The Monkees are just trying to be friendly, 40 years on

They don't worry about their place in rock history. Besides, they're too busy singing on their reunion tour.

By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times

4:18 PM PST, November 9, 2012

The Monkees Deliver Rock ‘n’ Roll, Nostalgia and Plenty of Smiles in Cleveland – Concert Review

At their triumphant show at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium on Nov. 17, the Monkees were indeed ‘too busy singing to put anybody down’ as their nearly 30-song set proved. Nostalgia is a crazy creature. It taunts and teases as it pulls a tear, and tries its best to give you that warm all over glow. It can be both good and bad. Thankfully in the hands of the Monkees, it was all good. This was a show custom made for the diehard fans, nothing less and certainly a lot more.

The two big parts of the story circa 2012 are, obviously, the death of Davy Jones earlier in the year and, even more significantly, the reappearance of the long lost Mike Nesmith, who has only sporadically taken part in any Monkee activity over the years and hasn’t toured with the band since 1969. When Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork took turns introducing each other to the crowd, each got a huge response, but when Dolenz gave Nesmith his introduction, the theater erupted in near deafening applause. With absolutely no disrespect to Tork or Dolenz, it was definitely Nesmith’s night.

The evening opened with a first class video montage of clips from the television show before the band kicked into the familiar riff of their 1966 debut single ‘Last Train To Clarksville.’ Though perhaps a bit less sprightly than it was 46 years ago, its charm has lost nothing over the years. One of Nesmith’s earliest gems, ‘Papa Gene’s Blues,’ followed and signaled this was going to be a special evening.

The hits were rolled out one after another, from killer versions of ‘She’ and ‘I’m a Believer’ (of which Dolenz sarcastically said, “We sang this before Shrek”) to a stomping ‘I’m Not Your Stepping Stone,’ and the crowd ate up every note. As Nesmith started playing the riff from ‘You Told Me,’ the image of the band’s 1967 self created masterpiece ‘Headquarters‘ appeared on the screen. They played seven songs from the album with Dolenz behind the drum kit and Nesmith alternating between six and twelve string guitar, while Tork switched effortlessly from banjo to electric guitar to bass to keyboards throughout the evening. Yes, non believers, they did play their own instruments! The other musicians, including Nesmith’s son Christian and Dolenz’ sister Coco, were a perfect fit, never over-playing or trying to ‘modernize’ things.

Other highlights included the pure mid-’60s folk rock of ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere’; ‘Sweet Young Thing,’ which took on a cool tribal, droning quality that was vastly different from the original recording, and ‘Tapioca Tundra,’ another Nesmith classic. There were tributes to the late Davy Jones via video montage that were both tasteful and heartfelt.

For some of us, the pinnacle of the show was the ‘Head‘ segment. Images and scenes from the 1968 film flashed on screen before the band launched into ‘The Porpoise Song,’ which remains one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. Age hasn’t quite caught up to Dolenz’ vocal cords just yet, as he was still able to hit those high notes. The man is a truly underrated singer and consummate entertainer. All six songs from the film were performed, including a wall-rattling rendition of ‘Circle Sky.’

The band decided in order to do justice to the mega hit ‘Daydream Believer,’ they would simply let the audience sing it. This might sound a tad cheesy, but it was actually the perfect way to handle Davy Jones’ signature song as the crowd basked in pure jubilation. Encores of ‘Listen to the Band’ and ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ were the final icing on an already sweet cake. It was certainly smiles all around, band members included, as the creature known as nostalgia was out in full force. A Monkees tour like this will probably never happen again, and for those who were there, it will certainly never be forgotten.

Ultimate Classic Rock

I dug there show when I was a kid......

always reminded me of Scooby Doo for some reason

Some friends of mine sae themn this year & were really surprised, they said it was a show for the people who actually listened to the albums, did a lot of their weirdest and most well-loved songs. I wish I'd gone.

Q&A: Michael Nesmith on His Surprising Return to the Monkees

'I feel this is the start of the ending for me here . . . the end of the beginning'

Michael Nesmith

Courtesy of Michael Nesmith

By Andy Greene

August 8, 2012 1:10 PM ET

When Davy Jones tragically passed away in February, many Monkees fans presumed it was the end of the group. Even members of the band thought it was probably over. "There is a faint chance we'll continue," Peter Tork told Rolling Stone. "I don't know whether we could structure something without Davy. I had a couple of thoughts, but I don't know if they're workable."

What he didn't count on at the time was former Monkee Michael Nesmith returning to the fold. With the exception of a short European run of dates in 1997, Nesmith hasn't participated in any of the Monkees many reunion tours since their split in 1971.

