'Monkee Man' wows the CVD crowd

Fans came from as far away as Lodi, Calif., to greet Monkees lead singer Micky Dolenz on May 1 at Conejo Valley Days in Thousand Oaks.

Audience members began arriving at 5 p.m. to stake out front row seats for the 8 p.m. show. Despite Dolenz's long absence from local stages (this critic last saw him and fellow Monkee Davy Jones in a 2002 concert at California Adventure), he didn't disappoint the appreciative audience.

As the show started, the band played "The Monkees," the TV show's theme song by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. From offstage Dolenz sang, "Here I come, walking down the street, I get the funniest looks from everyone I meet." He entered to screams and applause from an already pumped up crowd.

The 63-year-old musician, looking trim and fit, wore a black T-shirt with white designs, a dark jacket and pants, and a fedora that hid his face at times. On his lapel was a photo button of the late John Stewart, writer of the hit song "Daydream Believer."

Dolenz's voice has matured over the years, adding richness and expression to his singing, which has also been strengthened by recent stints in musical theater ("Aida," "Pippin"). He played an instrument for only a few songs, freeing the animated singer to move around the stage, which made him more interesting to watch.

His younger sister Coco (who sang on some Monkees records) performed backing vocals and played tambourine. During the show, Coco Dolenz sang lead on Michael Nesmith's "Different Drum" and Del Shannon's "Runaway." She's a terrific singer in her own right, with a strong and sultry voice that commands attention.

The incredibly tight band has performed for more than a decade on Monkees reunion tours, as well as playing for Jones' and Dolenz's solo shows. The musicians are Wayne Avers, guitar; Dave Alexander, keyboards; Nashville's John Billings, bass; Aviva Maloney, woodwinds; and Sandy Gennaro, drums. Several times Avers stepped downstage to showcase a sizzling guitar solo.

The highly polished and nonstop show had every move and joke choreographed Dolenz opened with four Monkees songs in a row, starting with the 1986 reunion single "That Was Then, This is Now."

He asked, "Are there any Monkees fans out there?" Strapping on an acoustic guitar while the crowd cheered, he said, "This is the song that started it all" to introduce "Last Train to Clarksville," the group's first No. 1 single from 1966. He presented Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Good" as the song he played for his Monkees audition: "This is the song that cinched the gig."

Dolenz described how Jimi Hendrix opened for a 1967 Monkees tour- while Hendrix played psychedelic rock, the preteen fans yelled out for Davy- before the band launched into a full-throttled version of "Purple Haze" that scorched the stage.

The versatile Dolenz had learned to play the drums for "The Monkees" TV show. He removed his jacket, put on a headset microphone and replaced Gennaro on the drums for "Mary, Mary," "Steppin' Stone" and "Runaway."

Dolenz was back on a handheld mike to describe meeting The Beatles in London in 1967. When he was invited to attend a recording session at Abbey Road studio, he said, he dressed in "hippie regalia- paisley bellbottoms, tiedyed underwear, beads." At the studio John Lennon had remarked, "Hey, Monkee man, want to hear what we just put down?" Dolenz then belted a showstopping, searing rendition of Lennon and McCartney's "Oh! Darling."

At one point Dolenz wiped his face with a towel and pretended to throw it into the audience. Then he stepped back and said, "No way! This is going on eBay!" Later he did toss the towel, which was caught by the woman sitting in front of me (missed it by that much).

Dolenz described how he heard Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "D.W. Washburn" (a 1968 Monkees single) in the Broadway revue "Smokey Joe's Cafe."

"Those Monkees songs get in everywhere. They're insidious." He had fun with the song about a skid row bum as he strutted across the stage.

He said that "Daydream Believer" is usually sung by Jones, so he lowered the mike stand almost to the ground in reference to Jones' small stature. After "Pleasant Valley Sunday" he left to a standing ovation, but he returned for an encore as the audience remained standing.

This critic has never seen any of the Monkees perform "Gimme Some Lovin'," but Dolenz blasted through it with highpowered vocals as the crowd danced and clapped.

He closed with his signature tune, Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer" after telling the young children, "I was doing this song long before 'Shrek.'" The band performed "For Pete's Sake," by former Monkee Peter Tork and Joseph Richards, for the playoff, featuring a drum solo by Gennero.

Dolenz came out front to sign autographs and pose for photos with the happy fans. His dynamite performance made believers out of this audience.