To be effective, technology does not always have to deliver the brightest, sharpest, clearest images to consumers. Sometimes grainy, slightly out-of-focus images are best. Take Rain, a Beatles tribute band, for example.
I had the pleasure of attending their concert this weekend at the Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Conn. Being a life-long Beatles fan who was unfortunately born after the murder of John Lennon, I knew that I would never have the opportunity of experiencing a Beatles concert.
However, Rain brought me about as close as I will likely ever come.
The band performed songs spanning the Fab 4’s career in era-appropriate garb. But that was not all.
When they performed songs that the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, for example, clunky “APPLAUSE” signs hung over the performers who had successfully captured the mannerisms of John, Paul, George and Ringo – and the large screens hanging on both sides of the stage showed Rain performing in grainy, out-of-focus video. It was almost like I was watching from the midtown Manhattan theater!
While Rain performed part of the setlist played at Shea Stadium, the screens flashed washed out color video of both the Queens crowd as well as our fellow concert-goers. Mock newsreels and posters were also displayed. It was well-done, and for two hours or so, it was almost as if we were there.
