Beatles Tribute
Legends Of Rock bring The Beatles back to life
Written & photographed by: Carmen Garza
Date: June 4, 2022
It only took 50 years, but true Beatles fans could wait a lifetime to experience such a stellar lineup as Todd Rundgren, Christopher Cross, Jason Scheff (former lead singer of Chicago - 1985 to 2016), Joey Molland (of Badfinger) and Denny Laine (founding member of The Moody Blues & Wings) performing iconic hits from The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” albums, as well as their respectively famous tunes. The eager crowd was packed like sardines, while waiting with anticipation for the festivities to begin at Phoenix’ Celebrity Theatre on Wednesday, June 1 during the “It Was Fifty Years Ago Today” show proudly promoted by the Valley’s own Danny Zelisko. There were plenty of Baby Boomers in attendance, who shimmied around the venue to their favorite Beatles’ songs reminiscent of their younger years.
Could there be such a thing as too much star power? Not when it comes to these iconic rockers. They eloquently shared the spotlight, while profoundly exchanging glances of admiration with each other. The stage was reverberating with major talent.
Scheff delivered an electrifying performance of “25 Or 6 To 4” that effortlessly brought the house down. Rundgren encouraged a mass sing along during his epic hit “Hello It’s Me”, which willingly danced people out of their seats. Joey Molland belted his heart out with his rendition of the explosive rock song “Baby Blue”. The audience was lulled away to the velvety sounds of “Sailing” sung by, none other than, Christopher Cross. And Paul McCartney would have been proud to hear Denny Laine kill it during the powerful “Band On The Run”. However, that was only a few of the memorable songs performed during the set. Check out the notable setlist below.
Setlist
Set One:
“Drive My Car” (All)
“I Want To Tell You” (All)
“Taxman” (Rundgren, Molland)
“Eleanor Rigby” (Cross)
“If I Needed Someone” (Molland)
“Go Now” (Laine)
“Band On The Run” (Laine, Cross)
“I’m Only Sleeping” (Scheff, Laine, Cross)
“No Matter What” (Molland, Scheff)
“Baby Blue” (Molland,Rundgren)
“Good Day Sunshine” (Scheff, Rundgren)
“In My Life” (Rundgren)
“You Won’t See Me” (Scheff)
“Sailing” (Cross, Scheff)
“Ride Like The Wind” (Cross, Scheff)
“She Said She Said” (Rundgren)
Intermission
Set Two:
“And Your Bird Can Sing” (Rundgren, Cross)
“Here There & Everywhere” (All)
“Girl” (Scheff, Cross)
“Michelle” (Cross, Laine)
“Norwegian Wood” (Laine, Cross)
“I’ve Just Seen A Face” (Cross, Laine)
“Hard For Me To Say I’m Sorry” (Scheff)
“25 Or 6 To 4” (Scheff, Rundgren, Molland)
“For No One” (Cross)
“Nowhere Man” (Laine, Molland, Cross)
“I Saw The Light” (Rundgren)
“Hello It’s Me” (Rundgren, Molland)
“Doctor Robert” (Molland)
“Got To Get You Into My Life” (Molland)
“Tomorrow Never Knows” (Rundgren)
“The Word” (All)
“Yellow Submarine” (All)
It was a musical journey, which collectively transported fans into a blissful state of mind. If you missed this unforgettable evening then hope for another visit, but moments like these usually happen once in a lifetime.