As Rolling Stone announced this morning, he's had a change of heart and the three surviving members of the band will hit the road in November. We spoke with Nesmith via e-mail about the reunion tour and his other future plans.

When I spoke with Peter and Micky shortly after Davy died, they said they hadn't really spoken to you since the 1997 European tour. Where and when did you guys first begin communicating?
We reconnected at a private memorial for David the three of us arranged that was held at a private home.

What made you want to return to the band after all these years? Is this something you'd been contemplating for a while?
I never really left. It is a part of my youth that is always active in my thought and part of my overall work as an artist. It stays in a special place, but like things in the past it fades in and out in relevance to activities that are current. Getting together with old friends and acquaintances can be very stimulating and fun and even inspiring to me. We did some good work together and I am always interested in the right time and the right place to reconnect and play.

Any regrets about not joining them on their tour last year? Were you ever tempted to guest for a song or two last year?
No. It was, as usual, a question of schedules and timing and the focus of our individual work. Had there been an opportunity to join them I would have – but we were out of sync schedule wise.

How will the show address Davy's absence? Will songs he originally sang be included?
David's presence and his past will be throughout the show. He will be missed in his absence, but very much on our minds and in our heart. We will include some of the songs he sang, and do our best.

What sort of setlist can fans expect? Are there certain rarities you're hoping to bring back? Has the band been assembled yet?
We are focusing around Headquarters – our first real sojourn as a band – but the setlist will include all the Monkees fans expect. There are songs of mine and Peter's that have not been performed that we will play. The three of us will play the Headquarters material as we did in the studio – but the shows backing band for the other material will be the same as the last tours – with the exception of the inclusion of my son Christian on guitar.

Is there any talk of recording new material?
No.

Are you interested in continuing with the group after this string of dates ends in December?
Continuing is a big word. If you mean receptive to more concert dates, as I say I am always interested – but much will depend on the logic of events.

I've heard you might go on a solo tour and perform material from your RCA albums. Is that the case? If so, when might that happen?
Yes. But more than the RCA albums. There is a lot of material around later work in video that is fun to play as well. I am doing a short four-concert tour in October in the U.K. And I am looking at a longer solo tour in the States in the spring of '13.

I also heard you want to write a book. What are the plans for that?
I am in that process. This will be my third book – the first two are novels and this will be a type of nonfiction. I use "type" as an equivocator since there is some fiction in it. It is more amarcord than autobiography, more a study of events past in my life and times and how they fit together than a recollection. Vidal made the distinction in his book Palimpsest between the memoir and the autobiography – and that's a good definition for this new book – a kind of memoir – and Tropic of Cancer is another good way to look at the mixture of true stories and fictionally enhanced but real events. (Not to presume to compare myself with Miller or Vidal.) No publisher yet.

Fans haven't heard much from you in a very long time. Now there's all these projects seemingly at once. What's the impetus for all this?
I feel this is the start of the ending for me here – or more precisely, as Churchill had it – the end of the beginning. Now is the time.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-michael-nesmith-on-his-surprising-return-to-the-monkees-20120808#ixzz2CobVaqGF

[Edited 11/20/12 14:13pm]

bobzilla77 said:

Some friends of mine saw them this year & were really surprised, they said it was a show for the people who actually listened to the albums, did a lot of their weirdest and most well-loved songs. I wish I'd gone.

Someone posted the setlist for the Chicago show here and has it set up where you can listen to the studio versions (and the live psychedelic performance of Listen To The Band with Buddy Miles Express & Brian Auger's Trinity). Some of them are the TV show versions which sometimes had different mixes than the ones that were released.

I really wanted to see them a week and half ago. Just bad timing for me. I was hoping that a dvd release would be in the works for this tour.

funkyslsistah said:

I was hoping that a dvd release would be in the works for this tour.

I've heard some shows are being filmed. I don't know if anything's going to be released or not though, as many acts film or record shows but never release them.

My Monkee dad

Annabel Jones pictured with her dad Davey Jones when she was about two.

By Sarah Foster
Published on Tuesday 20 November 2012 13:48

Annabel Jones was still numb with shock when what should have been a routine petrol stop took a surreal turn.

Just a few hours earlier she’d received a phone call from her sister, Sarah, in America. Their beloved dad – forever remembered by the rest of the world as the ever-youthful Davy Jones, musician, child star and lead singer with ’60s super-group The Monkees – had died.

As his youngest daughter made her way from London to the family home in Hampshire, she pulled into a garage forecourt and saw her dad’s face staring back at her from the front cover of every national newspaper.

For 24-year-old Annabel, it was a very public outpouring at a time of intense personal grief.

