Music
The best kept secret in music
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BritBeat members Chris Getsla (Paul McCartney), left, and Danny Leavitt (George Harrison) sing to a crowd Saturday in downtown Seymour during the Cars & Guitars Cruz-In. (Tribune photo by Roxanne Allen)
Downtown Seymour became Liverpool for two hours Saturday night as the Beatles tribute band BritBeat performed at the Cars & Guitars Cruz-In.
The band brought back memories for England native Sheila Vogt. She saw the real Beatles perform in 1965, 1969 and 1972.
“They are bloomin’ good,” said Vogt, who couldn’t stop singing along with BritBeat.
Vogt, who was in Seymour from Jacksonville, Fla., to visit her daughter, Kelly Edwards, said she was skeptical about seeing the Beatles tribute band but was excited to see that BritBeat was brilliant.
Comparing the talent of BritBeat to that of the real Beatles, 14-year-olds Amanda Abell and Addy Anderson of North Vernon said they are big Beatles fans.
“John was the best John I’ve ever seen in my life,” Anderson said. The girls said BritBeat was the best of six other Beatles tribute bands they have seen because “John” really stomped his foot like the real John Lennon did on stage.
Using British accents to speak to sea of people that extended down Chestnut Street between Tipton Street and past St. Louis Avenue, BritBeat often spoke as if they were the real Beatles.
“They sound more like the Beatles then any other band I’ve heard,” said Bryan Skinner of Seymour.
-Brandy Emily
- The Tribune
’The Return To Beatlemania Tribute Concert’
Daley Center Plaza – April 10, 2002 at 5:00 PM
Chicago Beatle’s Fans Have Waited A Long Time For The Return of Paul McCartney To Our City. The Beatles tribute band ‘BritBeat’ will be playing a tribute concert to the latest wave of Beatlemania fans as they recreate the live concert sound and look of the Beatles on April 10, 2002 at the Daley Center Plaza
Paul McCartney’s return to Chicago to perform, after so many years, has touched off a new wave of Beatlemania in our city. Concert tickets for his two performances at the United Center sold out in a matter of minutes. The excitement and anticipation for Beatles’ fans has been increasing with every day since his concerts were announced.
BritBeat, a Beatles’ tribute band from Chicago, Illinois, is helping the city and its Beatles fans welcome Paul McCartney to Chicago and celebrate the return of Beatlemania to our city by performing a free one hour Beatles tribute concert outdoors at the Daley Center Plaza. The event will take place on April 10, 2002 at 5 PM next to the Picasso, just hours before Paul’s opening night concert.
Complete with mop tops, authentic instruments, Beatles’ suits, and harmonizing vocals, BritBeat, Chicago’s own ‘Fab Four’, will perform non stop Beatles hits for Beatles’ fans, both old and new. The concert will give Chicago a chance to enjoy the look and the sound of Beatlemania and to help celebrate the music event of the year, Paul McCartney’s return to CHICAGO.
- Edge Entertainment Limited
‘Yesterday’ will not be so very far away when Ravinia plays host to BritBeat – ‘America’s Premier Tribute To the Beatles’, during festivities for its 101st Birthday Celebration
Ravinia concert goers will soon have their first chance to experience the sights and sounds of Beatlemania when Ravinia hosts its first ever Beatles show on August 21st, in conjunction with its 101st birthday party and the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ ‘North American Tour’. Ravinia, well known for hosting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and other fine arts music performances, will take a trip back to the sixties with a rockin’ Beatles tribute concert in Ravinia’s Martin Theater.
Complete with mop tops, authentic instruments, Beatles’ suits, and harmonizing vocals, BritBeat, a Beatles’ tribute band from Chicago, Illinois, will be helping Ravinia and its patrons celebrate 101 years of music excellence by performing a classic forty-five minute Beatles show during the birthday festivities. It will be the first time in Ravinia’s 101 year history that they will host a tribute to the most popular band of the 20th century, The Beatles. BritBeat, comprised of Chris Getsla as Paul, Frank Canino as John, Danny Leavitt as George and Eric Jensen as Ringo, perform one of the most authentic Beatles concert recreations in America.
