There are some of pop’s most stunning ballads. There are jubilant, high-energy rockers, one even kind of metal. And, of course, there are silly love songs.
In all, the participants of Pittsburgh Plays McCartney had approximately 800 songs to choose from in saluting rock ’n’ roll icon Paul McCartney in this second installment of the Pittsburgh Plays series.
Where: Mr. Smalls, Millvale.
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Tickets: $25 in advance; $28 day of the show; ticketmaster.
When they launched it in November 2017 with Pittsburgh Plays Petty, Josh Bakaitus, of Mr. Smalls, and Punchline drummer Cory Muro didn’t expect it to become a series.
“Cory and I just wanted to throw a single Tom Petty tribute show,” says Mr. Bakaitus, “but when the first show sold out so quickly, we added the second show. From there were saw the magic and how the shows impacted the artists and the fans.”
Then they added third and fourth shows in 2018 at Jergel’s and The Crafthouse, making it four sellouts.
“At every show, people would ask us who we were paying tribute to next,” Mr. Bakaitus says, “so, naturally, the series was born. A lot of people were asking for the Beatles, but I kind of felt like that was a little played out, which is why we though a McCartney tribute spanning Wings, solo and his Beatles songs would be a different approach.”
The lineup, on Friday and Saturday at Mr. Smalls, will feature Jake Anderkovitch, Jon Belan, T. Mitchell Bell, Diego Byrnes, Justin Campbell, Jeremy Caywood, Chris Colditz, Andre Costello, Chris Dos, Alex Drizos, Chris Fafalios, Josh Fiedler, Sean Finn, Tim Gaber, Stephen Gallo, Bobby Garver, Jonathan Gunnell, Michael Lindner, Bill Maruca, Shawn McGregor, Paul Menotiades, Sharon Mok, Cory Muro, Byron Nash, Patrick Norman, Anthony Pecora, Joe Pelesky, Nick Revak, Steve Soboslai, Eddan Sparks, Brett Staggs, Shane Turner, Chet Vincent, Harrison Wargo, Jenn Wertz, Derek White, James Wolff, Derek Woods, Tim Woods, Brett Zoric, the horns of Beauty Slap and the strings of Cello Fury.
“We are able to take the concept of putting musicians together who otherwise may not have ever played together to collaborate on these classic songs,” Mr. Bakaitus says. “It gives a platform for people to discover local talent through the coveted music of legendary artists. That’s now what has become the mission of the event.”
“I love these pickup gigs,” says Ms. Wertz, the former member of Rusted Root. “It’s super fun to get out of the comfort zone and work with new people on this material.”
We checked in with a few of the musicians to see what they were playing:
Steve Soboslai, Punchline: “I'm singing ‘Obla Di Obla Da’! The timing feels coincidental. I just bought a house and have been singing that every night covered in dust as we ‘build a home sweet home.’”
Andre Costello, Andre Costello and the Cool Minors: “ ‘Lady Madonna.’ I love that song. Paul has a good niche for painting pictures of everyday people and places without getting too abstract. This song is nothing less than that, but with one of those awesome piano parts that you know had Billy Joel working overtime to replicate it.”
Jon Belan, Gene the Werewolf: “The thing that is great about our set of songs is that every single song we got assigned was at some point one of my favorite Beatles song. I am thrilled to be singing ‘Let It Be.’ I feel it’s not only one of Paul’s greatest masterpieces, but it’s also historically one of the greatest songs ever written, period! It really takes me back to why I fell in love with the Beatles.”
Diego Byrnes: “The first music I ever owned was ‘The Beatles 1967-1970’ cassette tapes. My mother gave them to me when was visiting her in Tunisia in 1998 when I was 11. ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ is track three on that, so it's definitely bringing me back. The Beatles made it seem so fun and ‘Sgt. Pepper's’ a great example of that. It's just silly enough. I've been having fun putting some extra umph in the vocals and shredding a little more on guitar in that song, too. ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is going to be a real treat, too. For me, it's one of the saddest and most existential songs they've written; a cautionary tale of how easy it is to never live. I'm trying to feel that in the performance, but I'm sure that Cello Fury will make it easy. Cellos have a way of making me weepy.”
Chet Vincent, The Big Bend, Birdwatcher: “There are so many Beatles and Paul McCartney songs that are important to me, it was a hard choice. I decided to go with the rocker ‘Get Back.’ I think it’s one where we have an opportunity to try something new. I was looking up covers and didn’t find too many — there’s a cool Ike and Tina Turner version but not much else. So hopefully my group and I can come up with something cool!”
Bobby Garver: “I’m doing ‘We Can Work it Out,’ which I’m excited about singing as it was one of my first favorites from the Beatles growing up. I’ll also be singing ‘Helter Skelter.’ Really excited to sing that one. It’s a bit out of my comfort zone, but that’s what makes it fun, interesting. The band that I’m singing it with is absolutely killer, so it should be a blast.”
Jenn Wertz: “I felt a little weak about ‘Hello, Goodbye’ for my vocal range and quality, but the band is so great, we ended up nailing it. I think it’ll be a really good show. You think you know Beatles songs in your sleep, until you have to play or sing one. There are subtleties and you still have to make it yours, so it’s fun and also a challenge.”
Scott Mervis: smervis@post-gazette.com.
First Published: December 26, 2018, 2:00 p.m.