Fans of The Monkees ready themselves inside Englewood, NJ's BergenPAC auditorium this April 12, 2023 evening for a concert of Monkees' hits and a live performance of The Monkees' 1967 album, Headquarters, presented by the group's sole surviving member, Micky Dolenz.
The lights dim and a video plays on screen as audience members bop in time to the well-known “Hey, Hey We’re The Monkees” TV theme song. At the video’s conclusion, keyboardist Alex Jules, bassist John Billings, guitarist Emeen Zarookian, drummer Rich Dart, guitarist/musical director Wayne Avers, and vocalist Coco Dolenz take their places on stage.
Dolenz, 78, enters to large applause waving to the crowd before he and the band launch into The Monkees’ 1966 #1 hit, “Last Train to Clarksville.”
Sounding strong, Micky, 78, sings, “Take the last train to Clarksville/And I’ll meet you at the station,” as clips of all four Monkees — Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith, and Micky Dolenz — fill the large screen behind him and guitars twang to the driving beat.
As rhythm guitars strum, backup vocals echo Dolenz’s lead on the 1966 Monkees’ tune, “Take a Giant Step,” where Dolenz invites the happy crowd to “Take a giant step outside your mind” and fans respond with heartfelt cheers and applause.
Following the country-ish “Papa Gene’s Blues” — featuring the catchy “I love you and I know you love me” refrain — four-part vocal harmonies sparkle on the 1967 Monkees’ hit, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.”
Micky plays tambourine and sings lead on the ’60s folk-rocker, “The Girl I Knew Somewhere,” and drummer Rich Dart bops to the easy beat while colored lights dance on the bouncy bubblegum two-step, “All of Your Toys.”
The crowd cheers and Dolenz exclaims, “Thank you so much for celebrating this thing we call The Monkees!” Recalling, “It was so much more than the four us, behind the scenes especially,” Dolenz gives special credit to such Monkees’ songwriters as Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and Neil Diamond, declaring,” I feel so blessed to have had those songs.” Adding, “We didn’t have a lot of say in the beginning what songs we performed,” Micky discloses, “but that changed with Headquarters, which was the first album that included songs written by Mike Nesmith.” Here, Dolenz and Co. launch into a live presentation of the entire Headquarters album.
Opening with the Nesmith-penned rocker, “You Told Me,” Dolenz and the band segue into the country-ish “I’ll Spend My Life with You” before guitarist Emeen Zarookian sings lead on “Forget that Girl,” a folk-rock number set to a bossa nova beat.
Flashing lights punctuate shifting rhythms on “You Just May Be the One” where Dolenz sings, “All men must/Have someone/Have someone/Who would never take advantage/Of a love bright as the sun/Someone to understand them/And you just may be the one.”
Photos of the Monkees appear on screen as Micky and his sister, Coco, share lead vocals on the lilting “Shades of Gray,” crooning, “But today there is no day or night/Today there is no dark or light/Today there is no black or white/Only shades of gray.”
Micky pays tribute to his Monkees’ colleague, Davy Jones, revealing how the pair became “incredible friends” when they auditioned together for The Monkees TV show. After recalling Davy as “funny,” “charming,” “lovable,” and “really cute,” Dolenz treats the audience to a Davy Jones tribute reel and follows up by introducing keyboardist Alex Jules who sings the Headquarters Tin Pan Alley two-step, “I Can’t Get Her Off of My Mind,” a number originally recorded by Jones.
Dolenz discloses, “On The Monkees, Mike, Davy, and I played ourselves, but Peter had to play the ‘dummy.’” Characterizing Tork as “smart,” “intelligent,” “wise,” and “a great musician who studied at a conservatory,” Micky plays a Peter Tork tribute video and then sings lead on the easy rocking, “For Pete’s Sake,” an appealing Tork composition on which Dolenz cries, “In this generation/In this lovin’ time/In this generation/We will make the world shine.”
The crowd hoots and hollers and Dolenz announces, “This next song is not as well known. It’s a Boyce and Hart story song about a man who works at a bank but who is not appreciated.” Here, Dolenz performs the ’60s folk-rocker, “Mr. Webster,” after which he exclaims, “I always thought that should be a movie!”
In reminiscing about Mike Nesmith, Dolenz recalls, “‘Nez’ was a unique type. If you read the lyrics to his songs, they are poetry.” Going on to add, “He was so funny” and “so clever,” Micky explains how after one of Nesmith’s original songs was rejected by The Monkees’ producers, he gave it to Linda Ronstadt who turned it into a hit for her group, The Stone Poneys.
The title? 1964s “Different Drum.”
Following a Nesmith tribute video, Dolenz plays maracas and sings on Nesmith’s country-rocker, “Sunny Girlfriend.” Then, audience members enjoy a screening of a prerecorded rendition of “Zilch” where all four Monkees successively vocalize such percussive lyrics as “Mister Dobalena, Mister Bob Dobalena,” “China Clipper calling Alameda,” etc.
