LIVE: Micky Dolenz at B.B. King Blues Club, NYC (7/30/14)

Micky Dolenz, lead singer of The Monkees, was recently having a martini at the River Café, minding his own business, when Somali Pirates invaded! The plucky 69-year-old was able to fend off most of them using the plastic sword from his martini olives, but one of the scoundrels managed to slice open Dolenz’s hand!

Or… he injured his himself slicing a tangerine in his kitchen. It all depends on what you want to believe. (I’ll go with the former instead of the latter.)

Micky’s story, relayed to an audience of enthusiastic fans at B.B. King Blues Club in Times Square last night, was one of the many truly entertaining moments of the evening. Dolenz has first and foremost always been, at heart, an entertainer, and with his non-Monkees shows, he delivers a fast-paced package of silly banter, stories and of course, hit songs from his legendary career. Dolenz’s set list choices often veer toward the crowd-pleasers as opposed to the slightly more esoteric gems heard in the Monkees’ tours as of late, and last night was no exception.

Early Monkees hits like “Mary Mary,” “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” “Words,” and the sublimely sappy “Sometime in the Morning” appeared at the top of the show, along with the Eighties-era “Three-kees” track “That Was Then, This Is Now.” Don’t hold your breath for wilder stuff, including anything from the band’s psych-out cinematic experience Head, or even their musical Emancipation Proclamation Headquarters. No “Randy Scouse Git” for us; this is Dolenz in his pure, crowd-pleasing, pop-giddy best.

Dolenz is always great at acknowledging the prolific songwriters he’s had the pleasure to work with in his career, giving kudos to Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart before performing their “Last Train to Clarksville,” along with Carole King and Howard Greenfield’s “Crying in the Rain,” and Goffin/King’s everlastingly-amazing indictment of suburban life “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” Dolenz also showed his surprising range via Chuck Berry (“Johnny B. Goode,” his audition song for the Monkees), the Spencer Davis Group (“Gimme Some Lovin’”) and The Beatles (“Oh! Darling”).

The only cover that was a misstep was his take on the Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar.” He chose to perform the song as it appears on his Remember album: a slinky jazz number, which removes its snap and drive. The song was the sole energy-dip in an otherwise vivacious show.

Always adding to the fun of a Micky Dolenz show is his younger sister, Coco Dolenz, joining him on backup vocals. The two have sung together since childhood, and their tight harmonies together prove it. Coco had two solo chances to shine last night, once on a cover of “Different Drum,” written by Micky’s former band mate Mike Nesmith, and “White Rabbit,” a song close to Coco, due to her time spent in the Sixties’ Bay Area. These two blend so well together, I’d love to see performance with just Micky, Coco, an acoustic guitar, and their harmonies. Maybe they could treat us to a version of Monkees deep-cut “Midnight Train.” Just putting it out there. Ahem.

It was also great to see longtime Davy Jones band member, saxophonist and keyboardist Aviva Maloney back in the mix, joining Dolenz’s astute bunch of supporting musicians. She was sorely missed in the touring ensemble for the last Monkees go-round.

Though the night was chock-full of on-point choices, Dolenz surprisingly ended his set with another cover: this time, Smash Mouth’s 2001 hit, “I’m a Believer.” Fans loved his take on the Shrek classic, swinging and swaying along to the music, almost like this was a song from their childhoods and not their children’s childhoods.

Leave it to consistently-pleasing Micky Dolenz to end on a cover that brings his generations of fans together!

*****

01) “Mary, Mary”
02) “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”
03) “That Was Then, This is Now”
04) “She”
05) “Words”
06) “Sometime in the Morning”
07) “D.W. Washburn”
08) “Last Train to Clarksville”
09) “Johnny B. Goode”
10) “Crying in the Rain”
11) “Different Drum” (Coco Dolenz solo)
12) “Daydream Believer”
13) “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You”
14) “Sugar, Sugar”
15) “Oh! Darling”
16) “Goin’ Down”
17) “White Rabbit” (Coco Dolenz solo)
18) “Pleasant Valley Sunday”
19) “Gimme Some Lovin’”
20) “I’m A Believer”

(Photo by Jimi Celeste-dis COMPANY via The Mac Wire, from Dolenz’s 2012 appearance at B.B. King’s.)

Louie Pearlman

Louie Pearlman is a comedic performer, songwriter, producer and pop culture writer living in NYC. He loves bubblegum music and punk in all its forms -- his favorite band is Talking Heads, but the Archies are a close second or third. You can check out his current projects at LouiePearlman.com, come see a show, and say “hi” after!