CAVERN CLUB SHOW No. 1 - Moment of Truth

OMG...it's 8:45pm, and it's 15 minutes to go before our first 45 minute set on the stage where The Beatles played 292 times, and made famous...The Cavern Club.

For those of you who have never experienced this nightclub, let me describe:

We entered the front door at 8pm with our wristbands showing, which was great considering over 200 were in line to get in. Then came the journey down 3 floors. YES FOLKS...THREE floors down from street level!

After only one set of steps, the 'sauna effect' hits you. 600 others had established themselves inside already - drinking, dancing, sweating (and in England) smoking....with NO ventilation system. The ceiling and walls are dripping with condensation. But I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world!

With 7 sets to play at The Cavern in four days, this weekend will definitely be a lesson in survival. Immediately, I am reminded how tough it must have been for The Beatles and other Mersey Beat groups to perform there, and other clubs, 2-3x/night in the 60's.

We head to the back room for musicians, and get the guitars used to the humidity, which made tuning a tough chore. Thank God for our 'roadie' Dale. He was able to keep Charlie's tricky-Rick 12 tuned in those 'orrible conditions.

Instant Karma USA, a FANTASTIC band from Chicago, that Linda & I saw at Abbey Road On The River in May, are on before us. And, in usual fashion...they are kicking a$$. The singer sounds JUST like John Lennon. But I cannot concentrate on them. I am too nervous about our set, and how WE will go over.

The BeatleWeek community is fiercely loyal, and word spreads quickly. I did not want to let the crowd of 300 down. (The other 300 were out at the newer 'Back' stage watching Los Escarabajos from Spain.) We HAD to rise to the occasion tonight, to set the tone for the rest of week. Then, 'The Word' about US could spread.

IK-USA ended their set strong, and the crowd went nuts, asking them for an encore. At that moment, in the back room leading to a slightly fresher-aired underground car park, I asked Charlie (an ordained minister, who was to conduct the vows for Linda and I at Strawberry Fields on Tuesday) to lead us all in a prayer of thanks...it was just what we needed.

It gave us a little time to reflect on all the blood, sweat and tears it took over the last 18 months to get here...and rightly so, Charlie asked for strength for us to have FUN and give the crowd a great show.

All of the members of The Fabs and their spouses are all just as much family as a band. We've been there for each other through many ups and downs, and we all deserved this night. And coming into BeatleWeek without a drummer, we had to 'adopt' a new brother into the fold.

Luckily for us, through a network of mutual friends, we arranged a few weeks prior to have Stan Bullock from Wonderwall (North Carolina) sit-in all week with us. Another prayer answered. His presence saved us from the stress of finding drummers for each show.

A familiar face to me from BW2004, "Neil B" (upgraded from Magical Mystery Tour guide to house DJ/compere') stomped up on stage ready to announce us after a 5 minute 'plug in and play' setup. I warned my bandmates of this, based on my 2004 experience...as there are NO sound checks anywhere during BW.

Linda handed me a pint of 'super-chilled' Fosters (which by now had been naturally downgraded to 'kinda-warm' in the Cavern conditions), and a good luck kiss...both of which calmed me down immeasurably.

Without notice, Neil does his thing: "LADIES & GENTLEMEN...here's a band we had here 2 years ago (ONE out of five guys, anyway...at least the brand name still works!)...and they have a sign hanging on our wall in the back, from their last visit. (OK...NOW I start to get emotional)...they're from LIV-ERRRRR-POOOOOOOOL...(crowd doesn't just cheer...they ROAR!)...New York, USA, that is...(Neil's getting them right we want them with THAT comment!)...put your hands together for...The Fab Fi-i-i-ve!!!!!!!"

All I remember is counting off "1-2-3" and sliding the bass note up on "4" to start 'Please Please Me'....and Stan's perfectly timed, three-part harmony ending ("...oh, yeah, and I'll please YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-oooooooh").

Insert your own sound FX: Crowd ROARS

We made it, Johnny. To the toppermost of the poppermost.

'They' say "Truth is Beauty, and Beauty is Truth". The truth is...our first set at The Cavern was beautiful.