Beatles tribute show 'Rain' will shine at Kingsbury

The Rutles no doubt got The Beatles memorabilia ball rolling, but with a "mockumentary" cutting-edge satire of the hippy ethos that made Beatlemaniacs cringe and laugh in equal measure.

By most accounts "Rain" precedes that sort of impolite nonsense, with roots as an early 1970s "club band," then known as "Reign." Then, with some help in 1979 from Dick Clark, things really got rolling when original members of the tribute band were enlisted from the film "Birth of The Beatles." The rest, as they say, is history when we flash forward to Broadway, where "Rain" the tribute show became a stage sensation.

As Beatles tribute shows go, it's been hailed as everything from an "adoring Valentine" to "The next best thing to seeing The Beatles," according to the Denver Post."

Other than that, and much like the Beatles music itself, the rest is self-recommending. Purists may scoff about staying home with the original mono recordings on the stereo, but if you want to experience the magic — and, yes, that's the only word that applies — of the songs themselves in the context of an audience, this is the only way to go.

bfulton@sltrib.com

Twitter: @Artsalt

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"Rain": A Tribute to The Beatles

When • March 24, 8 p.m.; March 25, 3 p.m.

Where • Kingsbury Hall

Info • $35-$55. Call 801-581-7100 or visit www.magicspace.net/saltlakecity or www.raintribute.com for more information.