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RAIN is Refreshing at the TPAC

by Rich and Laura Lynch

"It's been a long, cold lonely winter" could be one way to describe the extended hiatus of live musicals. The band RAIN alluded to this during their two hour set at the TPAC in Nashville, Tennessee on April 14, 2022. For us, the admirable and well-honed tribute to The Beatles was a refreshing return to one of our favorite venues after a long dry spell.

April showers? RAIN was on the radar and right as rain at Nashville's TPAC.

RAIN is a Beatles tribute band who resemble the lads from Liverpool visually and vocally. This Fab Four plus one aims to give audiences the experience of seeing a concert by The Beatles. As many know the original group stopped touring in the mid 1960's, so songs from their later albums were never performed live. Plus, many report that even if you got to see a live Beatles' show you may not have heard it as frenzied fans often screamed through much of the music. Thankfully, RAIN attracted an attentive audience at the TPAC so that patrons could enjoy the career spanning set that RAIN poured out.

As part of their 2022 tour and in celebration of the anniversary of Abbey Road RAIN is performing some of that album's greatest hits in addition to all your early Beatles favorites. The show at the TPAC opened with the mop-tops in matching suits playing such classics as "All My Loving", "Please, Please Me", "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and more. Vintage clips merged with modern videos enhanced their overall presentation throughout the night.

"Paul" welcomed us to the show before performing "Yesterday" on acoustic while the 5th Beatle added string effects from his keyboard that was set up in the shadows of the stage. Next, scene - Shea Stadium with its baseball diamond as the backdrop, while at Shea, we enjoyed a triple play of songs from that period capped off with "Twist and Shout". Old time commercials were shown on screen so the boys could change their clothes. They were now dressed in casual 60's garb to recreate tunes from Rubber Soul and Revolver. We got a big kick out of the large than life lava lamps behind the band as they sang "The Word".

"John", "Paul", "George" and "Ringo" were spot on in Music City.

During the concert we learned that George Martin played the piano solo on "In My Life" which was aptly handled by "John". After intermission we found ourselves in the year 1967. The first three tracks from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was portrayed in all their psychedelic glory along with a few others from that groundbreaking record that culminated with a dramatic "A Day in the Life". The next important moment was the rooftop concert where we heard "Get Back" among others - yes it required a costume change and then another as they moved into the Abbey Road era. High points were "Come Together" plus the medley featuring the three part guitar jam.

For the encore, RAIN encouraged the crowd to sing along to "Hey Jude" as they concluded a refreshing return to the TPAC. Over the course of two sets that effectively told the tale of The Beatles, RAIN reminded us just how much the Liverpool lads evolved in their relatively short time together. That fabulous foursome were part of a dramatic shift in culture and music during the 1960's which had a ripple effect which is still felt today. It is one of the reasons why RAIN is so successful because people still want to hear this music and they can present it with all the clips, colors, costumes and effects that make for a polished performance which even the originals did not have in their day.

Thank you to the TPAC for hosting RAIN. The nonprofit Tennessee Performing Arts Center is located in downtown Nashville in the James K. Polk Cultural Center at 505 Deaderick Street. The TPAC is dedicated to the presentation of the cultural and performing arts. Since 1980, the TPAC has served more than 1.8 million educators and students with teacher resources, professional development opportunities, classroom residencies, and enrichment programs.

Each season the TPAC presents an outstanding roster of Broadway productions. Coming soon is Oklahoma. In addition to theater, the TPAC has children programs, which means Peppa Pig will be gracing one of their three stages soon and Get The Led Out is going to rock the core of this versatile venue. Please visit the TPAC's website for a full list of upcoming events.