. : : October 30th, 2011 : : .
Most Sunday evenings, I can be found at home watching The Walking Dead on television. On this particular Sunday night, I was watching the walking dead live(?) and in person.
Actually, it was Rebekah Higgs and band dressed as zombies performing The Zombies songs. Are you still following? I think even my own head is spinning after that one.
I guess it should go without saying, considering the date, as a sort of encore performance for the Drake Underground residency shows, Rebekah threw a “bands covering other bands” night, which included a disastrous set of all Justin Beiber songs by Thomas Gil from LOOM. No, really. To be fair, it wasn’t Thomas’ fault in the least — he really didn’t have a lot to work with. Terra Lightfoot played it safer by sticking to original songs; I’ll have more on her later.
I can’t say I’m a big fan of the Zombies. The band split a full decade and a half before I was born, so needless to say, I hadn’t had a lot of exposure to their music. I guess everyone knows Time of The Season, and upon hearing it again, I know I’ve heard She’s Not There somewhere before. Probably a movie, but I’d never know to attribute it to the band. So, devoid of the nostalgia factor, I wasn’t sure how much I’d get into the fun Hallowe’en set.
I should have had more faith in Rebekah and company. The band performed with an infectiously exuberant energy that would have ensured a good time even if the 60’s rock’n’roll songs weren’t so much fun in and of itself. The band stuck strictly to The Zombies’ 7″ singles — two-thirds of the set was dedicated to A-side hits, and the other third to the B-sides. Even an uneducated listener could tell with little chance of error which of the songs were clear A-side material, the B-sides still held up well.
The band had fun with the Zombie double entendre, and I was admittedly impressed with the convincing quality of their amateur make-up job. Rebekah even bantered with some zombie-themed jokes (that were terrifying for all the wrong reasons).
But the star of the evening, as every evening, was the music, and the band did a great job of faithfully recreating the classic tunes, and making them fun and exciting for oldies fans and the admittedly ignorant alike.
So, whether a fan of The Zombies or a fan of Rebekah Higgs — or hey, if you don’t really know either of them — download these tracks and enjoy!
01. The Way I Feel Inside [the Zombies]
02. She’s Not There [the Zombies]
03. [banter]
04. Tell Her No [the Zombies]
05. [banter]
06. Just Out of Reach [the Zombies]
07. Leave Me Be [the Zombies]
08. [banter]
09. She’s Coming Home [the Zombies]
10. I Love You [the Zombies]
11. Is This The Dream? [the Zombies]
12. [banter]
13. Time of the Season [the Zombies]
14. [banter]
15. What More Can I Do [the Zombies]
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A super massive thank you to Rebekah Higgs and group, all the bands who have performed as a part of the residency, and the Drake Underground for being our wonderful hosts for a smashing month of music.
