Chicago FEST 2014 Wrap Up! Next Stop – L.A.

Dear Beatles Family,
 
What a WEEKEND that was! Last weekend, over 4,000 Beatles fans from 30 states and two continents came together at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ arrival in America. We love you all. This is our collective recap…

If you get to the bottom of this and these pics aren’t enough for your vicarious re-living of Chicago Fest, check out all these FACEBOOK ALBUMS:

Carol Lapidos Cam // Danny Abriano Cam1 Cam2 // Michelle Joni Cam1 Cam 2

FAN CAM <—- <—-THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. Keep on sharing your #ChiFest14 pics!

Some of the fan-decorated doors throughout the hotel

The Fest began on Friday, August 15, when the hotel started to fill with fans who gathered for afternoon jams, to decorate their hotel room doors, and to play and belt out songs of the best band that ever was.
 
For this email we’re using lots of FAN CAM pics! The following one is a la @d_davis78. Keep adding them and use hashtag #ChiFest14

From @d_davis78 on Instagram

With the beloved Terri Hemmert serving as emcee (who just posted this pic of having dinner with a Monkee and the XRT radio winners!)…

MC Terri Hemmert with Micky Dolenz and the contest winners

…the Fest officially kicked off at 5 PM on Friday as fans came streaming through the lobby and entered the ballroom as the weekend began. Along with our fantastic band ,Liverpool, our musical guests included Peter Noone, Micky Dolenz, Mike Pender of the Searchers, Laurence Juber, Mark Rivera, and Mark Hudson. Friday night continued on with the 60s Dance Party and dress up contest.

Liverpool

After the dance floor cleared, Fest Founder Mark Lapidos shared his story of meeting John Lennon and starting Beatlefest in 1974, with all the bells and whistles. Tom Frangione, one of our moderators, assisted. Now that’s a story to tell over and over again!

Mark Lapidos and Tom Frangione

To go along with our spectacular musical guests, the weekend also featured some of the best sound-alike and Battle of the Beatles Bands competitors we’ve ever had in our 40 years of the Fest. Byrd emceed the sound-alike tryouts, and it was extremely difficult whittling the field down for Saturday night’s finals.

Cooper Moore during the Sound-Alike Finals

Ringer’s All-Starr Band during the Battle of the Beatles Bands

The sound-alike finals came down to 7-year-old mini-Beatle Cooper, the mother/daughter combination of Liv and Di, who sang a chills-inducing version of ‘Imagine,’ and Collin Berg, who won the contest with a great (harmonica included) version of ‘I Should Have Known Better.’
 
The Battle of the Bands proved to be a fierce competition, with Ringer’s All-Starr Band, The Ralleys, Eleanor and the Rigbys, and Pisces Fish emerging as the biggest threats for the crown. Ringer’s All-Starr Band, with an incredible Ringo impersonator, took home the honors once again this year.

The Gratitude Wall

Just like we had lots of new events and activities at our enormous New York City Fest in February, the Chicago Fest gave birth to some great new additions. Among them was our ‘Beatles Gratitude Wall,’ where fans wrote and hung hundreds of signs to answer the question “Why are you grateful for The Beatles — or anything else for that matter?”

One of the many notes on the Gratitude Wall

We are so GRATEFUL to all of you for being part of our Beatles family!

There was also a spur-of-the-moment Bed-In on Saturday afternoon that caused a peaceful stir in the Grand Foyer.

Saturday’s Bed-In

Fans jumped right into bed with Michelle My Pelle, the Beatles Cabaret Duet who also hosted the new Latenight Open Mic Night  on Friday and Saturday at midnight. That mic was rocking and rolling both nights, with impromptu bands forming, ballsy song renditions, and an epic dance party remix by DJ Madonna and Sun Queen. A new Fest tradition!

The Art Contest winners

Keeping with the grand scale of the weekend, the Beatles art contest was a place where fans were treated to some truly amazing art by professionals, amateurs, and kids – all who took home prizes. Of the many incredible entries in the professional division, John Kettman’s to scale Abbey Road crossing piece took home the prize (after serving as a great photo-op for pretty much every fan who crossed its path). And a triple prize winner, Gary Schwaller, with his album cover t-shirt quilt, a painting of John and Paul and the special artist pick, his John Lennon batik portrait. We thank Deco, (shown on the right) for doing such a great job with the Art Museum.

