--- First professional live Monkees concert video release ever.
--- Last concert Peter Tork ever performed with Micky Dolenz & Davy Jones to date.
--- Most recent concert to feature the neon Monkees logo as stage background.
--- First live releases to hit stores nationwide since the 1980s release of "Live 1967."
--- First official release of a live performance of "Can You Dig It?"
--- The CD version includes a non-listed performance of "Listen to the Band"
directly after the "Porpoise Song."
--- The "Extended Versions" CD isn't extended like its name suggests. It contains only 10 of
the same recordings as the DVD & CD. On the disc's back cover, "No Time" is listed as
the tenth track while an edited version of "Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All
Over Again?" is really the final song.
--- Following the campaigns led by Monkeesrule43 Online, King Biscuit offered
a limited run of 1000 extended & uncut DVDs, which features the full concert.
The CD
Released: January 28, 2003 (US & Canada)
Label: Win Media
ASIN: B000076DLE
Win Media #: WIN 90002
Liner Notes: Gary Graff
Tracklisting:
1.) Intro/Last Train To Clarksville
2.) Valleri
3.) Randy Scouse Git
4.) Mary, Mary
5.) Girl
6.) Can You Dig It?
7.) Goin' Down
8.) Daydream Believer
9.) I'm A Believer
10.) (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
11.) For Pete's Sake
12.) That Was Then, This Is Now
13.) Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)
14.) It's Nice To Be With You
15.) Pleasant Valley Sunday
Editorial Review of DVD
"They enter like a Vegas nostalgia act, but these Monkees don't monkey around. Live Summer Tour captures Mickey Dolenz, Davey Jones, and Peter Tork in high spirits, still going strong 35 years after they (along with absentee Michael Nesmith) were assembled as TV's infamous "Prefab Four." They're backed by a solid band, but this performance proves that the Monkees were always a legitimate pop ensemble. Peter plays guitar, keyboards, and banjo with equal facility (his vocals remain charmingly average); Mickey's a decent drummer (and "Goin' Down" is still his vocal dazzler); and Davey drives the little girls (now middle-aged) into a fond teen-idol reverie. Recorded in summer 2001, this hour-long set is surprisingly polished, blending pop rockers ("She Hangs Out") with ballads ("Daydream Believer") and even a bit of Monkees psychedelia ("Randy Scouse Git"). The comedic chemistry is still there, too, making this a lively set capped by "Pleasant Valley Sunday," still the greatest song ever written about the perils of suburbia." --- Jeff Shannon (Amazon.com)
DVD Extras: Bonus interview footage, Karaoke versions of
'Last Train To Clarksville' and 'I'm A Believer,' Interactive menus.
Tracklisting:
1.) Last Train To Clarksville
2.) Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
3.) For Pete's Sake
4.) The Girl I Knew Somewhere
5.) Valleri
6.) Randy Scouse Git
7.) Mary, Mary
8.) Goin' Down
9.) Can You Dig It?
10.) Girl
11.) Higher and Higher
12.) A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
13.) She Hangs Out
14.) That Was Then, This Is Now
15.) Daydream Believer
16.) I'm A Believer
17.) (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
18.) Pleasant Valley Sunday
The Concert
August 31, 2001
Sun Theatre in Anaheim, CA
Exactly at 8pm, the lights dimmed and the neon Monkees sign that has been used since 1986 was lighted. The band, led by Jerry Renino, started the Monkees overture. I must admit that the overture was a great idea. It put all of their hits into a four-minute package that really raised the excitement of the concert to come. Soon, the guys came on stage and started into "Clarksville". At the time of the concert, we knew that Peter had decided not to continue with the tour. Rumors were raging about in-fighting between the guys, so I was on the lookout for signs of discord. I must say, I saw very few. While the guys were professional and musically sound, there were no outward signs of anything wrong. I did notice very little non-scripted interaction between the guys. And Peter would run off stage while his solo songs were ending. I did notice that Peter had very little interplay with the band. Davy & Micky played off the band a lot. But there really was no bad blood at all. The guys put on a great show. Normally in the show, Micky plays two songs and then pretends to leave and say "Goodnight". This night, Davy came back and said "Micky', you can't leave, You are already a week late". This was in reference to Micky being sick and having to postpone the previous weeks show. One thing I noticed from set lists posted on the Internet while Natural was opening for the band, is that they changed the order of their solo material. Instead of them being all put together for one segment, they varied their solo numbers throughout the show. Davy went into his monologue about being in "Oliver" on Broadway to set up his medley of tunes from the show. Them at the last minute, he changed his mind and decided to do a Monkees song. He said that since the show was being filmed, he'd rather do a great Monkees "B" side single "It's nice to be with you". This song has always been one of my favorites, and Davy has seldom performed the song in previous concerts. Therefore, it was quite a treat. Micky launched into his solo staple tune "Since I Fell For You" and said that two of his daughters were in the audience. He said "They came out to see their Dad sing". Micky said "Teenage daughters are God's punishment for having sex".
Davy bypassed having the audience sing "The Brady Bunch theme" but did perform his tune from the episode "Girl". (by the way, when will they ever re-release this song on CD? The Brady Bunch movie soundtrack just copied the audio from the TV show!) While Davy performed "Girl", a middle-aged woman came up and held his hand. He got down on one knee and serenaded her. Once the song was done, she would not leave. She just stayed at the edge of the stage and wanted more of her idol. Needless to say, there was not a lot of security.
Davy said that two members of the crew were breaking up everyone backstage with their impressions of Archie & Edith from "All in the family". He convinced the guys to do the skit for the audience, and everyone loved it.
While Davy was performing "She Hangs Out", a group of women started yelling and screaming for Davy at the side of the theater. It will look great on the video as they were all attractive "beach baby" types. Even 35 years later, Davy still has the charm. His patter and stage demeanor seems less scripted than Micky or Peter.
Peter got off some great lines during his solo sections. Once while Davy & Micky were goofing around with the band, Peter said "Can we start this tune before you have to shave again?"
The band played for almost two hours and the stage antics were great. I must admit that the one element I miss most from previous Monkees concerts is the comedy. The television series was so much more than just the music for me. I always look for their antics and improvisation on stage. They threw some great bits in this year. My favorite was when they mentioned that Mike was no longer in the band. All three guys turned to the audience and said "He's gone". Fans of the television series remember this line was used many times over the two seasons. ( I had to explain the joke to my wife since I was laughing so hard)
The concert ended with "Daydream Believer", and then they played "I'm A Believer", "Steppin' stone", and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" for their encore. They raised their hands as a trio and walked off doing their famous Monkees walk. Fans had finally gotten what we have waited over three decades for. We finally will get a live concert video of the band. Until this concert, the only authorized commercial videos were the brief segments seen during the "Monkees on tour" episode on the first season, and some brief camcorder shots on the Rhino "Heart & Soul" documentary. With the amount of cameras and a very tight show, this should make a great DVD and video. --- Concert Attendee: Jeff (JAZZ4JEFF@aol.com)
NOTE: DVD screen shots, footage, & DVD samples are property of Win Media/King Biscuit/Pioneer Studios
and are used with permission. Pictures, footage, & samples do not represent full quality of products.
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1.) Intro/Last Train To Clarksville
