for my son’s school. I agree, they were great. Particularly liked their version of Strawberry Fields Forever. I’d still go to the McCartney concert but only if the tix weren’t so expensive.

  2. Alan Abbey on Tue, Sep 2nd 2008 1:16 PM

    3. Now that I’ve seen the video, I’m sorry I missed the show.

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