NY Metro Fest for Beatles Fans: Day 2 Recap
If you missed our day one recap, click here to catch up!
There doesn’t need to be a Beatles World at Disney. We have the Fest.
Once Friday’s snowy weather cleared, the crowd size multiplied exponentially. By early Saturday afternoon, every inch of the hotel was packed with fans of all ages wearing every kind of Beatles-themed clothing possible. (One of my favorite parts of the Fest has been watching what people wear, especially seeing some of the most obscure concert shirts in existence.) Crowds thronged the marketplace, waited in line for signings from Bob Eubanks, Lawrence Juber, Mark Rivera, and others, and packed the presentations, concerts, and art exhibits.
Saturday was all about indulging my inner Beatles nerd with a few of the many author presentations scattered throughout the Fest. Chuck Gunderson presented rare photos and little-known stories from the Beatles’ 1965 American tour, while Bruce Spizer gave a detailed overview of how the US record releases differed from their UK counterparts and why. Later in the day, Anthony Robustelli’s Multi-Track Meltdown deconstructed how some of the most complex songs were built, and David Bedford delved deep into early Beatles history to point out some of their lesser-known influences and teachers.
And later in the day I got to be one of the presenters, as part of the Women Beatles Historians panel. Along with Judith Kristen, Rosemary Rotondi, Candy Leonard, and moderator Susan Ryan, we discussed the impact that the women in the Beatles’ lives had on their music, from mothers, to wives/girlfriends, to the fans themselves. We had a great discussion with plenty of audience participation, and it was an experience I hope to repeat again and again!
But it’s the music that’s really at the heart of the festival — it’s everywhere (they even pump Beatles tunes in the bathrooms, which is awesome!). Jeff Slate’s Birds of Paradox band, which brings together Wings’ Steve Holley plus Gary Van Scyoc and Adam Ippolito from John Lennon’s backing band Elephant’s Memory, performed an excellent mid-day set. They were joined by Mark Rivera — one of the world’s best sax players, who plays with Billy Joel and is Ringo’s music director — and former Wings lead guitarist Lawrence Juber. The mini-Wings reunion was one of the highlights for this Macca fan, especially when they launched into tracks from a Wings album they played on together, Back to the Egg.
The organic jam sessions that popped up around the Fest on Friday were tiny compared to the massive jam that became an event all its own. At least eight guitarists, two drummers, and crowds of singers jammed in the main hotel lobby. Three amps made sure that this event could be heard around the Fest, and the session went on for at least five hours. The number of hours we had collectively listened to, thought about, or practiced these songs to be able to sing and play together so seamlessly must have been in the millions. But it was all worth it to be able to come together as one. And next year, I’ll definitely be bringing maracas!
The music continued all day, and wall-to-wall people lined the main ballroom for the evening’s concert from house band Liverpool. They capped off Saturday’s packed event schedule with incredible talent and energy that had the audience dancing for hours. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the movie Help! (hence the cool 2015 Fest logo), the band kicked off with playing the first side of the soundtrack album. Liverpool was joined by many of the day’s musical guests, including Mark Rivera — who sang and played everything from flute to sax, Lawrence Juber, Gary Right, and of course, Mark Hudson.
Cabarets, rare videos, and more jamming had attendees partying into the wee hours of the morning, leaving the day tired, but pumped for more fun on the final day of the NY Fest.
Were you at the jam session? Did you have any other favorite memories from day two? Let us know in the comments!
