Concert Review: The Monkees – Auckland Town Hall June 9, 2019

Three years after Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork played the hits at the neighbouring ASB Theatre, the Mike and Micky Show came to Auckland’s Town Hall where they seemed determined to show off the depth of Mike Nesmith’s songwriting canon.

I’ve had the pleasure of catching The Monkees several times…Micky, Davy and Peter toured extensively during the 1980s and then Peter and Micky came to Auckland in November of 2016. But I had never caught Mike Nesmith, so I was interested to see how he would integrate himself into what had usually been a hit-filled nostalgia fest.

Nesmith is the one Monkee who can genuinely claim to have a reasonable career separate from the pre-Fab Four. He wrote Different Drum, a hit for Linda Ronstadt and The Stone Poneys in 1967, and Nesmith’s own First National Band scored a hit, Joanne, in 1970. Plus his later work in film and video (and music) makes him something more than a 60s TV pop star.

I was hoping that we would be treated to some of Nesmith’s pioneering country-rock, and that certainly happened. In fact, it may be a case of “be careful what you wish for”.

Mike and Mickey came complete with an eight-piece band (two guitars, pedal steel, keyboards, bass, drums and 2 backing vocalists) who were, for the most part, fantastic.

The 2-set show opened with a rousing Good Clean Fun, a Nesmith-penned tune originally released as a single in 1969, at the end of the band’s original run. The band, particularly the rollicking keyboard player, kicked up their heels as Mike sang, “I told you I’d come back and here I am”.

The 76-year old Nesmith sounded a bit rusty vocally early in the show, but seemed to warm up as things progressed.

Micky Dolenz then took over to sing Last Train To Clarksville, one of the Monkees’ big hits from 1966 and exactly what the crowd came to hear.

Then it was back over to Mike and another “deep track” from their 1967 album, Headquarters, Sunny Girlfriend. Again, the band sounded great, accenting the country side of the song with some fine banjo picking.

After the decidedly obscure Sunny Girlfriend, it was back over to Micky and another hit…this time Mary, Mary, one that Nesmith actually wrote.

This is kind of what I was expecting/hoping for…a nice mix of well-known hits and cool Nesmith tunes.

But soon the obscurities seemed to outnumber the hits and you could feel the audience’s interest slipping away.

It’s a shame because tunes such as You Told Me and The Door To Summer sounded like perfect Nuggets-style sunshine pop in the hands of this very capable band. The backing vocals, arranged by Nesmith’s eldest son, Christian, who also played guitar, were particularly impressive.

The only other big hit we got during the first half was A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You, although Peter Tork’s For Pete’s Sake was a highlight, as was the Goffin/King psychedelic confection, Porpoise Song, from the band’s 1968 film, Head.

Oh, and Pleasant Valley Sunday was played at the end, acting as a teaser for what was to come in part two.

“Don’t change that channel”, advised Mickey.

The second half began promisingly enough with an acoustic set featuring Nesmith’s Papa Gene’s Blues and Dolenz’s Randy Scouse Git.

But the most affecting performance was Tapioca Tundra.

This rather strange Nesmith tune…part ragtime, part jazz shuffle, almost didn’t get off the ground as Mike’s iPad, feeding him the lyics, failed, forcing him to sing, “It blew up, it blew up, my iPad blew up on stage…help me”.

Fortunately he was able to compose himself and gave a beautiful reading of the song…the tension centred around the possibility of him forgetting the lyric making it all that much more involving.

In the end, it was a triumph.

At this point, I expected the show to start concentrating on the songs the audience came to hear…hits like Valleri, Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow), Daydream Believer, She, …but instead it was more deep cuts such as I’ll Spend The Night With You, Sweet Young Thing and Goin’ Down.

Each of these songs would have been fine on their own, but let’s face it, no one came to hear Auntie’s Municipal Court, they wanted to hear I’m A Believer.

The pacing in the second half was off and halfway through it felt like the audience was sitting on its hands.

Finally, after a rather restless rendition of Nesmith’s 1977 solo “hit” Rio, the fans got what they came for in the form of Daydream Believer. Everyone was standing and singling along. But for some, it was too little too late.

After Listen To The Band and, of course, I’m A Believer, the lights were up and it was all over.

It’s interesting that with all the hype that Micky wielded about Mike Nesmith’s songwriting capabilities throughout the show, that they neglected to play his two most popular songs…Different Drum and Joanne…both of which I would have loved to have heard.

Also, the sound quality in the Town Hall is not the greatest, with many of the musical delicacies played by the band having been gobbled up in room echo.

It was a strange evening, with plenty of potential, but with Mike and Micky just missing the mark. A little fine-tuning of the set list could make this a much better show, satisfying the hard-core fan and casual listener alike.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Zwaagdyk:

Monkees set list:

First set:

1. Good Clean Fun
2. Last Train To Clarksville
3. Sunny Girlfriend
4. Mary, Mary
5. You Told Me
6. For Pete’s Sake
7. The Door Into Summer
8. You Just May Be The One
9. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
10. The Girl I Knew Somewhere
11. Birth Of An Accidental Hipster
12. St Matthew
13. Porpoise Song
14. Circle Sky
15. Pleasant Valley Sunday

Second Set:

1. Papa Gene’s Blues
2. Randy Scouse Git
3. Tapioca Tundra
4. I’ll Spend My Life With You
5. Me And Magdelena
6. Take A Giant Step
7. Auntie’s Municipal Court
8. Goin’ Down
9. Sweet Young Thing
10. (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone
11. Rio
12. Daydream Believer
13. Listen To The Band
14. I’m A Believer