Herman's Hermits Live Review 5/18/2010

[rtbuck]

Herman’s Hermits

Date: 5/18/2010
Location: Buffalo Raceway Hamburg, NY
Review by: Bucky

My first exposure to the music of Herman’s Hermits took place when I was 4 years but it wasn’t by Peter Noone & company. It was by that sensational band…The Chipmunks with their ‘Chipmunk A Go Go’ album where they covered “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” & “I’m Henry VIII”. With three teenage sisters, the Ed Sullivan Show, & AM Top 40 Radio stations in the 1960’s, I was exposed to all of the big hits by Herman’s Hermits. In the 1990’s Peter Noone was playing a free show at the Buffalo Raceway & my wife & I decided to go. We had such a great time & were blown away by the performance Noone put on that we haven’t missed a performance in the Buffalo, NY area by Herman’s Hermits since then.

Tuesday evening May 18th Herman’s Hermits played once again at the Buffalo Raceway & once again Peter Noone did not disappoint & neither did the Hermits led by the high kicks of guitarist & musical director Vance Brescia. Brescia & Ohio guitarist Billy Sullivan(who has shared the stage & toured with countless rock & roll icons including Gary Lewis, Eric Carmen, Mark Lindsay, Peter Frampton, Dicky Betts, & Ian Hunter to name a few) were a show by themselves dancing onstage & running off the stage on a muddy racetrack while not missing a beat with their guitars. Peter Noone is one hell of an entertainer with hilarious stories & his connection with the audience. Noone makes the audience part of the show. At one point he spotted someone waving a CD & asked the fan if they got it for $3.99 at a gas station. He then took the CD, threw it, & handed the fan a brand new official CD. The show began with Herman’s Hermits first single “I’m Into Something Good” from 1964 which charted #1 in the UK. The band then launched into the Sam Cooke hit “Wonderful World” which the Hermits made their own hit in 1965 when it reached number 4 on the charts. The band played their version of the Searchers hit “Love Potion # 9” & then went into Johnny Horton’s “Battle of New Orleans” but after the first chorus Noone said he hated that song so they stopped it. Noone had the crowd singing along with the first couple of verses of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” which led into their # 5 hit from 1966 written for them by Ray Davies “Dandy”. One of my favorite tunes was up next “A Must to Avoid” which was followed by their tribute to Davey Jones with “Daydream Believer” afterwards Peter wondered why the crowd was singing along with the songs that weren’t theirs & not songs like “A Must to Avoid”. The 1960’s revival continued as the Hermits rocked their way through more of their hits including “Just a Little bit Better” & No Milk Today” along with various other hits of the 60’s including the Gerry & the Pacemakers’ classic “Ferry Cross the Mersey” & a stunning version of the Beatles “In My Life”. Noone was having a great time as he joked about checking into a hotel & the receptionist saying “I know you…you’re Nick Nolte!” At one point he grabbed a vinyl record from a fan (Which I believe was the ‘There’s a Kind of Hush All Over the World’ album) & held it up. He said “This is what CD’s used to look like!”& then hid his face behind the cover(which featured a life size profile shot of Noone) to sing “Leaning on the Lamp Post” (actually he laughed his way through most of it). Noone joked about his father being Mick Jagger & then did a perfect Jagger impression as he pouted & strutted around the stage to “Start Me Up”. Noone brought out a harmonica & the band played “Folsom Prison Blues” which was entertaining. He introduced keyboardist Rich Spina & they rocked out to “Sea Cruise” A little later Peter Noone introduced the final four songs of the evening “End of The World”, “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”, “I’m Henry VIII” & “There’s a Kind of Hush All Over the World” & the band played all four songs straight through. The highlight of the evening was “I’m Henry VIII”. The crack of the drums & the familiar guitar riff started the song out & then in Ramones style from “Blitzkrieg Bop” Peter & the band started chanting “Hey Ho Let’s Go!” Noone then started singing lines from the Sex Pistols’ “Pretty Vacant” & “God Save the Queen” before rocking out to “I’m Henry VIII” which had the crowd singing along. The sing along continued right through the end of “There’s a Kind of Hush All Over the World” & the band left the stage.


Bucky

[Flower]

Great review Bucky ...

I never knew that Peter Noone could play the harmonica ...

[rtbuck]

Originally Posted by Flower Great review Bucky ... I never knew that Peter Noone could play the harmonica ...

He also played guitar on a couple of songs!

[Hepcat]

Originally Posted by Rtbuck My first exposure to the music of Herman’s Hermits took place when I was 4 years but it wasn’t by Peter Noone & company. It was by that sensational band…The Chipmunks with their ‘Chipmunk A Go Go’ album where they covered “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” & “I’m Henry VIII”. With three teenage sisters, the Ed Sullivan Show, & AM Top 40 Radio stations in the 1960’s, I was exposed to all of the big hits by Herman’s Hermits.

Good start!

That sounds like it was a great concert, even if you had to pay to get in this time!

[rtbuck]

Originally Posted by Hepcat Good start! That sounds like it was a great concert, even if you had to pay to get in this time!

Actually, it was another free one but I would definitely pay to see him & have paid the past couple of times. It's just a fun time to see him. They have Rare Earth playing free in a few weeks & Chuck Negron of 3 Dog Night

[Lord Grendel]

I now know more about Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits than ever before, another feather in you cap Master Bucky.

[Groovy Man]

Originally Posted by rtbuck The highlight of the evening was “I’m Henry VIII”. The crack of the drums & the familiar guitar riff started the song out & then in Ramones style from “Blitzkrieg Bop” Peter & the band started chanting “Hey Ho Let’s Go!” Bucky

Nice!

Good job on the concert review, Rtbuck , well done.

I would love to catch Herman's Hermits in concert.

[Hepcat]

I saw Peter Noone in concert some fifteen years ago but what's put me off somewhat from seeing the latest incarnation of Herman's Hermits is that Peter is the only original member with the band.



I have to give Peter credit though. He personally answered my email six months ago when I asked him precisely that question.

[monkeesfan1967]

I seen Peter Noone & the Hermits back in 2008 here in Ohio, great show, he did most of the same stuff at the show that I seen that you have described in the show you went to. What a great performer and vocalist!

[METALPRIEST]

I for one love Herman's Hermits. Sounds like it was a good time and I'm gonna have to search for some youtube clips later on to see the man in action. From what I read he puts on a terrific show! WOW!

Great write up!!

[jackory]

The last time Peter Noone did a show here in OK it was at the Zoo Amphitheater and was rained out. My ten year old daughter, who somehow has turned into a huge Herman's Hermits fan, was devastated. She'd been so looking forward to hearing her favorite song "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter".

[Craig in Indy]

Any show that opens with "I'm Into Something Good" is OK by me. It's one of my all time favorites.