‘I never thought about the public side of losing dad,’ she says. ‘I was absolutely flabbergasted by that.

‘Dad was so self-deprecating, he was the most humble guy ever. He wouldn’t have expected that. I think that’s why we were so shocked. If we’d told dad he would never have believed it either.

‘We were blown over by it, it cushioned the blow. It was like falling from a great height and landing on a feather pillow.

‘All these people were calling and fans were telling us all the things he’d done for them. It made me feel like I was getting a big hug.’

She adds: ‘When I’m feeling bad and I think about all that love and support that’s there it really does make it easier.

‘Some people might have found the public side of things difficult, but I’ve found it a help.’

Davy was just 66 when he passed away at his home in Florida on February 29. With his boyish good looks and obvious talent, being an entertainer brought him fame and fortune. But in order to make his way in the world, young Davy had needed to overcome an impoverished background.

Annabel believes it was her dad’s humble beginnings that kept him grounded, winning him the loyalty of fans long after The Monkees’ heyday had passed.

But although the outpouring of grief from fans was a comfort, for his family, nothing could take away the trauma of losing him so suddenly.

‘It was a real shock,’ adds Annabel. ‘He’d been racing around the track doing what he always did in the morning, riding the horses.

‘He got off his horse, said he didn’t feel too well, went and sat in the car he’d always wanted – he’d just bought a Thunderbird – and he had a heart attack.

‘Dad didn’t want to get old. If he could have chosen a way to go that would have been it.

‘It really was so shocking. Sarah called me and my heart has never beaten so hard. I could feel my heart coming out of my chest.

‘I’m really starting to miss him now. There were lengths of time when I wouldn’t see him for a year but we would talk and write letters. It’s got to the point now when I realise he’s gone.

‘I always knew he was on the earth somewhere, roaming around, doing his thing, I could picture that. But we’re not sharing the same sky anymore and that’s starting to sink in.’

Davy married Anita Pollinger in 1981 and the couple had daughters Annabel and Jessica together before they divorced in 1996. The singer also had daughters Sarah and Talia from his first marriage.

Anita and Davy bought Grenville Hall, in Droxford, together and that’s the place Annabel will always cherish as the family home. A passionate horseman, Davy even set up his own racing yard at Grenville.

This Christmas, Annabel will throw open the hall doors for a festive fair (see panel) and as she sits at the large kitchen table, memories of the time she spent with her dad here come flooding back.

‘One day he told me we were going to build a camp at the bottom of the field where there was a kiln,’ she remembers.

‘I was so excited. I packed a bag with bread and a tin of beans but I hadn’t packed a tin opener.

‘He said “Don’t worry, I’ve got an axe”. He prised open the tin and the beans exploded everywhere.

‘We could have gone back to the house for a tin opener but he wanted it to be a mini adventure. The toast was burnt but we ate the beans on toast and I loved the whole experience.

‘Another memory I have is of us coming back from a ride. He used to plop us on the back of these huge horses. We were tiny little girls – I must have only been about five or six.

‘There we were bumping along for miles. When we got home we had to put our feet and hands in warm water because we were so cold. He’d take us out for long walks, he loved being outdoors and we’d do normal stuff.’

Although Annabel would tour with her dad, the fact he was famous didn’t really hit home until she was in her 20s.

‘I don’t know what it’s like for other kids who have parents who are well known but for me, sharing my dad has never been a major thing, it’s always been very joyful.

‘Of course there were times when I wondered how he dealt with it but he’d never grumble. I remember this one time we were on a plane and someone woke him up to ask for an autograph. I remember being utterly shocked by that but he was completely fine.

‘He was so good with things like that. He was so appreciative of his fans because he really understood. That’s why he was where he was and that’s something he passed on to us. It was never a burden.’

When he died, Davy left behind 14 horses he’d rescued or taken in for one reason or another. His daughters joined forces to set up the Davy Jones Equine Memorial Fund to raise enough money for the animals to be rehomed and cared for.

Now a singer/songwriter herself, Annabel also took to the stage at a memorial gig at BB King’s club in New York in March.

‘All dad’s band members and a couple of The Monkees were there,’ she explains.

‘We were there for hours, playing music and talking. The whole night was very emotional. All of the proceeds went to the horses’ fund and we raised $11,000.’

She adds: ‘It was difficult but it was also really important because dad’s band members – his touring band that he played with and who we grew up with – were all there and that was my chance to see them. I didn’t go to the funeral in America so that was my moment with them.

‘Seeing dad on stage was always my happiest times. I was so happy watching him. He was such a good entertainer and such a good showman.

‘We would tour with him when we were children and I’d never get bored watching him. It was definitely inspiring to watch him and his band and that definitely gave me a taste for it, we definitely shared that.’