Carol Lapidos and Deco take a walk on Abbey Road

The Chicago Fest was home to two Beatles marketplaces, the weekend home of over 20 of the best Beatles authors in the world, and Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, who regaled us all with his Beatles knowledge.

Mark Lewisohn and his wife Anita

When attendees weren’t busy dancing, singing, and parading (at our third annual George Harrison Ukulele Parade), they took in one of Bob Abdou’s highly entertaining Beatles puppet shows, got memorabilia signed, toured the Photo (Nancy Lee Andrews and Rob Shanahan) and Art (Eric Cash) Exhibitions, and more.
 
Many also took refuge in our Beatles Ashram, which featured four yoga classes both Saturday and Sunday, intro sessions from the teachers of Transcendental Meditation, a Creative Song Journey, a Teen Chat, and more.

Yoga in the Beatles Ashram

Other highlights from the weekend were photographer Rob Shanahan, Eric Cash showing his amazing art, Beatles Karaoke with Terry Palmer (new this year), Live Beatles Trivia, Jeff Augsburger and David Rauh showing off their incredible Beatles exhibits, Viviana Adams of Porter, Texas winning a trip to Las Vegas to see The Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil, and former American Idol finalist Haley Reinhart helping to bring Sunday’s hotel jam session to a close with us outside the Grand Ballroom.

Our LOVE giveaway announcement and winner

We had so many guest authors that we had the O’Hare Ballroom dedicated to only authors discussions, and the amount of Beatles knowledge that came out of those talks filled fans’ heads. From Vivek Tiwary, Chuck Gunderson, Ivor Davis, Jude Southerland Kessler and Richard Buskin, to regulars Bruce Spizer, David Bedford, Al Sussman and Robert Rodriguez (too many to mention) it was a collective WOW.
 
As always, the Musicians’ Forum on Sunday was a highlight, as was that night’s raucous concert that saw Peter Noone and Micky Dolenz take the stage together as they brought the fans to their feet in a truly joyous scene.They performed ‘I’m Henry VIII I Am’ and ‘There’s a Kind of Hush’ (two Herman’s Hermits songs) together.

Micky Dolenz and Peter Noone on Sunday night

  And then they took a #SELFIE!!

Mike Pender of The Searchers made his first ever FEST appearance and performed A Hard Day’s Night with Liverpool. It was the first time in his career that he ever performed a Beatles song.

Mike Pender with Liverpool

Mark Rivera and Laurence Juber added a special touch of amazing musicianship. Speaking of Liverpool, let’s give a big shout out to Joe Bologna who did a great job subbing for Chris on Drums. Drew, Glen and John were spot on and had a blast performing a great variety of Beatles songs and then backing up all the special musical guests.

Mark Hudson, Laurence Juber, and Mark Rivera

Of course, the ball of energy known as Mark Hudson rocked the Grand Ballroom stage with fab musical jams on Saturday and Sunday evenings. The shows ended at around 12:30AM both nights and everyone went home singing!

Mark Lapidos did his “Here Comes The Sun” to usher out the weekend just after 4am on Sunday, but the party didn’t stop till 8 AM Monday morning, as we hippie’d on into the night, outside as the sun came up, greeting joggers and people in business suits starting their week.

It’s impossible to adequately capture the essence of the weekend in a few short pages, but we can say that the weekend was truly special for one reason: You.
 
The energy the fans brought all weekend was off the charts. From the jams that went on from the second the Fest kicked off on Friday until after it ended on Sunday, the Beatles-centric hotel room doors that were decorated, the energy that was brought during the concerts, and the happiness and love that made up the weekend…it was you guys who made the 2014 Chicago Fest what it was.

@SarahStarr is still rocking her wristband!

