Fab Faux

Readers of my blog will know that I am a fan of top-ten lists and hypothetical questions. One of my favourite hypothecial questions has often been, "if you could see any inactive (ie defunct, dead or broken-up) band play live, who would it be?" My answer often changes, ranging from the unlikely (Jellyfish), to the impossible (The Beatles). At some points, certain bands on my list have re-grouped, which enabled me to fulfill my wish, as it so happened with Queen, just last year.

One of my favourite bands is this obscure group called The Beatles. You probably don't know their songs, but they were so complex that eventually The Beatles stopped performing them live. Then, with the death of two critical members, the dream of a Beatles reunion was dashed.

Last night, I got a glimpse of that dream through the music of a great tribute band, The Fab Faux. Comprised of high-profile musicians such as Will Lee of David Letterman fame, and Jimmy Vivino, famous as the guitarist with Conan O'Brien's band, this group has gained a quite a reputation for their flawless interpretation of the fab four's music.

Last night's interpretation was the White Album, performed in sequence. It was brilliant. Every nuance and note was given careful consideration, and this fabulous catelogue of music is in good hands here. Even obscure, bizarre tracks such as Revolution 9 were played with absolute perfection.

The testament to the songs' power was proven in the huge, enthusiastic crowd which sang along with glee. Decades after these songs were first recorded, they still sound incredible, especially in the adept hands of this band.

I've been to the House of Blues several times now, and I have never seen a crowd like this one. Scores of people wrapped around the building. Celebrities and non-industry people mingled together as fans, not of one band, but of a collection of songs. Old men were dancing freely and children bopped their heads with glee. It was an incredible evening.

____


Long side note:

As Canadians, Dara and I aren't used to the celebrity exposure you get from living in L.A. Last night we ran into several celebrities, some of whom you might recognize. For starters, we sat next to Gary Oldman, famous for disappearing inside his roles, as disparate as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series, or Sid Viscious in the movie "Sid and Nancy." We caught up with him on the way out of the show and Dara told him he was awesome, to which he smiled.

We also met and briefly spoke with Sam Lloyd, who plays the inept lawyer on Scrubs. We saw Patrick Warburton, most famous as David Puddy on Seinfeld (Elaine's on-again-off-again, squinty-eyed boyfriend), who also plays Joe Swanson, from "Family Guy."

We also noticed Greg Kinnear, Gavin Rossdale, Greg Grunberg (the police office on "Heroes", who also starred in "Alias," "Felicity" and had a minor role in "Lost"). The celebrities put a colourful backdrop to the incredible music. Of course, they're just people, but it's fun to be able to express our appreciation for their art (like Dara telling Oldman he's awesome).