The Mahoney Brothers: Mach Shau in make up
by Radio RockonTour host Timothy Tilghman
Time and time again, it’s been said that imitation is the best form of flattery. Although Beatles tribute bands are all too common today, one Fab act crests above the many carbon copycats performing on the touring circuit. The Mahoney Brothers have a musical pedigree that stretches all the back to the original Beatlemania stage production from the late 1970s.
The Mahoney Brothers’ Long Live The Beatles presentation comprises three individual sets that refashion separate creative periods within the Beatles recording career. The first musical phase has the group dressed as 1965 Mop Tops. The next transition represents their Flower Power psychedelic uniforms from 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. And finally, the lads tart themselves up resembling the 1969 Abbey Road album cover attire.
Brian Mahoney plays both electric & acoustic guitar and keyboards as Smart Beatle John Lennon. Tim Mahoney plays Hofner bass guitar as Cute Beatle Paul McCartney. Mike Mahoney plays the drums as Funny Beatle Ringo Starr. Joining the Mahoney trio to complete this PreFab Four unit is Jay Swanson on lead guitar as Quiet Beatle George Harrison. All four members sing lead and harmony vocals in addition to playing additional instruments during the course of their typecast program.
Highlights from the first set included “I’ll Cry instead”, “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You”, and “The Night Before”. The classic psychedelic numbers from 1967 and the 1968 rockers were high points from the second set. The biggest and best surprises of the concert were a cover of Ringo Starr’s 1971 hit single “It Don’t Come Easy” and the poignant 1995 Fab reunion single “Free As A Bird”. The show closed with the signature Beatlemania anthem “I Saw Her Standing There” that had everybody bopping to the beat.
The Mahoney Brothers appeared on a brisk Saturday evening igniting the intimate stage at the Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland. Mersey Beat fans of all ages and backgrounds turned out to experience a melodic Fab recreation complete with choice brotherly harmonizing. Addressing the audience in cheeky Liverpudlian accents, the Mahoney Brothers even kinda look like their individual Beatle personas.
Beatles music has proven to be timeless with new generations of fans being born every year all across the globe. The outstanding compositions of John, Paul, George and Ringo reverberate unrelenting with a universal appeal promoted by a contagious catalogue of exemplary material that has generated an enduring legacy unchallenged by almost all of their British Invasion contemporaries.
The Mahoney Brothers, Recher Theatre, Towson, Maryland, March 31, 2012 setlist: She Loves You * Please Please Me * All My Loving * Roll Over Beethoven * If I Fell * Can’t Buy Me Love * I Should Have Known Better * Yellow Submarine * HELP! * I’ll Cry Instead * I’m Happy Just To Dance With You * The Night Before * Twist And Shout * intermission * Drive My Car * Day Tripper * If I Need Someone * Magical Mystery Tour * Strawberry Fields Forever * Penny Lane * With A Little Help from My Fiends * Fool On The Hill * A Day In The Life * Back In The USSR * Birthday * Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Reprise * intermission * Blackbird * Two Of Us * Something * It Don’t Come Easy * Free As A Bird * Get Back * Come Together * Hey Jude * Revolution * The End * Dizzy Miss Lizzie * I Saw Her Standing There