The performance by The Fab 5 at the Spring Festival at Kings Harbor on Saturday night was an astounding tribute to the legendary Beatles. The concert, presented by the agents at Keller Williams Realty Northeast, realistically represented three eras of Beatles music, complete with a little “London fog” from some errant sprinklers which went off toward the end of the show.
The five-piece band, composed of John, Paul, George and Ringo look-a-likes plus a keyboard player, was sponsored by Campbell Chiropractics and Texan GMC. Performing were: Joe Baiardi, bass guitar; Paul Byron, keyboards; Kingwood resident Chuck Essick, rhythm guitar; John Lassen, lead guitar; and Rod Robert, drums.
Wearing their black Carnaby Street suits, The Fab 5 kicked off the concert with early 1960s classics, “All My Lovin’” and “Please, Please Me.” Baiardi (a.k.a. Paul McCartney) encouraged audience participation during the song “I Saw Her Standing There,” commanding: “everybody scream.” The crowd complied, yelling “whooh” at the end of the refrain.
Baiardi also got the crowd to sing-a-long for his rendition of McCartney’s “Can’t Buy Me Love,” but when it came to dancing what really got everyone moving was the song: “Twist and Shout.” As Essick (a.k.a. John Lennon) took the lead on the vocals, his wife Susan took the lead on the dance floor. The small dance floor in front of the stage quickly filled to capacity, so most people joined in the fun by simply twisting in place next to their lawn chair.
The crowd sat back in their seats for Baiardi’s emotional performance of the Beatles’ most popular song of all time: “Yesterday.” That hit was followed up by another one: “Help!” sung by Essick in true Lennon fashion.
The band departed from the stage for a short break which meant “time for our sponsors.” Keller Williams Master of Ceremonies Roland Duhon introduced Darryal Chandler to talk about the concert’s guest charity: Humble Area Assistance Ministries. As a member of the HAAM executive board, Chandler remarked on the great work done by the social services agency and asked the crowd to participate in the raffle/silent auction fundraiser that night. He was followed on stage by Morgan Dean of the American Heart Association, who shared with the audience a “Hands-Only CPR” demonstration.
For their second set, The Fab 5 re-took the stage wearing colorful costumes straight from the “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album. “Here’s to a special trip back in time,” exclaimed Baiardi, and the band proceeded to knock out “Magical Mystery Tour,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and the title track of the from the Sergeant Pepper album.
Essick was the soloist for the next two songs: “I Get By” and “Strawberry Fields Forever.” (Was it just a coincidence that the Berry Bar delivered strawberry smoothies to the charity booth during that song? Regardless, it was fun sipping along.)
After the band performed “Got to Get You Into my Life,” Paul Byron was acknowledged for his great saxophone playing, but there was no sax in sight; he had actually played the sax section via the keyboard.
But Essick had something even more interesting to talk about: “We have something a bit weird for you,” he noted, hinting “It’s about an animal.” The fans were enamored with Essick’s singing of “I am the Walrus,” responding with a standing “O” for his efforts when he finished the song. Band member John Lassen (a.k.a. George Harrison) was featured on the maracas during “A Day in the Life,” helping to rev up the song’s acoustics to sound like a jet airplane about to take off.
The Fab 5 then took off themselves for the dressing room for their final costume change. During the break, Campbell Chiropractic’s Scott Pagano made a final pitch for the raffle/auction, thanked the Festival vendors for their participation and introduced co-sponsor Bert Brocker from Texan GMC. Brocker told the crowd about the Texan All Sports football Camp he is running with three-time Pro Bowler Aaron Glenn, then introduced “our Texas Rookie of the Year,” District 127 State Representative Dan Huberty .
The band donned their “hippie costumes” for the third and final set. They all were dressed in psychedelic shirts except for Essick, who stood out in an all-white suit reminiscent of Lennon on the Beatle’s Abbey Road album cover. Not surprisingly, the group chose to sing “Come Together” from the same album when they reunited on stage. They then kicked into the ‘70s Beatles with “Get Back,” “Hey Jude” and “Revolution.” During the numbers, Roberts was a demon on drums, making a “V” with his sticks to emphasize the love.
As the concert neared the end, Baiardi coyly asked the crowd: “Wanna hear one more?” The band wanting to play more, slipped in two last songs, “Imagine” and “All You Need is Love,” to conclude a great Spring Festival at Kings Harbor.