Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

August 27, 2008

Glen Burtnik And Friends

State Theatre

July 26, 2008

—by Ken Shane

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—You never know when a

show will be transcendent. There is no doubt about

the greatness of the original music. And there is no

doubt about the talent of the musicians who were

going to attempt a note-for-note recreation of the

classic album The Beatles, better known to most

as the “White Album.” But even The Beatles

themselves never tried to perform this music live.

They had stopped performing before it was released.

There was no need to worry. In the sympathetic

hands of master songwriter Glen Burtnik, and able

friends including Marshall Crenshaw, and Bob

Burger, this familiar music took on new life. There

were no costumes or wigs, just very capable singing

and playing, paired with a wonderful sound mix,

and evocative video segments produced by Altered

Image.

To be honest, although the music of The Beatles

remains a passion of mine, I hadn’t sat down a

listened to The Beatles from start to finish in quite

awhile. That turned out to be a fortunate

happenstance, as each new song surprised and

delighted me. The core band began the evening

with Burtnik singing a raucous version of “Back in

the USSR,” and continued with Crenshaw doing a

beautiful rendition of “Dear Prudence.”

It was then that the audience got a wonderful

surprise. The scrim behind the musicians rose to

reveal the orchestra, led by conductor James Egan.

The orchestra immediately showed their mettle by

helping to flesh out a stunning version of “Glass

Onion” and remained an integral part of the show

for the remainder of the evening.

The undisputed highlight of the first half of the

show was guitarist John Merjave’s brilliant take on

“While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which brought

the sold out house to its feet for the first of several

standing ovations. There were also standout

performances from keyboard player/guitarist Chris

Hill, particularly on “Happiness Is A Warm Gun.” In

general, Hill took on the Lennon songs, Burtnik the

McCartney, and Merjave seemed inhabited by the

spirit of George Harrison both in his playing and

his singing. The three are members of a Beatles

tribute band called Liverpool.

There were no hard and fast rules though, as

Crenshaw and Burger would step forward with

beautiful interpretations of their own. Also of note

was the sizzling performance of guest vocalist

Christine Martucci on “Yer Blues,” and a beautiful

rendition of “Mother Nature’s Son” by Tony Shanahan.

There were also several notable contributions from

Burtnik’s daughter Sally, playing what was described

as the “Yoko Ono” role.

After intermission, it was one highlight after

another, including a great performance from Hill

on “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except

For Me And My Monkey,” and a beautiful vocal from

Merjave on George Harrison’s wistful “Long, Long,

Long.” Burtnik’s fiery take on “Helter Skelter” raised

the roof of the old theater. With all the talent that

was on stage, it took awhile for even a great vocalist

like Bob Burger to get his moment in the spotlight,

but when he finally did, he took full advantage of it

with wonderful performances of “Cry Baby Cry,”

and “Honey Pie.”

Burtnik read a rather comprehensive statement

seeking the audience’s understanding when it came

time to perform “Revolution #9,” but he needn’t have.

The abstract piece was transporting. The album

finished, the band ended the evening with an encore

that included the single (faster) version of “Revolution,”

and “Eight Days A Week.” Burtnik sent the crowd

home singing with the closing number, “Hey Jude.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what I got was

one of the best shows I’ve seen this year. A solid

evening of expert musicianship and good vibes.