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Beatles v. Stones: A Musical Showdown at The Kent Stage

Senior Thomas Biggs, junior Kayla Flake and sophomores Spring Biggs and Leah Bennington will join Beatles v. Stones: A Musical Showdown” on Aug. 20 at the Kent Stage. The string quartet will accompany the bands for the songs "Eleanor Rigby," "Yesterday," "A Day in the Life," "Hello Goodbye," "Hey Jude," "As Tears Go By," and "Ruby Tuesday." Quartet members have consistently received superior ratings at regional and state Solo and Ensemble festivals.

RICHARD WEINER
Legal News Reporter

Published: August 17, 2018

Maybe there is no definitive answer to the question: “Who is the greatest rock & roll band of all time?”, but an Aug. 20 show at the Kent Stage may provide some insight into the argument. According to touring musician Christopher Legrand it is The Rolling Stones, of course.

Legrand plays Mick Jagger in the upcoming “battle of the bands” between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The Beatles will be played by a touring tribute band called “Abbey Road,” and the Stones will be played by a band called “Satisfaction—The International Rolling Stones Show,” organized and fronted by Legrand.

As a bonus, a student string quartet from Stow-Munroe Falls high school will back the bands in certain songs, much to the delight of Sarah Behal, the school’s orchestra director. Behar is a graduate of the high school. She has been in her post coming up on five years, she said.

Behar said that she got the email inviting the school to provide a string quartet for the engagement out of the blue. She jumped at the chance.

“This is a really cool opportunity for them,” said Behal. “I told them that there were so many famous people who played on the Kent Stage over the years. They should just soak up the atmosphere.”

The four students comprising the string quartet are senior Thomas Biggs, junior Kayla Flake, and sophomores Spring Biggs and Leah Bennington.

Behar said that most of the students in the quartet were familiar with the Beatles through marching band, although she couldn’t say the same about the Rolling Stones. For her part, the 28-year-old Behar said that the Beatles and Stones were her grandparents’ music.

“My parents were more metal heads,” she said.

The plans are that the four students will back Satisfaction on the songs “Ruby Tuesday,” “As Tears Go By” and “Gimme Shelter.” They will back Abbey Road on “Eleanor Rigby, A Day in the Life,” “Yesterday,” “Hello Goodbye” and “Hey Jude.” Behar said that the four received their sheet music around the first of August and have been hard at work rehearsing ever since.

The two bands engage in this battle of the British invaders across the country and the planet, playing 150-plus times a year. They have been touring since 2011. For each engagement, the bands alternate three mini-sets each—each set from different eras of each band, said Legrand. Abbey Road goes through a series of costume changes, including a “Sgt. Pepper” set. The grand finale is a huge jam session with both bands.

Abbey Road members went through a grueling series of tryouts to become members of the band, which started in 2008, said show producer Andy Nagle.

Legrand formed Satisfaction in Texas in 2000.

“I saw that there were a lot of Beatles tribute bands, but virtually no Stones bands,” he said. He said he had left a brief music career to work in business, but he came back to music when he put Satisfaction together and has been on the road ever since he formed the band. Satisfaction has performed over 4,000 shows.

Satisfaction only plays a few of the Rolling Stones’ hits, said Legrand. The Rolling Stones have put out 23 albums since they were formed in London in 1962 with artists Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Ian Stewart and Charlie Watts, and that is a lot of music to choose from.

Legrand said that his favorite Rolling Stones era is from the albums Beggar’s Banquet through Exile on Main Street, although he holds a special place for Some Girls.

“I would love to do a four-hour show and play everything—all the songs you know,” he said. But for now, the Beatles v. Stones tour takes up all of his time.

The Kent Stage

The Kent Stage is a 642-seat theatre that opened in 1927. It has hosted touring stage acts since 2002, as well as theatrical and film presentations. The Kent Stage is located at 175 E. Main St. in Kent. Beatles v. Stones: A Musical Showdown will happen on Aug. 20. Doors open at 7. Tickets are $19-$45.

The tour’s websites are: www.Beatles-vs-Stones.com and www.facebook.com/BeatlesvsStones

*For what it’s worth, in 2010 Rolling Stone Magazine rated the top six artists of all time as: (1) The Beatles, (2) Bob Dylan, (3) Elvis Presley, (4) The Rolling Stones, (5) Chuck Berry and (6) Jimi Hendrix.

The bands will also perform this show at the Canton Palace on Aug. 26.


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