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This will be a great show!! You don't want to miss it.
Elvis was in the Imperial last weekend and the Beatles this weekend. Who says there is nothing to do in Augusta?
The margins of Ed Turner's big Beatles notebook are littered with cryptic notes and annotations that address everything from complex vocal harmonies to idiosyncratic arrangement issues.
But the secret of Mr. Turner's success with Number 9, a collection of Augusta musicians who celebrate the work of The Beatles, isn't in notes, or research, or the hours he invests.
It is in his hands, his heart and, especially, the people he chooses to surround himself with.
The band, which was put together for a one-off performance of the Rubber Soul album in 2005, has developed into a project meaningful not only to the band but also to a growing number of fans and charities that are regular recipients of the Number 9 concert proceeds. This weekend, the band will play an Abbey Road show at the Imperial Theatre, benefiting several local children's charities.
Number 9 practices in Mr. Turner's living room twice a week, four hours at a time, but the musicians take their cue from the Fab Four in terms of avoiding pretension in their pop art.
"They didn't take themselves seriously," he said. "I mean, they never really thought it would last. We try to take that same attitude."
With only one album left in The Beatles biography after Abbey Road , it's easy to believe that Number 9 might be approaching its own finish line. Mr. Turner said that although the records will run dry and Abbey Road can be considered the final classic of the Beatles canon, the band will remain.
"There's a lot of solo stuff left to do," he said with a laugh.
Still, with only the post-breakup Let It Be left to interpret, guitarist Jeff Johnston said that there has been closure involved in preparing Abbey Road .
"It's something we've felt from the very beginning," he said. "From the very first rehearsal. There is a very real sense that we may not be finished, but that this is an end."
Although many of the Abbey Road tunes have made it into previous Number 9 shows, Mr. Johnston said this is the first time the band has given them the sort of scholarly approach it reserves for the album projects. Everyone has been surprised at how complex the seemingly straight-forward songs turned out to be, he said.
"It's very tricky," Mr. Johnston said. "We've discovered things we've been playing wrong for years. You just think you know, but that's often not the case."
Abbey Road contains some acknowledged classics -- George Harrison's aching Something , the raucous Come Together and the carefully constructed Because -- but there are songs, such as Maxwell's Silver Hammer and Mean Mr. Mustard , that Mr. Turner acknowledges are not quite as classic as others.
"Not every book in the Bible can be Psalms," Mr. Turner said. "Some have to be Titus and Malachi."
Mr. Johnston said that spending the past four years intimately involved with The Beatles has opened his eyes, and ears, to the influence the band had on popular music. He said learning to play the songs has, in many ways, been like learning his instrument all over again.
The sentiment is echoed by bassist Tim Arbisi. Being part of a project that challenges him as a musician and contributes to the community at large has become an extraordinarily important part of his life, he said.
"We aren't just becoming better musicians," he said. "I think this has made us better people."
Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.
THE IMAGE OF 'ABBEY ROAD'
The photo that adorned one of music's most recognizable album covers has inspired imitators (see our cover of the cover), conspiracy theorists and tourists for 40 years. Here are a few facts about the image:
- It was shot at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 8, 1969, by Iain MacMillan.
- The shoot took about 10 minutes, and only six frames of film were exposed.
- The yellow Volkswagen Beetle seen in the background now resides at the official Volkswagen museum in Wolfsburg, Germany.
- Paul McCartney is shown out of step, barefoot and with a cigarette in his right hand. Subscribers to the 'Paul is dead' conspiracy theory that arose in 1969 pointed to the inconsistencies as proof that the photographed Paul is an impostor.
- The city of London has had to move the Abbey Road street sign to prevent theft, and it repaints the adjacent wall to cover fan graffiti every six months.
COME TOGETHER
WHAT: Ed Turner & Number 9 present Abbey Road
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
WHERE: The Imperial Theatre, 745 Broad St.
COST: $15-$40; imperialtheatre.com
Comments
This will be a great show!! You don't want to miss it.
Elvis was in the Imperial last weekend and the Beatles this weekend. Who says there is nothing to do in Augusta?
Ed Turner and Number 9 are a Beatlemanics best dream. For those of us who never got to see the Beatles in person, it is a great treat to see the songs performed live by such talented musicians. They will not disappoint. See you guys Friday night!
Wow...how embarrassing....while this a nice article and all, let's not forget the reason why this concert is being held in the first place. It is being underwritten (i.e; the band is being paid for) by the Columbia County Exchange Club. All proceeds after paying the band is going to the prevention of child abuse. Not one penny is being kept by the club. The exchange club is an awesome club that raises money for the prevention of child abuse.
Why doesnt' the #9 Band play at Columbia County Amplitheatre sometime?
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