Today though, it's about a Monkee. I've seen every reunion tour the guys did, starting with the 20th anniversary in 1986, right up to their final perfomance with Michael in September of 2016. And of course, I've been to all of their solo shows that came through the NY area, all of them good in their own way.
When I was a kid, I'd listen to their albums over and over. Loved all the songs, the hits were great, and some of the 'filler' material was really good. Through all those years, the songs that appealed to me most of all were the ones written by, and sung by, Michael. From "Papa Gene's Blues", to "You Just May Be The One", those songs hit my sweet spot. Of course, Monkeemania had a pretty short run, and after the show ended, with no internet to research, finding news about the ex Monkees was rough. Jump ahead to late 1970/early 1971. I always had the radio on when I went to bed, loved drifting off to the music. Normally, I'd have listened to 770 WABC, NY's big top forty station. However, a small station in Jersey, 970 WWDJ had recently switched over to playing top forty with some 'oldies' mixed in, and I was enjoying that station. So one night, I go to sleep, and some time between like 1:30 and 2:00 am, I hit a semi conscious state, and hear this beautiful, haunting tune. I'd never heard it before, but there was something about the singers voice. Heard a bit of it, and then fell back to sleep. Next morning, I couldn't figure out if I'd actually heard that song, or if I'd been dreaming. Frustrating. About two weeks later, again, late at night, here comes the song again....and this time, I'm awake. I listen intently, picking up that voice again - it's Michael! And the song, "Joanne".
Wowza, how cool! Hadn't heard anything from Mike, or any of the other Monkees, since their last couple of albums came out in late 1969, so this was a real treat.
Next day, I'm up in the record store, poking through the only resource available in those pre-internet days, the great Schwann catalog. And there, in the "N's", I see it; "Magnetic South", Michael Nesmith and the First National Band. And the journey began. There were three initial albums done by the FNB, which formed a sort of trilogy. Great songs, played by great musicians, these albums really opened the door of "country rock", paving the way for artists like Poco, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt.
Through the years that followed, I obsessively chased down every album Mike did, savoring each one, and wishing that I could catch him in concert. Unhappily, he only played one time here in NY, at the old Lone Star Roadhouse; of course, I was in Florida at the time, and missed the show.
Then, in 2012, the sad news that Davy Jones had passed hit all of us Monkee fans quite hard. But then, we got little clues and teases that something was afoot. Michael posted a short "we may be coming to your town" on his Facebook feed, and it was out; the three remaining Monkees would tour. As it turns out, even before Davy passed, all four were in the initial stages of planning a full blown reunion tour. Of course, being the obsessive nutjob I am, Karen and I went to all three NY area shows. Friday at the State Theater in NJ, Saturday at the Paramount in Huntington (with Tom and Lindsay), and Sunday at the Beacon Theater in NYC, which was the last show on the tour. And the shows were magical, having Mike onstage with Micky and Peter was like a dream come true!
Then, after touring with the guys again in 2013, the big news; Mike was doing a solo tour! The fantastic "Movies of The Mind" show, which came through NY twice. Karen and I were there for both of them, at Town Hall in NYC, and at the Boulton Center in Islip. And at the Town Hall show, Karen and I got to meet Mike after the show!
He was amazingly nice to us both, and though I was somewhat tongue tied at first, I had a wonderful conversation with him - he even asked me what my opinion was of the set list! Thank goodness Karen was able to speak for me at first and let Mike know what a fan I was!
After that, things were quiet for a while, until Micky and Peter hit the road for the Monkees 50th anniversary tour. Mike did not join them, although he did "Skype" in to their show at Town Hall in NYC, which was very cool. Then, the announcement came; Michael would join the guys for one show only, his 'retirement' show, at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles. September 16, 2016 was the date, and as crazy as it sounded, I decided I had to be there. and so I went. And it was just amazing, fun, great songs, full of emotion, not a dry eye in the house as Mike came out solo during the show and spoke to us all. Wonderful.
And that, we all thought, was that. Micky went off on a string of solo dates, Peter began playing with his band, Blue Suede Shoes, and Mike finished up his latest book, an 'autobiographical journey', Infinite Tuesday.
Then, another odd Facebook posting by Mike; he was looking for a 'gifted' pedal steel guitar player. For what? A new album? Perhaps an online show at his web site, Videoranch? Or maybe...maybe a tour?
Just before Christmas, we found out. Mike was, as the Blues Brothers might have said, "putting the band back together". He posted that he wanted to revisit the First National Band recordings, and perform them in concert! Double Wowza! Unfortunately, two of the original members of the FNB, Red Rhodes and John London, had passed, and so a new group would need to be formed. Upon finding his pedal steel player, into the group came Mike's sons Johnathan and Christian; Christian's significant other, Circe Link, and a couple of their buddies. And the tour was announced, a short five date jaunt, taking place solely in California. And the last show, at The Chapel in San Francisco, would feature a guest star - Ben Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie. Ben wrote the great song "Me And Magdalena" which Mike and Micky sang on the Monkees "Good Times" album in 2016. This one would be truly a once in a lifetime show.
I was disappointed that the shows were all on the west coast, as I was hoping to see it. But as I'd already done the ridiculous trip out to CA to see the show at the Pantages, I didn't really give much thought to going out there again. You all know how I feel about California. And then, I spotted a podcast interview with Mike, and gave it a listen. It was a rather long one, almost an hour, and it touched on so many topics, it was really a great interview. And as Mike spoke, and talked about the genesis of his songwriting, the FNB, and what was coming up in the shows, it hit me; I had to see if I could swing going to one of these shows.
Long story made even longer, thanks to Karen's amazing love and her support, I will be flying to San Francisco this coming Saturday, and will be at the final show at The Chapel this Sunday, Jan. 28th. Sort of one of those lifelong quests (or obsessions) coming true. A fan posted a couple of short videos from the show this past Sunday, and the L.A. Times gave the show a terrific review, so I'm really pumped for this one.
Mike has since opened the door to possibly bringing the show east, depending on the attendance and response to the California shows, and if that happens, yeah, I'll find a way to go to those as well.
The 18 year old kid who still lives inside of me is having trouble hiding my excitement over this show. Hopefully I'll be able to grab a couple of photos, and maybe a video or two that I can post once I get back. As they used to say on 'Batman', stay tuned for more!
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