Beatles Throwback Rocks Keeney Center
WETHERSFIELD - Geo Filippides remembers the first show No. 9-the favorite for Beatles covers-played in Meriden.

       It was supposed to be a one-time thing-a benefit for an elementary school.

       â€"It was so successful, that we just wanted to keep the ball rolling,” Filippides says. â€"We were like, ‘wow, we should do more’.”

       That was ten years ago. Since then, the band known for bringing the Fab Four’s iconic songs to both new and nostalgic ears throughout Connecticut has probably surprised themselves on many more occasions.

       It’s a July 12 evening in Wethersfield, and there isn’t a spot in front of the Keeney Cultural Center left unoccupied by a spectator with a lawn chair or beach towel.

       No. 9 just finished a brief warmup session, and the audience is already feeling it.

       â€"Thank you so much for coming. We’ll catch you next year,” Filippides says to laughs.

       They can joke about that now-a clear and mild night a year away from the thunder storm that drove the previous summer’s show to an early finish.

       â€"That was tough,” Filippides recalls. â€"There was like no time. We had to run to get things under cover. It’s also dangerous.”

       One would think that the traditional covered stage the Wethersfield Historical Society wheels out for its’ yearly summer concert series would help, but of course the rain went sideways once the wind kicked in, recalls Amy Witorff, a member of the Society and event organizer.

       â€"We earned the good weather tonight,” Witorff said.

       No. 9 kicks things off with their rendition of â€"Day Tripper”.

       Filippides plays lead guitar, George Schultz carries the vocals, Jim Fusco mans the keyboard, and Don Woods holds them down on the bass. Bob Glick is the rhythm guitarist, while Todd Purcaro backlines them on the drums.

       Then there’s Chris Griffin, a jack-of-all trades percussionist who can also play horn.

       Oh, and they all sing.

       Witorff remembers when the concert series was held at Cove Park. The Society ran into funding issues for the event, but got enough from the Robert Allan Keeney Memorial Fund to hold it outside the Keeney Center-a move that she considers a blessing in disguise.

       â€"It’s great,” Witorff says. â€"It’s right in the center of town. Everyone comes out-it’s a lot more intimate.”

       By the time No. 9 gets to â€"Got to Get You into My Life”, an elderly couple is twenty years younger and dancing in front of the stage.

       â€"We’ve seen some amazing things,” Filippides says. â€"It’s invoking memories.”

       For Filippides and his bandmates especially.

       Of course, he’s a die-hard Beatles fan, due mainly to the fact that he grew up with two older siblings who became swept up in the British Invasion of the 1960’s.

       â€"Those were my oldest childhood memories,” he says. â€"That music is so incredible. It’s so deep. You can never be bored.”

       No. 9 certainly tries not to be. The 7-member band covers the full scope of the Beatles extensive catalogue-from the earlier Hard Day’s Night hits to classics such as Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. And they love to add their own twists-a risky venture when it comes to work of that pedigree.

       â€"We like to leave a little room for spontaneity,” Filippides says. â€"And that’s kind of how the Beatles were. They were innovators. If they were around today, they’d be changing things up.”

      

      
STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA   |  Jul 27 2016  |  COMMENTS?