Beatles tribute band rains ‘Love,’ sparks emotion

By the third encore, tears came to my eyes seeing every member of the audience standing on his or her feet, swaying back and forth and waving their hands in the air while “Hey Jude” resounded in the IU Auditorium.

Earlier this semester, I gave my top five performances to see this fall and listed “Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles.

As a fan of The Beatles since early childhood, I’ve always wanted to see them in concert.

Then I remind myself that it’s 2009 and become thoroughly depressed.

Rain promised to give audience members a taste of Fab Four nostalgia through its songs, costumes and old video footage.

This show would be the closest to seeing John, Paul, George and Ringo live.
Opening with songs from the albums “Please Please Me” and “A Hard Day’s Night,”

Rain thrilled older audience members who sat bobbing their heads and tapping their feet. Then they played “Twist and Shout,” and everyone was up and dancing.
Throughout the show, the audience cheered and sang along with a plethora of the band’s hits.

By the end of the night, I looked around at the audience singing along and was overwhelmed with emotion. The realization that The Beatles are so influential to individuals, to a generation, to the world and to music is powerful.

On Friday night, “three generations of Beatles fans,” as noted by the performer portraying John Lennon, were brought together in the IU Auditorium to pay homage to one of the greatest bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

Although no one can reincarnate The Beatles themselves, Rain definitely reincarnated their spirit.

Rain didn’t – you knew it was coming – let me down.