Annabel’s band, Bluebell, are in the middle of making their first EP and hope to head out on tour.

Although Davy always wanted Annabel to use his connections to her advantage, she was never interested in trading on the famous name.

That sometimes caused friction between her and Davy but she believes he’d accepted her decision to go it alone before his death.

‘I’m so proud of dad, he was an inspiration to me,’ adds Annabel.

‘He really did build on nothing. He did it his way and he worked so hard. How could I not be proud of that?

‘In the last year of his life we came to an understanding because he could see that I was making my own way. He could see I had that thing he had – that love for it.’

GRENVILLE HALL OPENS FOR FESTIVE FAIR

Coming to terms with her dad’s death has been hard for Annabel.

So to help her through the Christmas period, she’s thrown herself into a project she knows Davy would have liked.

On Sunday, December 2, the doors of Grenville Hall will be thrown open for a Christmas fair from 10am until 6pm.

It will be free to attend and attractions will include stalls, a visit from Santa, mince pies and music.

‘We just had this idea and I got carried away with it,’ explains Annabel.

‘I love Christmas so much and I just thought it would be a really nice thing to do to make Christmas nicer.

‘We’ve got the Hampshire Youth Band coming and I can’t believe they said yes.

‘Dad was a child star, he came from a deprived area and his youth group was his light in the dark and gave him all his training. It all started with a youth group and that was something he was so passionate about.

‘That was something I really wanted to build on. I would love to turn the barn into a studio. That’s my dream. We’ve got all this room to do things and I’d like to show the community this is a great place to have an event and to get more people involved.’

She adds: ‘I just wanted to do something that’s happy. When you’re grieving it’s good to be busy and keep living life.

‘It’s like stepping on to a conveyor belt – everyone else is moving and life is carrying on and you’ve just got to get on. That’s why I’ve thrown myself into this head-first.

‘Mum and dad bought this house together. When I first came back after he’d died I did feel weird. Even though he hadn’t lived here for years I could feel him here.’

http://www.portsmouth.co....-1-4503528

It's been an intense year for Micky Dolenz, the singer, drummer, and director first made famous by his time as one of the Monkees, pop music's first televisual confection.

And his time continues: The band is on the road for a 12-date tour that takes them to the Keswick Theatre on Thursday.

This year Dolenz released a solo album, Remember, in which he covers songs most important to him, with cool stories attached. He covers the Beatles' "Good Morning, Good Morning" - because he was present, at Paul McCartney's invitation, during that tune's original recording for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The backing track from that tune later surfaced in a Monkees episode Dolenz directed.

"Sugar Sugar" was to be a Monkees single before producer Don Kirshner gave it to the Archies. The Dolenz-penned "Randy Scouse Git" was written as an audio scrapbook of the Monkees' first tour of England.

"Every one of those songs comes with something deeply personal to me," Dolenz says by phone from his pad in New York. The band had just finished four dates in a row - their next is at the Keswick.

The year 2012 was shadowed by the sudden passing of pal and fellow Monkee David Jones in February. It was a death in the family, and a punch in the gut to Dolenz. "I have three siblings and probably spent more time with Davy then I did them," he says of the pair's 47-year relationship.

Jones died even as he and the other three Monkees - Dolenz, Peter Tork, and even Michael Nesmith, who had avoided all but a very few Monkees live reunions - were finalizing plans to hit the road together, on a tour in which they'd tackle the whole of 1967's Headquarters, an album on which they broke away from tight studio control and wrote and played much of the material themselves.

"Mike was the guy to lead the palace revolt back then for us to be involved in our own songwriting and playing," Dolenz says. "He motivated us to take control of our music."

Jones may have died, but the idea to reunite the Monkees didn't. Forever invited to tour with his old friends, Nesmith chose this particular time to do it, and Dolenz is well pleased.

"I'm having the very best time with Mike. It's not as if we weren't in contact. And it wasn't as if he avoided us. He hasn't toured his own solo material in decades.

The current onstage Monkee patter is still effortless, comedic, and improvisational. That's why the individual Monkees passed the CBS-driven auditions for the band in the first place back in 1965-66 - they fit together seamlessly, Dolenz says. Beyond the onstage camaraderie, though, it is the music between them, the storied hits and their jamming as a band, that strikes Dolenz as most loving.

"There are a few truly amazing moments on stage for me, especially the Headquarters stuff, where it's just the three of us and I'm playing drums," he says with a laugh. "I love drumming and haven't done so in every Monkees configuration, but with Michael there, it's just powerful." The band also pays homage to Jones, the absent Monkee: "Without exaggeration I tear up every time. He is so very fondly remembered."