Dazzling show relives Brits’ 1960s takeover of U.S. charts

HENDERSONVILLE— The Flat Rock Playhouse’s musical tribute show “British Invasion” provided a delightful flashback through rock music history from the mid- to late 1960s, when —  for the most part — British bands (especially the Beatles), duos and solo artists dominated the top spots on American music charts.

The show, which ran Sept. 6-16, was part of the Music on the Rock series held in the playhouse’s downtown Hendersonville venue.

 The FRP billed the show as one that “ensures audiences will feel the rush of Beatlemania, rock ‘n’ roll with the Rolling Stones, and let loose with the Kinks. 

“Defining the counterculture of the 1960s, the music of the British Invasion forever transformed American music and the popular hits of this period continue to shape musical standards today. 

“‘British Invasion’ will also feature popular British female recording artists, such as Lulu, Dusty Springfield and Petula Clark,” the FRP noted.

The show featured three stunningly talented fronting vocalists, including Ryan Dunn, Annalyse McCoy and T.J. Moss. All three also played guitars, at times.

Not only were each of the threesome skilled on solos, they also were superb in their harmonizing.

 Dunn and McCoy previously have appeared in the Music on the Rock concert series with “The Music of the Beatles” and “The Queens of Country Music,” respectively. For Moss, the “British Invasion” show was his FRP debut. 

The talented band included Will Moss, keyboard one, vocalist and music director; Tucker Warwick, bass; Andrew Rogelberg, guitar, Casey Cramer, keyboard two; and Phillip Bronson, drums.

All of the performers dressed in 1960s-style musical attire.

About 125 of the 150 seats were filled for the Sept. 7 show that included two 40-minute sets, sandwiching a 15-minute intermission. 

The show started — and finished — with a bang, as it opened with the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and ended with the Yardbirds’ moody-but-powerful “For Your Love.”

After the last song of the regular show, the audience, many members of which danced through many of the night’s songs, erupted with a sustained standing ovation and pleaded for an encore.

The tribute band, after some hesitation, agreed to play one more — the Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” in effect giving the audience a collective musical kiss to end the night of nostalgic bliss. 

After the encore, the crowd stood again, calling for another song, but the band immediately put its instruments down, waved a fond fairewell as it left the stage — and the house lights were turned up.

The strengths of the show included the solo and harmony vocals, along with lively and appropriate choreography, and the musicianship of the band.

Another powerful touch was the projection on the wall behind the band of each original performer or performers, in their 1960s prime, as their song was being played.

The show was a delight, but it would have been even better if a bit more effort was put into adding context between the songs, as well as telling more about what was going on with the British Invasion — how it started, advanced and what caused it to end. However, that approach — admittedly — would have forced the cutting of a number of songs, so the show’s directors elected to take the musical jukebox route. Nonetheless some interesting tidbits of information were shared, including McCoy’s story about Dusty Springfield. Years ago, Springfield heard an Italian song that she deeply loved right away, although she did not understand the lyrics because of the language barrier. She soon hired two writers to give the tune English lyrics, resulting in “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me.” McCoy noted with a laugh that the two writers knocked out the lyrics in “about an hour, before going to the disco for the night.” McCoy then sang a lovely rendition of the song.

In a story about the Beatles song “Yesterday,” Moss said, “When I was 15, I saw this guy sing this song — and that’s when I decided that I wanted” to become a singer. He then sang — solo — a beautiful and haunting version of “Yesterday,” accompanying himself on guitar.  

Besides the aforementioned “Satisfaction” and “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” first-set songs included “Always Something There to Remind Me,” “I’m Into Something Good,” “Love Potion No. 9,” “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am,” “Tobacco Road,” “Bus Stop,” “She’s Not There,” “I Only Want to Be With You,” “You Really Got Me,” “She Loves You,” “Bus Stop” and “My Generation.”

In addition to the previously mentioned “For Your Love” and “Yesterday,” other second-set songs included “Do Wah Diddy Diddy,” “Downtown,” “Glad All Over,” “Needles and Pins,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “Goldfinger,” “A Groovy Kind of Love,” “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” “House of the Rising Sun” and “I Can See for Miles.”