Lovers of timeless pop music stream into Englewood, NJ’s BergenPAC this Saturday, June 17, 2003 for a concert of classic hits by two groups which topped the charts in the 1960s — Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone and The Buckinghams.
Before the show, we catch up with Carl Giammarese, a founding member of The Buckinghams, who talks about his experiences during and after the COVID-19 lockdown, saying, “During the pandemic, I tried to keep connected to our audience by doing videos from my home and posting them on social media — I’d do songs by The Buckinghams, The Beatles, and others — but now that we’ve jumped right back into doing live shows, it almost feels like it never happened!”
When asked if audiences seem to appreciate live music even more following the lockdown, Giammarese responds, “I do feel that from our audiences — they’re so enthusiastic!” acknowledging, “I’ve noticed it at our own shows and, also, when my bandmate, Nick Fortuna, and I did 30 dates on last year’s Happy Together Tour,” before concluding, “We just came off a fun concert in Las Cruces, New Mexico where we played with a live symphony orchestra, but it’s always great to be back performing here in Jersey!”
Inside the recently renovated BergenPAC auditorium, the crowd cheers as The Buckinghams — guitarist Dave Zane, keyboardist Bruce Soboroff, bassist Nick Fortuna, drummer Tom Scheckel, and vocalist Carl Giammarese — take the stage.
“How are you doing out there?” asks Giammarese before announcing, “Here we go!” and he and The Buckinghams open tonight’s set with “Don’t You Care.”
Three-part background harmonies support Giammarese’s warm, smooth lead vocal as he sings on this 1967 Top Ten hit.
The crowd cheers, and Giammarese responds by saying, “Thank you! We’re going to back to the Summer of Love — 1968,” as the group performs their hit, “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song),” and Giammarese gets the crowd clapping while lights flash in front of the stage.
The audience hoots and hollers, and Giammarese exclaims, “It’s so nice to be back here at BergenPAC!” After introducing fellow Buckinghams founding member, Nick Fortuna, the musicians launch into one of the first songs The Buckinghams ever recorded — “I’ll Go Crazy.” Dave Zane handles the lead before Zane and Giammarese duel on electric guitars.
Fortuna sings lead on The Outsiders’ 1966 hit, “Time Won’t Let Me,” where Giammarese plays a guitar solo as colored lights flash.
The Bucks perform a song which Giammarese reveals made its debut on TV’s The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour — the group’s 1967 smash, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” Tom Scheckel’s drums drive the rhythm behind Giammarese’s and Fortuna’s soulful lead vocals and music lovers bop to the beat before responding with avid cheers and whistles at the end.
Giammarese sings lead on a rockin’ cover version of The Doors’ “Touch Me.” Then, he and the group performs The Brooklyn Bridge’s hit, “The Worst That Could Happen” with an arrangement that brings audience members to their feet thanks to Giammarese’s lead vocal along with deft bass playing and backup singing by Nick Fortuna.
Giammarese and Co. perform a lovely rendition of 1967’s “Susan” as audience members clap and sing along on the “Susan/I love you” refrain to avid applause and cheers. Then, Giammarese, Zane, and Fortuna demonstrate their vocal talents on The Beatles’ “This Boy,” accompanied by Zane on electric guitar.
Giammarese takes over on bass as Fortuna launches into a soulful rendition of the 1967 Soul Survivors’ hit, “Expressway to Your Heart.” Fortuna sings lead as he plays cowbell to Scheckel’s funky drumming. During the song, Peter Noone makes a surprise guest appearance on stage, dancing with Herman’s Hermits’ guitarist Billy Sullivan before joining Fortuna at the mic and taking over on cowbell.
Fortuna announces, “Mr. Peter Noone!” and Noone responds by exclaiming, “I always wanted to be in The Buckinghams!” as the number concludes to enthusiastic whistles and cheers.
After Noone and Sullivan leave the stage, Fortuna sings lead on an upbeat and funky version of Van Morrison’s 1970 hit, “Domino,” where he and the band segue into Archie Bell and The Drells’ 1968 hit, “Tighten Up,” prior to segueing back into “Domino” to avid cheers and applause.
Announcing, “It’s so special to come back to BergenPAC,” Giammarese introduces his bandmates, explaining that percussionist Tom Scheckel was the group’s drummer for twenty years before he left to perform with Paul Revere and the Raiders. Giammarese also talks about the group’s final song of the evening, recalling, “It knocked The Monkees’ ‘I’m A Believer’ off the #1 slot.” Launching into an exciting version of their 1966 #1 hit, “Kind of a Drag,” The Buckinghams leave the members of this Jersey crowd standing on their feet.
During intermission, we chat with several audience members who comment on the show thus far. Whereas Joanne from Livingston exclaims, “The Buckinghams were phenomenal — just fabulous!” Marlene from New City, NY asserts, “They sound just like they did 50 years ago!” Cara from California agrees, adding, “The Buckinghams were just outstanding tonight, and it was so great having Tommy Scheckel back with the group playing drums.”
Declares Sara from Englewood, “I loved the energy of the band! They really rock, and I was especially impressed by their soulful vocals.” Joe from Englewood concurs, noting, “And I liked their camaraderie, too — they looked like they were having a lot of fun on stage.” Lastly, Jackie from Hawthorne insists, “The Buckinghams were great tonight! I’ve seen them several times, and I especially liked it when Peter Noone came out to join them tonight — I really loved the energy of that number.”
As Act II commences, Herman’s Hermits — guitarists Vance Brescia and Billy Sullivan, keyboardist Rich Spina, and drummer Dave Ferrara — take the stage and get the audience clapping along to an up-tempo drumbeat.
As fans clap and wave British flags to the rhythm, Peter Noone takes the stage and he and the band launch into Herman’s Hermits’ 1964 hit, “I’m Into Something Good.”
