All Photos by Fred Velez
No matter how many times I’ve seen The Monkees in concert, group or solo, the show was always better than the one I saw previously. Sadly, Micky Dolenz is the last surviving member of the group since over the past ten years, between 2011 to 2021, we’ve lost Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith. As the last Monkee standing, Micky now shoulders the responsibility of carrying on the groups’ legacy. As he did on last years ‘Celebration of The Monkees” tour, Micky along with his excellent band, continues with a celebration of the groups’ seminal album ‘Headquarters’, performing the classic record in its entirety.
I caught up with the tour on April 16th at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, PA. Micky’s band consisted of his sister Coco Dolenz on background vocals, Alex Jules on keyboards, Rich Dart on drums, John Billings playing bass, newest member Emeen Zarookian on guitar and long-time lead guitarist Wayne Avers who also served as the musical director. The production was put together by Monkees archivist, author and Grammy winning producer Andrew Sandoval.
The concert not only focused on the ‘Headquarters’ album but was also a moving tribute to the memory of Micky’s dearly missed Monkees brothers. The usual Monkees hits like ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’, ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere’, ‘Porpoise Song’ from the movie ‘Head’ and other familiar songs were played. Micky sang lead on some of the songs associated with Davy Jones like ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little You’, ‘Valleri’ and an emotional version of ‘Daydream Believer’ that the entire audience were encouraged to join in on. One of the rarities performed was ‘All Of Your Toys’, the very first song the Monkees played all the instruments on. This led right into the main portion of the show highlighting the ‘Headquarters’ album with Micky singing lead on most of the songs. The exceptions were a couple of the Davy songs with Emeen Zarookian singing the lead on ‘Forget That Girl’ and Alex Jules on ‘I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind’, their vocals closely matching those of Jones.
The other exception were the actual audio clips of ‘Band 6’ and ‘Zilch’ supplemented by photos from the albums’ sessions. On these two brief segments, all four young Monkees from over 50 years ago were together again.
Through this portion of the show Micky offered his recollections on Davy, Peter and Michael with special video tributes dedicated to each member. One of the most emotional moments of the show was when Micky and his sister Coco performed ‘Shades of Gray’, the song now taking on a much sadder meaning. After the performance, Coco could be seen wiping her eyes, as were many members of the audience.
The ‘Headquarters’ part of the show ended with Micky playing timpani on ‘Randy Scouse Git’ and at the conclusion announcing the intermission. The entire show and intermission were supplemented with video clips from the Monkees TV show, their movie ‘Head’ and 1969 television special ’33 & 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee’ and rare film footage from Micky’s private archives that included footage of the famous 1967 Hollywood Bowl concert.
The second half of the show began with a performance of ‘Porpoise Song’ along with its coda, and several of the Monkees big hits: ‘Valleri’, ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’, ‘That Was Then, This Is Now’, ‘Goin’ Down’, an audience singalong of ‘Daydream Believer’ with Micky wistfully waving to Davy dancing on the video screen, ‘Steppin’ Stone’, and winding up the show with the group’s biggest hit ‘I’m A Believer’.
The entire show was a fitting tribute to both the ‘Headquarters’ album and to the memory of Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith. Micky and the entire band were top notch and gave 100 percent-plus on their performances. It was evening filled with great memories and a few heartfelt tears. These Monkees celebration shows with Micky Dolenz are extra special, so try and catch this tour when it come to your town.
For Current Micky Dolenz Tour Dates Visit: https://mickydolenz.com/tour-dates
The Monkees Celebrated By Micky Dolenz Set List
(Theme From) The Monkees
Last Train to Clarksville
Take a Giant Step
Papa Gene’s Blues
A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You
The Girl I Knew Somewhere
All of Your Toys
You Told Me
I’ll Spend My Life With You
Forget That Girl
Band 6
You Just May Be the One
Shades of Gray
Davy Jones Tribute Video (Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
I Can’t Get Her Off My Mind
Peter Tork Tribute Video (Your Auntie Grizelda, Long)
For Pete’s Sake
Mr. Webster
Michael Nesmith Tribute Video (What Am I Doing Hangin’ ’ )
Sunny Girlfriend
Zilch
No Time
Early Morning Blues and Greens
Randy Scouse Git
Porpoise Song (Theme From “Head”)
Pleasant Valley Sunday
I’ll Be Back Up on My Feet
Valleri
That Was Then, This Is Now
Goin’ Down
Daydream Believer
I’m Not Your Stepping Stone
Encore
I’m a Believer
Fred Velez, 2023.
Fred Velez is the author of the books ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan Perspective’ and ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’ plus the Monkees themed Holiday CD ‘A Little Bit Christmas’.
To Order Signed Copies of Fred Velez Monkees Books and Christmas CD Visit the FreddyPop Shop: https://freddypop.wordpress.com/freddy-pop-shop/
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