Daydream believers inside Englewood, NJ's BergenPAC auditorium this Sunday, December 15, 2024 evening ready themselves for a concert of Songs and Stories by the sole surviving member of The Monkees, Micky Dolenz.
Keyboardist Alex Jules, guitarist Emeen Zarookian, and drummer Rich Dart take the stage along with Micky Dolenz. The crowd cheers and Micky announces, “Thank you for coming out to this beautiful theater!”
Micky introduces his sister, Coco Dolenz, stating, “She’s a better singer than I am!” before Coco entertains the crowd with her strong and melodic takes on Carole King’s “Beautiful” and Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good.”
Micky returns to exclaim, “Give it up for Coco!” and the crowd cheers as bassist John Billings and guitarist/musical director Wayne Avers join Micky on stage and he introduces himself with a flourish.
Sounding strong, Micky, 79, performs a dynamic rendition of the 1966 Monkees’ hit, “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.” Lights flash over the audience as music lovers join Micky and the band in singing the song’s appealing “I — I — I — I — I’m not your steppin’ stone” chorus.
Micky and friends segue into the rockin’ Monkees 1986 comeback hit, “That Was Then, This is Now,” where Wayne Avers renders a twangy guitar solo and Micky sings with ease as he plays tambourine.
Four-part vocal harmonies shine on the 1967 Monkees’ hit, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” where Micky sings lead and plays maracas on this bouncy Neil Diamond-penned tune.
Music lovers avidly applaud and Micky talks about the various songwriters who created material for The Monkees including Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Neil Sedaka, and David Gates, along with Monkee Peter Tork who wrote the closing theme song for Season 2 of The Monkees TV show. Here, the group performs Tork’s “For Pete’s Sake,” where dreamy backup vocals support Micky’s strong lead on the song’s catchy “In this generation/In this lovin’ time” refrain.
Micky tells a story about getting to meet The Beatles when they were recording their 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. After presenting an upbeat rendition of “Good Morning, Good Morning,” Micky and Co. follow up with “Sgt. Pepper’s Reprise” while photos of Micky and Paul McCartney appear onscreen behind the band.
Micky recalls seeing Jimi Hendrix perform in the ’60s and explains why he thought Hendrix would be a good opening act for The Monkees. He and the band present a raucous rendition of “Purple Haze” before treating the crowd to a live performance of Micky’s audition song for The Monkees TV show, Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”
Micky concludes Act I of tonight’s show with the first Monkees’ song he ever heard on the radio — the group’s 1966 #1 hit, “Last Train to Clarksville” — with an arrangement that features Micky’s strong lead vocal and sparkling guitar work from Wayne Avers and Emeen Zarookian.
Following a short intermission, Micky takes the stage along with Coco, Rich Dart, Alex Jules, and Emeen Zarookian to perform a lovely a cappella rendition of “Ríu Ríu Chíu,” a Christmas song that appeared on Episode 47 of The Monkees television show.
Micky tells a story about how even though singer/songwriter Steven Stills tried out for The Monkees and wasn’t cast, he told his roommate, Peter Tork, about the audition and Tork was chosen. Here, Micky and the band present their rendition of “For What It’s Worth,” Stills’ 1966 hit for his band, Buffalo Springfield.
Micky also talks about being at The Troubadour in Los Angeles for Elton John’s American debut before performing a warm rendition of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Your Song.”
Top notch guitar playing and vocal harmonies characterize a live rendering of the 1968 Monkees’ tune, “Valleri,” where Wayne Avers impresses with a wicked guitar solo that elicits avid applause from the crowd.
Coco Dolenz is featured on a Michael Nesmith composition which was recorded by Linda Ronstadt’s group, The Stone Poneys. Singing with style and power, Coco presents her version of “Different Drum.” She’s followed by guitarist Emeen Zarookian who sings lead in his Santa hat on a rockin’ interpretation of Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run.”
Audience members cheer when they recognize the keyboard intro to The Monkees’ 1967 #1 hit originally recorded by Davy Jones, “Daydream Believer,” and happily join Micky in singing the tune’s catchy “Cheer up sleepy Jean/Oh what can it mean” chorus.
