Posted: 11 Mar 2011 03:08 AM PST

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Posted: 10 Mar 2011 12:48 PM PST

This Beatles tribute skips the costumes

By Randall G. Mielke For Sun-Times Media Mar 10, 2011 02:48PM

"Yesterday and Today" will be presented at the Paramount on March 20. | Courtesy of the Paramount Arts Centre

The songs are the same. The notes are the same. But there are two major differences between the Beatles tribute show "Yesterday & Today" and other Beatles tribute acts. The Yesterday & Today band has no wigs, dons no Beatles costumes and its members do not speak with any type of British accent. In addition, the band interacts with audience members throughout the entire show.

"We are not like other Beatles shows," said Billy McGuigan, the leader of the group. "This is an all-request Beatles show. The audience members fill out a form with their name, their favorite Beatles song and their reason for liking the song. We then put a set together based on their requests."

"Yesterday & Today" will be presented on March 20 at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.

The six-piece band in the "Yesterday & Today" show features McGuigan and his two younger brothers, Ryan and Matthew. In addition, the performances include a light show and 1960s-era scenery.

McGuigan, based in Omaha, Neb., is no stranger to tribute shows. He portrayed rock 'n' roll legend Buddy Holly in the show "Rave On!," which made a stop at the Copley Theatre in Aurora in October 2009. He hit on the idea of an interactive Beatles show several years ago.

"In Omaha, we were doing a Beatles band called Yoko's Fault," McGuigan said. "People wanted to request songs, but if you asked someone their favorite song, they could not just say the song, there was always a story tied to it."

So McGuigan enlisted the help of his brothers and about three years ago "Yesterday & Today" was created. The songs that the audience requests make up the sets each night, and the audience member's stories make up the evening's narrative. McGuigan said the most challenging aspect of the show is scrambling at the last minute to prepare what the band will play.

"Sometimes it's tough coordinating everything five minutes before show time," he said. "The first act is usually more acoustic. The second act we determine at intermission. At intermission people can submit song requests again."

The song requests allow for a customized show each time the group performs, and the comments about why a song is chosen range from touching to extremely funny.

"It's a bit cathartic for an audience," McGuigan said. "The songs are usually related to important times in their lives. We call out their name in the audience and then they raise their hands and identify themselves.

"A lot of times they relate funny things or poignant moments in their lives," he continued. "From a performer's standpoint, there is nothing like it with the audience interaction."

Early on in the show's development stage, McGuigan thought an occasion may arise when the group would have to piece together their own requests.

"I thought maybe there would come a time when we have a rash of crummy requests and we would just have to do our own choice of songs," he said, "but it's never happened that way."

McGuigan believes that the audience response during the show has helped make it so successful.

Thousands of Beatles fans will flock to Louisville for 'Abbey Road on the River'

Posted: 10 Mar 2011 10:21 AM PST

Posted by Kathleen Speicher - email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - North America's largest and longest running Beatles tribute festival, Abbey Road on the River (AROTR), has announced the locations and dates for the 2011 shows - and Louisville is on the list.

The festival will once again bring five days of peace, love and rock-n-roll to Louisville, Kentucky over Memorial Day Weekend from May 26 to May 30 and to Washington D.C. over Labor Day Weekend from September 2 to 5. This year marks the 10th anniversary of AROTR, which brings together more than 75 bands and thousands of fans from around the world to celebrate the music of the greatest rock band of all time – The Beatles.

"The Dallas Morning News described AROTR as a 'small but mighty' music festival, and we thought that struck the perfect chord, says event producer Gary Jacob. "Once fans experience the magical vibe of the festival, they are hooked and it becomes the weekend they mark their year by."

Payton Kemp, a 19-year-old from Nashville, TN, said "I have met my best friends - my second family as I call them - through AROTR, and I am so lucky to have these wonderful people scattered all over the world. When you are young and love the music that I do, it is so difficult to connect to anyone your own age - except at AROTR."

Both 2011 festivals will feature a full reenactment concert of the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack album LOVE, which was produced as a re-mix of over 130 Beatles songs for the Cirque Du Soleil show of the same name.

Abbey Road on the River originated in Cleveland, Ohio in 2002 and moved to Louisville 2005, where the Belvedere Festival Park and Galt House Hotel & Suites welcome a crowd of 25,000 people each year. The festival has an economic impact on the city of approximately $1.5 Million annually.

For the second year in a row, the festival will give Beatles fans a reason to "come together" in our nation's capitol at the stunning Gaylord National Resort, which will host five indoor and outdoor stages on the banks of the Potomac River during this Fab Four weekend. The Gaylord National Resort is the crown jewel of National Harbor, Maryland, which is a new development that boasts a variety of shops, restaurants, entertainment opportunities, and waterfront attractions, and it's located just a short ride from The White House, Mount Vernon, and other popular area attractions. Families can take advantage of another money saving incentive by purchasing their festival tickets prior to arrival at the festival box office, because advanced tickets include free admission for one 21 and under guest with each regular ticketholder.

The Beatles tribute bands, from Mop Tops to Sgt. Peppers, will play both shows and represent more than eight countries including Germany, Italy, England, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and the USA. They will perform the entire discography of The Beatles from 1963's "Please Please Me" through John, Paul, George and Ringo's final album together, 1970's Abbey Road. Both festivals will feature special concerts dedicated to their solo careers, seminars, and a Beatles merchandise marketplace as well.

Visit Abbey Road on the River to purchase tickets, make reservations, and get more information.

The Beatles

Friday, March 11, 2011

“Beatles were the original punkers, says playwright” plus 2

“Beatles were the original punkers, says playwright” plus 2

This Beatles tribute skips the costumes

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