It's Raining Beatles at OCPAC
By Stan Jenson
No musical group has ever captured the public’s heart the way that The Beatles did: We grew to love them as the “Lads from Liverpool,” with “mop-tops” covering their ears. We stayed with them as they donned uniforms for Sgt. Pepper, and even when they got weird and drugged out in their later stages. We will never see the Fab Four together again, but tribute band Rain makes a one-week stop this month at the Orange County Performing Arts Center (OCPAC), and the show is worth a visit.
Rain actually began in the 1970s as a West Coast club band called “Reign.” The group included a set of Beatles songs in its shows. When Dick Clark produced the 1979 film Birth of The Beatles, he enlisted the band to do the soundtrack. Clark wanted a sound that was as authentic to The Beatles as possible, and felt Reign delivered it.
Around that time, a show called “Beatlemania” appeared on Broadway and toured around the world. When the show finished its New York run, several of the Broadway band members infiltrated Rain and soon incorporated many of the theatrical effects that had been so important to the success of “Beatlemania.” With numerous personnel changes, the band has toured continuously since the ‘70s. It has also grown theatrically, allowing it to play in major auditoriums typically reserved for Broadway tours. In 2008, Pollstar listed Rain at No. 17 in its yearly “Pollstar’s Hot Top 20” for overall ticket sales of a touring show, band, or production.
Rain covers The Beatles from the band’s “Ed Sullivan Show” appearance, when America got its first peek, through the Fab Four’s album Abbey Road. Looks include the psychedelic late ‘60s, and The Beatles’ long-haired hippie, hard-rocking rooftop days. Rain is a multimedia, multidimensional experience that includes a fusion of historical footage and hilarious television commercials from the ‘60s. Cameras zoom in for close-ups as the band recreates The Beatles’ hits.
For almost three decades, Rain has distinguished itself by focusing on musical details, always being faithful to The Beatles with the ultimate goal of delivering a perfect note-for-note performance. All the music is performed live, with no pre-recorded tapes or sequences. Theatrical effects allow viewers to revisit the various periods in the group’s career, and costume and wig changes remind us of the band’s incredible career arc. The obvious audience is seeking nostalgia, but Rain’s auditoriums also are filled with youngsters who are experiencing The Beatles phenomenon anew.
“Rain – A Tribute to The Beatles” plays from March 23 – 28 at Segerstrom Hall, located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Tickets start at $20 and are available at the box office, at (714) 556-2787 or at www.OCPAC.org.