By Steven Zaitz
Stony Brook village became Strawberry Fields for a few magical, musical hours on Sunday, July 28, as four lads who call themselves The Liverpool Shuffle pleased the crowd of Beatlemaniacs.
A ticket to ride was unnecessary for this show, as the boys played for free on the balcony of the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF).
Formed in 2003 by singer, bassist and guitarist Joe Refano, who played with Herman’s Hermits as well as with Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, the band delighted the crowd for close to two hours with hits such as “All My Loving,” “In My Life,” “Day Tripper” and “Back In The U.S.S.R.”
The concert was a nod to the famous Beatles on the rooftop concert in January of 1969 on top of their Apple Corps headquarters in central London. That was the last time they performed together in front of a live audience. After playing “Get Back” for the third time that rainy afternoon, John Lennon famously and playfully asked the crowd if the most influential band in the history of music had “passed the audition.”
Refano, who lives in Centerport, saw the Beatles live at Shea Stadium in 1966, and like pretty much everyone else, was hooked.
“We are very excited to play on the balcony and pay tribute to the Beatles for the people of Stony Brook,” said Refano as he tuned his guitar at sound check.
Jamie Bateman, a distant cousin to Ringo Starr and is originally from Liverpool, sings and plays the guitar and harmonica; Andrew Lubman plays bass, guitar, keyboard and sings many of Paul McCartney’s parts; and Brian James is behind the drum kit.
Ernie Canadeo, chairman of LIMEHOF, introduced the band and was thrilled to showcase the museum and facility in its first-ever outdoor concert.
“We decided to do the first outdoor concert as a ‘Beatles on the Balcony’ tribute, as the Beatles mean so much to everyone and they have a lot of connection to Long Island,” Canadeo said. “They played Shea Stadium and Forest Hills. Paul McCartney lives here, Ringo still plays out here and John spent a few summers here so we thought this would be a great idea.”
After “Hey Jude” and the encore of “I Saw Her Standing There,” the show was over and there was no doubt that The Liverpool Shuffle had passed the audition.