We are currently gathering all of the pictures and videos from The Fest, and we want to see all of yours too! As we did over the weekend, use the hashtag #chifest14 to share pictures with us on Instagram and Twitter (@Beatles_Fest), and post pictures on our Facebook wall at Facebook.com/thefest. Tons more pictures of all the guests, events, activities, and fans will be shared in emails, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and via email (send them to danny@thefest.com) in the coming days and weeks!
 
We’d also like to thank the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, who did a fantastic job hosting the Fest, especially Debra. Most of all, we want to offer another thank you to all the guests and fans who came to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Beatles’ arrival in America and the 40th anniversary of the Fest for Beatles Fans with us.
 
We are already so excited for the next Fest, our first time back in Los Angeles in 14 years! It’s coming up October 10-12. Don’t miss this next epic Beatles weekend… get your ticket to ride!

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Fest Announcement: The Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil winner

Woooohooo!!! We are so very excited to announce the winner of our Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas sweeps, right here right now! We had over 12,000 entries — over 12,000 answers to the question “Which Beatles songs describe you best?” (We’ll post results soon!)

On Sunday night at the Fest, I (Michelle Joni) randomized four winners on WooBox. I wrote their names and songs on hearts. The young gentlemen and little lady you see here helped spread LOVE buttons to everyone in the audience during the door prizes. Then, they came up to the stage and held the hearts to their hearts, and one by one announced the name of the song on their heart. As each little child said the song, the audience cheered if they felt it described them too. The loudest cheers went to A Hard Day’s Night (you’ve all been working like a dog, huh!?)

Photo via John Dawson

And the name on the heart was Viviana Adams! Congratulations… your hard day ends with two fabulous nights in Las Vegas at the Mirage Hotel and Casino! Your Vegas escape includes two tickets to see The Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil, dinner for two at the Mirage, VIP gift bags, and flights there and back.

Viviana, from Porter, Texas, was completely shocked when she got the Facebook message that she won. After convincing her this was forrealz (Nothing is real….but this is!) she was sooooo excited!!! I asked her a few questions:
 
Michelle :: Firstly. Can you send some Beatles selfies and a note to the fans to post when we announce your win?

Viviana :: Thank you so much for the prize, I’ve never won anything like this! I am so thrilled I am still so excited. Thank you so much, I can’t wait.
 
Michelle :: Yay! When did you first fall in love with The Beatles?
 
Viviana :: The first time I fell in love I was 15. I saw the Beatles Anthology and was so amazed by them and how hard they worked, and how they stayed true to themselves. They were not afraid to try something new. The music was amazing! I had heard it before when I was a little younger and my mother played it. Listening to their music it felt like I found…home. A place were I belong.
 
Michelle :: Wow! That is beautiful. So, have you ever been to Vegas or seen the LOVE show before?
 
Viviana :: No, but I have the LOVE show on DVD!
 
Michelle :: So cool! How many times have you watched it? Like, once – or a lot?
 
Viviana :: a lot LOL.
 
Yay!!! And we are still chatting. I’ll add more here if she says anything else awesome and I suspect she will.
 
I love telling people they just won a trip to Vegas. It’s one of my favorite parts of my job! The bearer of the best. news. ever. I’m so excited.
 
I should make a Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil Hall of Fame with all our groovy winners! Yes, I will do that. Viviana is our eighth winner, which makes kinda makes me wish her name was Henry. Peter Noone would have gotten a kick out of that one!
 
Thank you to the team at LOVE Cirque du Soleil and the Mirage for making this possible, and making so many people feel the perpetual love of The Beatles in such a magical, spellbinding way.
 
Next stop Los Angeles — our next winner gets picked Sunday at the LA Fest – October 12th. You don’t have to be there to win but you won’t regret it if you are!!!
 
Stay tuned for yet another chance to win the Beatles LOVE trip to Las Vegas!

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Paul McCartney’s variance & versatility during the ‘Help’ sessions

Throughout his career, Paul McCartney has shown himself to be a bit of a chameleon, with his musical style bouncing all over the place from the mid-60s to the present.
 
While with the Beatles, you can point to the absurd differences between a song like ‘Helter Skelter’ and ‘Honey Pie,’ both of which appear on The Beatles (The White Album).
 
During his solo career, McCartney has gone from light to heavy to experimental (‘Temporary Secretary,’ etc) to classical and circled all the way back to his roots while putting a ‘NEW’ spin on things.
 