Music lovers happily sing along and Noone and the Hermits segue into “Wonderful World” — their 1965 remake of Sam Cooke’s 1960 hit — before Peter moves on to an upbeat cover version of the Clovers’ 1959 Leiber/Stoller classic, “Love Potion № 9.”
Following a jaunty version of Herman’s Hermits’ 1966 hit, “Dandy,” Noone and Co. perform a spunky live version of 1966’s “A Must to Avoid.” The crowd cheers, and Noone exclaims, “What a great audience!” Following a harmonica solo, Noone imitates Johnny Cash, dancing around as he performs “Folsom Prison Blues” much to the crowd’s delight.
Coming down into the audience, Noone notices several fans with Herman’s Hermits memorabilia. Holding up the cover of Herman’s Hermits’ very first LP which features a photo of a young Peter on the back cover, Noone performs “Leaning On a Lamp Post.” Then, he changes the lyrics of Gerry and the Pacemaker’s “Ferry Cross the Mersey” to create a humorous ditty he calls “Ferry Cross New Jersey.”
Audience members sing along to Peter and the band’s lively cover version of Manfred Mann’s “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” and fans wave glow sticks to the rhythm of The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer.”
Keyboardist Rich Spina is featured on a rollicking rendition of Frankie Ford’s “Sea Cruise” where Noone has fun as the pair rocks.
Standing in between Billy Sullivan and Vance Brescia, Peter performs The Hermits’ 1965 hit, “A Little Bit Better,” where Sullivan steps low and Brescia kicks high while strumming their guitars.
Glow sticks wave to the rhythm of Herman’s Hermits’ 1965 remake of The Rays’ “Silhouettes,” and the boys follow up with the 1966 HH smash, “Listen People,” where Noone cries out with emotion while singing the song’s “Everybody’s got to love somebody sometime” chorus.
The audience reacts with cheers and applause for his touching performance and Noone follows up with a customized BergenPAC version of “Traveling Light” where, during the song, he jokes to the audience, “I bet they’ll invite us back again if you all cheer!”
Noone and Co. quickly segue into a crisp interpretation of the band’s 1967 hit, “No Milk Today.” When Peter suddenly exclaims, “Let’s do a Beatles’ song,” the crowd energetically joins him in singing The Beatles’ “All My Loving.”
One of the highlight numbers of the evening is a sparkling rendition of The Dave Clark Five’s “Glad All Over,” where Peter and the band energetically rock the BergenPAC auditorium.
Then, the spotlight shifts exclusively to Noone as he performs a heartfelt and poignant rendition of his 1965 ballad, “End of the World.”
After acknowledging his musicians along with his sound and light crew, Noone struts around the stage a la Mick Jagger on “Start Me Up” prior to performing a lively version of his 1965 hit, “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat.” Music lovers clap overhead and jump from their seats doing a brief version of a “wave” as Noone and Billy Sullivan dance around the stage during the song’s instrumental break.
The crowd happily sings along on the group’s 1965 #1 smash, “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” and music lovers also join in performing another 1965 Herman’s Hermits’ hit, “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am.”
At the conclusion, Noone shows the audience his socks with flags on them — one British and one American — before he and the Hermits perform their final number, a nostalgic rendition of the group’s classic 1967 recording, “There’s a Kind of Hush,” which has the crowd joyfully singing along.
With the entire crowd cheering on its feet, Noone exclaims, “Good night, everybody! Drive safely, and we’ll see you next year!”
As concertgoers make their way out of the auditorium, several comment on tonights’ performance by Herman’s Hermits and The Buckinghams. Remarks Maureen from Albany, “These two top-of-the-line ‘oldies’ groups had BergenPAC power packed! Their timeless tunes are as fresh in 2023 as they were 50 years ago, and they continue to prove beyond any doubt that retirement doesn’t have to mean you’re relegated to sitting around in a rocker, when you can still be rockin’!” Tarra from Naugatuck, CT, agrees, adding, “Going to a Peter Noone concert is so much fun, and such an uplifting experience! Peter’s not just a singer of wonderful songs of the ’60s but a hilarious entertainer, too. I’ve never left one of his concerts disappointed!”
Stephanie from Riverhead, NY asserts, “Peter Noone is one of the best entertainers in the business! Not only is his music great, but he’s very funny and so kind to his fans, too. For anyone who hasn’t seen him yet, they should check him out — they’ll find it well worth it.” Ernie from Portsmouth, VA, concurs, adding, “Herman’s Hermits were great, and I really enjoyed seeing drummer Tommy Scheckel back with The Buckinghams — he brings a new freshness to the band.” His wife, Stephanie, insists, “Herman’s Hermits were as fantastic as always, and it was an added bonus seeing Peter Noone and Billy Sullivan joining The Buckinghams for a little dancing and cowbell playing, making the experience well worth the trip from Virginia.”
Dale from Bayside, NY contends, “The Buckinghams were great, and when Peter Noone and Billy Sullivan came dancing onto the stage with The Buckinghams, the audience was enthralled. Then, when Herman’s Hermits came on, the audience sang, waved their glow sticks, and got to be like teenagers again!” Lastly, Penelope from Long Island reveals, “Peter Noone interacted with the audience on such a personal level that we all felt like we were spending the evening with a friend. To see a legend from the British Invasion up close right here in Englewood is something I’d never have thought I’d experience — it was positively electrifying!”
For more on The Buckinghams, please go to thebuckinghams.com. For further info on Herman’s Hermits featuring Peter Noone, please click on peternoone.com. To learn about upcoming programming at BergenPAC — including War on July 18, The Family Stone on August 25, and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on October 15 — please navigate to bergenpac.org.
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