Ravinia’s birthday celebration will take place on Sunday, August 21, 2005 from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm; with BritBeat performing in the Martin Theater at 1:00 pm. Admission is only 25 cents! Please bring a non-perishable food donation to benefit the Moraine Township Food Pantry. More information is available on BritBeat’s website at www.BRITBEAT.com
- Edge Entertainment Limited
BritBeat to Perform Anniversary Concert with Original Beatles Drummer Pete Best
BritBeat Beatles Tribute Band and Pete Best, original Beatles drummer, to perform together to commorate the 40th anniversary of the Beatles concert performance at Chicago’s Comiskey Park
Chicago, Illinois - August 1, 2005
Chicago Beatles fans will get a chance to relive the excitement of Beatlemania when the Beatles tribute band BritBeat joins original Beatles drummer, Pete Best, for a concert performance to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Beatles performance at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.
Pete Best is remembered by Beatle fans as the orginal Beatles drummer before the group was joined by Ringo Starr.
Complete with mop tops, authentic instruments, Beatles’ suits, and harmonizing vocals, BritBeat, a Beatles’ tribute band from Chicago, Illinois, along with Pete Best, will be rockin’ out with Beatle fans young and old just prior to the Chicago White Sox-New York Yankees game at U.S. Cellular field in Chicago.
BritBeat, comprised of Chris Getsla as Paul, Frank Canino as John, Danny Leavitt as George and Eric Jensen as Ringo, perform one of the most authentic Beatles concert recreations in America. They will join Pete Best on the main stage to re-create some of the early Beatle classics.
- PR Leap
Glenview native and 2000 Glenbrook South grad Chris Getsla, who plays Paul McCartney in BritBeat, knows there are "tons and tons" of Beatles tribute bands in America.
As far as he knows though, he and his friends are the only ones who match the age of the Fab Four around the time they first toured America. "We've got youth and energy going for us", he said. "Just like they did."
BritBeat also has a commitment to authenticity. Getsla as McCartney, Glenview native and '02 Glenbrook South grad Danny Leavitt as George Harrison, Frank Canino as John Lennon and Eric Jensen as Ringo all play replicas of the Beatles' own instruments.
They perform songs the Beatles played in concert from the Cavern Club days in 1961 to the Revolver era in 1966 - with period-evoking costume changes between sets. They speak and sing with Liverpudlian accents on stage and they copy each of the individual Beatles mannerisms in performance.
That pays off, Getsla said, when people see them play live. "You can see it in their faces when they see Danny do the Harrison shuffle or Eric shake side-to-side like Ringo," he said. "They really get excited. People come up to me and say how happy they are to relive their memories of seeing the Beatles perform in the '60s.
"It's funny, I wasn't even alive during the '60s but I can relate. I love the music. We all love the music."
-Bruce Ingram - Pioneer Press
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Originating from Chicago, Illinois, BritBeat has played for numerous festivals, corporations and special events since establishing the band in 2001. BritBeat has researched the Beatles for years and brings to the stage a superbly authentic and accurate concert as a musical tribute to the Beatles. Their musical talents and Liverpudlian characters combine for one of the closest re-creations of a Beatles concert that you will find.
BritBeat has been featured on Fox TV, CBS TV, ABC TV, NBC TV and in The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Herald newspapers. In 2002 BritBeat, in association with the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, performed the 'Return To Beatlemania Concert - Chicago Welcomes Paul McCartney'. To welcome Paul McCartney back to town for his Driving USA concert, BritBeat's tribute event was broadcast on live television and was also enjoyed by the mass of Beatle fans in attendance.
In 2005 BritBeat and former Beatles drummer Pete Best performed together on the main stage for the 40th anniversary of the Beatles concert at Comiskey Park. Thousands of fans saw BritBeat and Pete Best perform many of the early Beatles classics at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.
BritBeat is unmatched in bringing the vintage 60s Beatles concert experience to the ultimate level. You won't need to squint your eyes to visualize what it was like to see a classic Beatles stage show. Instead of seeing 'oldies playing the oldies', BritBeat's youth, charm and dynamic musicianship will take you back in time to experience what it was really like to see the young 'Fab Four'.
As accomplished musicians and entertainers BritBeat is dedicated to bringing only the highest level of professional entertainment to the stage. These talented musicians will have you imagining that you are seeing the Beatles once again, back in the 1960s, when they performed live in concert around the world.
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