The Mike and Micky Show, I see The Monkees Live

Hey everyone. When I was a kid The Monkees were my favorite music group. I liked their music, and so did my parents, I enjoyed the TV show, and one of my pine wood derby cars was the monkee mobile. However, I hadn't listened to them in a really long time, like at least 5 years. But when the opportunity presented itself to see them live, I had to. I remember losing Davey, and recently losing Peter, and this being their farewell tour, and Mike being sour on The Monkees, and this being not too far away, this was a once in a lifetime chance, and I wasn't about to miss it. And so on a whim, drove a couple hours away on a Tuesday night to see The Mike and Micky Show.

So here's where the story starts. I found out about it the day of the event, and I wasn't sure if I could get tickets. I went to the box office 2 hours before the doors opened and they had tickets (yes, I drove out there without knowing if I would get a ticket; if I couldn't get a ticket there were other things I could do in the area). The ticket lady asked if I wanted a $65 ticket or $120 ticket. Well that wasn't the $45 I saw on the site, but I figured those must have been the obstructed view that went fast. I got the $65 ticket. After that I went out to dinner because I hadn't eaten yet. After dinner I got in line. Just like with Tommy Wiseau, the line was crazy long. It stretched all the way around the block.

One thing I noticed while walking to the back of the line, and with people walking to the back of the line, is that I was one of the youngest people there. Pretty much everyone else either had grays or wrinkles. While I was waiting in line, one of the security guys came around giving out drinking wrist bands (letting everyone know you are allowed to drink if you want to drink). Now, I'm not one to say "I need a drink to have fun," but I am one to say "after 2 long and stressful days, I need a drink." Also, I wasn't sure if I wanted a drink or not, so I decided "better safe than sorry." And now I have 2 paper wrist bands to test how long they will last, and if I can make Guinness World Record. Well after waiting in line for like 1 hour, I got up to the door, and I got this picture.

I had to step through metal detectors, and empty my pockets into a little TSA bowl. Well, in the interest of time, I started emptying my pockets into my fedora. I was ready to put the stuff in the little bowl, but the guy said "oh that's fine, but where's your phone?" Since I have a windows phone, the guy didn't recognize it. I pointed it out and he thought it was my wallet. Whatever. After getting in I see the merch table. I had some decisions to make. Now, I already have a years supply of t-shirts, so I don't really need another t-shirt; I don't really drink "mug beverages" like coffee or tea, so I don't need another mug; I'm not someone who wears pins, so I don't need a pin set, so on and so forth. I eventually decided on a tour poster, because I like posters and need some more for my nerd cave. It's on some really high quality poster stock, and probably silk screened. Check it out.

After getting my poster, I decided to use my drink band to buy a drink. Now, when I go to a bar I like getting a mixed drink. Why? Because I don't really like beer and I can just get wine at home, but a good house cocktail or long island is not something I can get at home very easily. Unfortunately they didn't have liquor, so I got a spiked seltzer. It was...extra expensive, but after some long days and driving, I needed something, plus I don't have spiked seltzer at home (mainly because I don't look for it). Now, seeing that I bought my ticket late and being the "cheap ticket," (and the fact that the chairs weren't permanent and didn't have signs saying where everything was), I figured I was in the nose bleed seats. I went up to the balcony and asked the usher to help me find my seat. He told me "oh section A, you're up front." Oh, OK, that's awesome and unexpected. I go back downstairs, and start walking up towards the stage. D...C...hey I'm getting pretty close...B...wow, I'm really close...A. I was in the 6th row, right there with the action where the performers can see me. Check out what my view was.

I don't think I've ever sat this close at a concert or entertainment event. The only thing that comes close was when I was front row at some comedy shows, but that's because I wanted to be called on by the comedians and be the butt of their jokes (because that's what front row at a comedy show is), and thus those seats aren't exactly coveted by the general viewing public. Apparently I wasn't the only person that bought tickets last minute that got the great seats; the people next to me had the same story of "I bought these 2 hours ago, and here I am so close." They told me about that after I started glowing under the black light, because it's a 70s band and of course they're going to say "5 minutes until showtime" with a black light.

