A NIGHT WITH THE BEATLES
Dain Norman and the Chrysalis Effect
March 5, 2022
McMenamin’s Spanish Ballroom, Tacoma, WA
There are many Beatles Tribute bands out there, to be sure, but Dain Norman and The Chrysalis Effect offered a unique experience last night with their show “A Night With the Beatles” at McMenamin’s Spanish Ballroom in Tacoma. Chrysalis Effect has their own unique, 3-man take on the Fab Four’s repertoire, with a solid and tight sound backed by a lot of soul and deep knowledge and respect of the music and its meaning.
The set list was jam-packed with Beatles favourites from their early rock-n-roll days to the psychedelic era and beyond, with the addition of a couple of John Lennon and George Harrison solo tracks (“Stand By Me” and a smash-up of “Imagine” and Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass”) Interspersed throughout the night were Norman/Chrysalis effect originals including Beatles-inspired “Holding on Through the Night,” “Knees are Shakin’,” “When Will the World be One” (soon to be featured in a Bollywood film!) and the title track of their latest album, “Shades of Blue.”
Dain, along with bandmates TJ Cope and drummer Alex Tapia, got the multi-generational crowd going right off the bat with “Twist and Shout” and kept the energy level up through the first set with rockin’ early Beatles hits. The sound was a bit muddy at first, and you couldn’t understand much of what Dain was saying in his song intros, but it seemed to clear up after a while to let the brilliant musicianship of each band member shine. Audience members were encouraged to “dress up” in 60’s/hippie style garb and a few went all-out with their costumes, including one in a Sgt. Pepper outfit. People were soon dancing and of course singing along – as you can’t help it with these well-known and well-loved songs.
After a 20-minute break, the second set began with a surprise solos from TJ Cope, who did a sweet, McCartney-esque rendition of “Blackbird” and “Til There Was You” (albeit with one small flub – but then isn’t Paul himself guilty of a few bloopers these days?). Then the band came back in the psychedelic tones of “Tomorrow Never Knows” and other later Beatles tracks.
“Hey Jude,” was the most spot-on rendition that truly evoked the energy of a Beatles or McCartney concert and had everyone joyfully singing along! The evening wound down with the reflective– and somewhat expected–“Imagine” but with a new twist, merging the Lennon hymn with Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” The audience called for an encore and the band, though obviously tired from their almost-3-hour marathon performance, obliged with “Come Together.”
Dain Norman and the Chrysalis Effect is a band that just keeps getting better every time I see them. They have clearly grown as musicians, offer a solid and energetic rock sound with well seasoned vocals and some ripping guitar work, and have the ability to keep an audience entranced and entertained from beginning to end of show. They still have some polish to master but their soul and passion fly them over any rough spots to make them one outstanding act. And they will have plenty of time to polish their act as they will be doing Beatles Night once per quarter at the Spanish Ballroom!
You must be logged in to post a comment.