To conclude Act I, Dolenz and Co. complete the Headquarters album with renditions of the Chuck Berry-inspired “No Time,” the 60’s folk-rocker “Early Morning Blues and Greens,” and the novelty tune, “Randy Scouse Git,” where Dolenz pounds on a timpani drum while audience members join in on the wild “Why don’t you cut your hair?/Why don’t you live up there?” refrain.
Following a short intermission, a video spotlighting Dolenz’s career plays, after which he and the band return to the stage to perform the psychedelic “Porpoise Song.” Next, complex guitar playing by Wayne Avers and Emeen Zarookian kick off a rhythmic rendition of the 1967 Carole King/Gerry Goffin-penned Monkees’ hit, “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”
Audience members clap along as Micky plays maracas and sings to the pop-rocking “I’ll Be Back Up On My Feet” while colored lights swirl around the BergenPAC auditorium. Top notch guitar playing and vocal harmonies characterize a live rendition of the 1968 Boyce and Hart Monkees’ tune, “Valleri,” where Wayne Avers impresses with a lightning fast guitar solo that brings avid applause from the crowd.
Micky and friends perform the rockin’ Monkees 1986 Top 20 comeback hit, “That Was Then, This is Now,” before Micky has fun dancing across the stage on a wild and footloose version of the group’s jazzy swing number, “Goin’ Down.”
Audience members light up their phones and wave them in time to the beat of The Monkees’ 1967 #1 hit “Daydream Believer,” and Micky conducts concertgoers as they sing lead on the catchy “Cheer up sleepy Jean/Oh what can it mean” chorus.
The group follows up with a roof-raising rendition of the 1966 Top 20 Boyce and Hart Monkees’ hit, “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” where bright red spotlights pan the audience as music lovers dance at their seats and sing along on the ubiquitous “I — I — I — I — I’m not your steppin’ stone” chorus.
The happy crowd stands and cheers as Micky and the band perform their final number, The Monkees’ 1966 #1 hit, “I’m a Believer,” composed by Neil Diamond. Joyfully singing along on the famous “And then I saw her face/Now I’m a believer” refrain, music lovers clap with their hands above their heads while dancing to the nostalgic sound of The Monkees.
“Thank you!” exclaims Dolenz as he and the members of his band take a well-deserved bow in front of the cheering crowd.
As audience members make their way out of the BergenPAC auditorium, we chat with several fans who share their thoughts on tonight’s Monkees’ tribute by Micky Dolenz. Mike from Englewood declares, “It was awesome!” and his wife, Karen, exclaims, “It brought me back in time! I can’t give Micky enough credit for performing an entire two-and-a-half-hour show with such energy!”
Whereas Georgia from Teaneck remarks, “It’s such happy music; I can’t stop singing ‘I’m a Believer!’” Patrick from Clifton declares, “It was such a hip concert, and Micky Dolenz is still so very cool!”
Paula from Morristown recalls, “I grew up with The Monkees. I had older brothers who made fun of me because I was so in love with Davy Jones, and hearing these songs again really brought me back to my childhood.” Notes her adult son, Peter, “I think Micky did a fantastic job! I’ve heard several other performers his age and I think he was really wonderful.”
Geri from Rockaway confesses, “I’m a second generation Monkees fan from the ’70s. I’ve seen the group in all different combinations and it was nice to see this final tribute. I loved all of the songs tonight because I’m a big fan of the Headquarters album,” before disclosing, “I even have Micky’s autograph on my body!” explaining, “Last year, at a convention, Micky signed his autograph on my arm and I had it tattooed there permanently!”
Frank, a fan from Ridgefield Park, remarks, “Micky sounded really good tonight, and his sister, Coco, sounded really good, too. Overall, the band was tight and the vocals were excellent. What I especially liked about Micky is how he interacted with the audience — he had so much energy! I also liked hearing a lot of songs tonight that I haven’t heard in a long time, and it was really great seeing the show here at BergenPAC where they recently renovated the theater and the sound is really good.”
Mona, a long time fan from East Windsor, asserts, “Micky and the band were on fire tonight! I’ve met them many times and they’re not only stellar, but they’re the nicest people, too. Plus, it was great to see all the videos that brought back so many memories, in addition to hearing Headquarters live as Micky’s voice is just incredible!”
Lastly, Cindy from Jackson declares, “I’ve been a Monkees fan from the beginning, and Micky did an amazing job! I loved the videos of each of the guys, and hearing Micky do the entire Headquarters album was amazing! I loved the band, too,” prior to concluding, “All in all, this show was just stupendous!”
To learn more about Micky Dolenz, please go to mickydolenz.com. For info on upcoming shows at BergenPAC — including Amy Grant on May 4, The Righteous Brothers on May 17, and the Happy Together Tour featuring The Turtles, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Vogues, The Classics IV, and The Cowsills on June 7 — please click on bergenpac.org.
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