OK, now it's show time. There's a slide show of past events of The Monkees in their 70s youth, and some clips of the TV show, and that was pretty cool. The audience really enjoyed seeing everything. Then the band comes out, and we're getting pumped, and then Mike and Micky walk out. Mike looked pretty rough, but Micky with his cowboy hat and overcoat looked like he was holding his age pretty well. I won't go into every detail of the show, but man was it something. Mike had to sit out like every 4th song, probably just because he's old and hasn't performed much in years (he basically quit being a Monkee after they broke up, and only recently started back at it once Davey died), but Micky kept at it and really put on a show, only sitting like 2 songs out. He was also "dancing" for us to some of the songs (he just kind of walked around, but again, old). As I heard one comedian say "they don't move like they used to, but they're still trying." Here are some pictures I got.

What was really fun is the songs. They played their hits, and some of the lesser songs. When they played the hits, the entire audience sang along, either just the chorus/back-up, or the whole song; but it wasn't overpowering above the musicians on stage. It was like a low bass line that you didn't hear but felt. Here are some of the major highlights. With Stepping Stones, Micky got really into it and when it came to the drum solo he walked over to the drummer and pointed to them. With Daydream Believer, at near the end Micky walked to the end of the stage and said "now it's your turn" and it was the entire venue singing "cheer up sleepy Gene, oh what can it mean, to aaaa daydream believer and a home coming queen." That was REALLY cool. With Going Down, Micky pulled someone from the audience and she sang one of the verses, which was cool. Micky introduced Randy Scouse Git and gave the background as to why it's called "Alternate Title" in the UK. Pleasant Valley Sunday was really fun with everyone singing along, and I think this was when Micky introduced the band which was pretty cool (and Mike had to sit out, so Micky joked about that). And I think this was the big finale, they ended on I'm a Believer and everyone got up and danced. So SOOO much fun. They also played some songs that didn't get a lot of air time, and there was one or two that were never released that had Davey and Peter, so they just played along with those. Though I will say, it was kind of weird hearing Davey or Peter songs sung by Mike or Micky.

Now it wasn't just music. They also had some banter back and forth, because The Monkees were originally just a comedy show. Mike was usually the strait man to Micky, but Mike also had some funny man moments. They said some things about the show, and Micky played up how Mike had to take breaks, and there was one time where Mike's ipad stopped showing his music and one of the stage hands had to come reset it and all the while Mike is joking about "my music is gone, I still have MSN and google, and I think I have an Instagram notification..." because "the show must go on," and I think it was after intermission there was a rowdy group of audience members that were yelling songs and Mike came out and said "raaaahabla, tigbula, megrible, I can't hear you" which was a great way to deal with the "hecklers," and a lot of other fun things. The band was also pretty impressive. Yes, they were good, but Mike's son was one of the guitarists, which was cool, and the back-up singers looked like they were from the 70s, especially the woman with the waist long hair.

Now they didn't do a standard encore, because they're old, but they did do one of sorts. Mike was out on stage talking while everyone else got up and left. He was like "hey, where'd everyone go? Don't worry we still have a couple more songs." But eventually it did end. Now for some funny stuff at the end. Since I was right at the front, I decided to get a little closer to the stage as the roadies were packing everything up. I just wanted to get as close as I could.

Then there was this. Micky had his set list taped to the floor, and one woman snuck on stage and grabbed half of it. The guy she was with wanted the other half and tried to get it, but then a roadie saw him and chased him off stage. Not much longer after that the head of security came over and shewed everyone out to the lobby. Not wanting to cause a scene, and because it was getting late, I decided it was time to go. I got in my car and drove home, got home at around midnight, went to bed, and woke up 6 hours later to go to work. Oh man, was it worth it. So so SO much fun. So glad I got to see my favorite band from my childhood live in person, and so close to the stage. Well, this has been Pokematic, signing off, and bu-bye.