One of the best early examples of McCartney’s versatility can be found on three songs he recorded during the ‘Help’ sessions.
 
‘I’m Down,’ ‘I’ve Just Seen A Face,’ and ‘Yesterday’ were all recorded on the same day in June of 1965.
 
‘I’m Down’ is a classic McCartney rocker, which the Beatles began using to wrap up most of their live shows.
 
‘I’ve Just Seen A Face’ is a bluesy/country/folk-pop song that features a tempo unlike anything the group had done prior.
 
‘Yesterday,’ now viewed as an absolute classic, featured two contrasting sections and a string quartet.
 
Below, listen to alternate/live versions of each song >>
 

 

 

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The Beatles pondered doing a live (non-rooftop) show in 1969

On January 29, 1969, the day before their rooftop concert, Paul McCartney and John Lennon had an at times intense conversation during the ‘Get Back’ sessions.
 
Over on the amoralto tumblr page, they did a great job breaking down the conversation.
 
The conversation – mostly dominated by Paul – revolved partially around the idea that the Beatles could do something instead of the rooftop concert.
 
Paul suggested playing in front of audiences again, entering a ‘visual’ studio, or doing some other not-yet-hashed-out thing instead of and/or in addition to the rooftop concert.
 
In the excerpt below, Paul makes his case:

PAUL: Yeah, but so… Hmm. But I’m just talking about this thing, like this thing we’ve entered upon now, we still haven’t got any aim for it, except another album, again. Our only aim, ever, is an album. Which is like a very non-visual thing, it’s very sort of… But it’s great, isn’t it, and we do albums, then. But—
 
JOHN: But albums is what we’re doing, at the moment.
 
PAUL: [uneasy] Yeah, but I don’t know. Like—
 
JOHN: I mean, that’s what we [inaudible] talk about.
 
PAUL: —like I was saying the other day, is that you – is that you – you— [hesitating] We’re into albums as the four of us, but I really think we could be into other things. But every time I talk about it, I really sound like I’m the showbiz correspondent, trying to hustle us to do a Judy Garland comeback, you know. But really, all I mean is – well, look, let’s get – let’s change, or let’s go into a studio, like a vision studio, after we’ve learnt all of these, that’s just as good as this for sound, that’s got the same sort of thinking…

Later on in the discussion, Paul intimates that George would be in favor of a show in the mold of the ones Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley were having around that time, and John wouldn’t rule it out:

PAUL: There’s no other way. We can’t think ourselves out of it. And we can’t sort of say, well, it will be alright. See, and then the only other alternative to that is to say, well, we don’t – we will never do it to an audience again. But if we intend to – to keep any sort of contact on that scene… [pause] Yeah. I do understand George’s just saying, “There’s no point,” you know, because it is like we’re Stravinsky, and it’s in the music. And he doesn’t sort of get up and play his ‘Joanna’ for them anymore. He just writes it, and just sort of maybe occasionally conducts it.
 
JOHN: But as long as there’s a good reason – like George wants to do a heavy show, like Dylan and Presley, all that.
 
PAUL: Mm.
 
JOHN: And that’ll be a large – I don’t know, like, I mean, that – that’s all this.
 
PAUL: Mm, yeah, I know, yeah. that’s always – that’s always just—
 
JOHN: Okay, yeah.
 
PAUL: That’s us again, you know.
 
JOHN: Yes, I know.
 
PAUL: It’s us going silly again.
 
JOHN: It is, and I think – I think we might do it.

All Beatles fans know what happened next.
 
The group went on to the Apple rooftop the next day for their final public performance.
 
A few weeks later, the group began work on ‘Abbey Road,’ the final album they would record.
 
What would have happened if Paul had convinced John and George to tour again…or if he had just convinced them to do one ‘audience show.’
 
Chances are that with George being held back musically, John wanting to branch off, and Paul’s at times overbearing personality, the group still would’ve disbanded.
 
However, it certainly would’ve been interesting to see what the dynamic would’ve been if the band had toured or played even one legitimate concert instead of the rooftop gig.

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