In what has become an annual October event, the Fab Faux returned to the Orpheum in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. I think this may be the fourth or fifth year in a row they've played here.
I once said that a recent Prince concert I attended was "concert heaven," but I think this might actually be concert heaven, or at least a different form of it.
The Fab Faux are a Beatles cover band, which sounds pretty bad from the outset, making you think of dorky guys in mop haircut wigs, who then change into Sgt. Pepper outfits mid-show, all the while affecting Liverpool accents.
This band, though, is more like an orchestra playing Beethoven or Brahms - it's about enjoying and appreciating the music the Beatles composed, and hearing it live. For aside from the early years of 30 minute shows drowned out by screaming, the Beatles never played live.
To hear their music played in person, with modern sound, live instruments, and every detail and nuance emphasized, is worth the rather pricey tickets.
The band is made up of Will Lee, the bass player from Letterman, Jimmy Vivino, the guitarist from Conan, and three other session musicians with amazing chops on multiple instruments. All of them can sing. Jack Petruzelli, mostly on keyboards, is particularly good vocally, belting out a very powerful "Oh Darling" that always gets a standing ovation.
For most of the LA October shows, we've been treated to some kind of album adventure. The White Album in full, for example. Or Rubber Soul and Revolver back to back. (If memory serves me.) This time, it was a variety of songs, which wasn't quite as cool, but still worth it.
What makes these shows so great, aside from hearing probably the best pop/rock music ever written, is that the band does jam on the material. So while they will faithfully reproduce the underwater sound effects on Octopus' Garden, or bring out a tiny bugle for the Penny Lane bridge, they will also add on a psychedelic jam to Strawberry Fields Forever, complete with an extended double drum solo. And as for Guitar Gently Weeps, the band effortlessly improvises over the ending changes better than Clapton himself. (Maybe.)
Tonight's show featured Gary Oldman on vocals a few times, which was a bit of a surprise!
Add to the aforementioned great things the perfect sound and cool decor of the historic Orpheum, an attentive and "normal" crowd, and above-all the band's geeky attention to detail, and you have one of the few cover bands you can be proud to see without feeling embarrassed. Here's hoping they come around again next October.