Micky and Co. conclude tonight’s show with a rhythmic rendition of the 1967 Monkees’ hit, “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” which features blended four-part vocal harmonies and complex guitar playing by Avers and Zarookian.
The crowd stands and cheers and Micky and friends launch into a lively encore version of The Spencer Davis Group’s 1967 hit, “Gimme Some Lovin’.” After Micky introduces his stagemates, he sings “Here we come, walkin’ down the street” on a slow and bluesy arrangement of the “(Theme from) The Monkees.”
Music lovers stand and cheer as Micky and the band perform their final number, The Monkees’ 1966 #1 hit, “I’m a Believer.” Joyfully singing along on the famous “And then I saw her face/Now I’m a believer” refrain, concertgoers dance at their seats as lights flash before the song ends with enthusiastic hoots, hollers, cheers, and applause.
“Thank you, Englewood!” exclaims Micky as he and the ensemble take a bow together prior to waving and exiting the stage while a fan cries, “We love you, Micky!”
Before the evening is through, several audience members share their thoughts on tonight’s Songs and Stories performance by Micky Dolenz. Exclaims Teddy from Wayne, “Micky sounded phenomenal tonight; he sounded as good as he did 50 years ago! I’m a musician — I play drums and guitar — and The Monkees were a huge inspiration to me when I was a little kid. The band was amazing, and one thing that really grabbed me was that the sound and the tone of the instruments was really authentic to the time period of the ‘60s.”
Teddy’s wife, Jennifer, agrees, adding, “I play bass and sing, and I love Micky Dolenz! I remember watching The Monkees growing up and Micky was always my favorite member of the band. It was great seeing him tonight and if he comes back again next year, I’ll be here!”
Morgan from Blairstown recalls, “I’ve been a Monkees fan my entire life. When my siblings and I were kids, my mom had The Monkees on all the time. The first concert I ever went to when I was four years old was Davy Jones, and since that was the last Monkees-related concert I went to, I’m very happy to be here tonight! Micky sounded really good, the band was cool, and Micky’s sister, Coco, was super good, too!”
Morgan’s mom, Colleen, concurs, recalling, “I remember watching The Monkees on Saturday mornings in the early ’70s and thinking, ‘Those guys are awesome!’ Then, when they came back in the ’80s, I was a teenager and all my friends and I got on board, and I even saw them when they did their reunion tour in 1986. Micky still sounds fantastic — I loved all the energy he poured into his performance — and I loved his storytelling, too!”
Insists Corinne from Tenafly, “Micky was really great tonight! He’s going to be 80 years old next year, and I couldn’t believe how much energy he put into his show. I enjoyed the stories he told, and it was really sweet how he honored the other Monkees — Peter, Mike, and Davy — by performing their songs. This was my fourth time seeing Micky — he’s always been good and tonight was no exception!”
Mona from East Windsor agrees, adding, “This was another stellar performance from Micky and his amazing band. I loved all the story intros to the songs and hearing ‘Ríu Ríu Chíu’ was the highlight of the night for me.”
Recalls Paul from Paramus, “I’ve been seeing Micky Dolenz perform since 1986 — which was the year of their reunion tour — and I’ve seen every iteration of The Monkees. Over the years, I’ve gotten to meet all four of them, and tonight’s show was really unique in that I’d never heard Micky tell stories about Steven Stills and Elton John or sing their songs. It was also great hearing Mickey do his Monkees audition song, plus the two Beatles’ tunes from Sgt. Pepper were highlights of the show as was the Christmas tune, ‘Ríu Ríu Chíu.’”
Lastly, Brian from Saddle Brook declares, “I loved Micky tonight — this was my 20th time seeing him! I’ve enjoyed him every time and tonight was no exception; he sounded great and was so entertaining that when he comes back to perform again, I’ll be there!” Brian’s wife, Rory, agrees, explaining, “We always have a lot of fun seeing Micky. He sings, he’s funny, he tells great stories, and he always makes me feel young again!”
To learn more about Micky Dolenz, please go to mickydolenz.com. For information on great upcoming performances at BergenPAC — including The Drifters, The Coasters, and The Platters on January 10; Peabo Bryson on January 24; and 38 Special on February 20 — please click on bergenpac.org.
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