Right: Micky Dolenz live 7-16-05, photo by Donnie Thompson

You pretty much take your chances with "oldies" rock 'n roll shows. They are either feast or famine. The "famine" is embarrassing and the "feast" is a great surprise. Some rock acts, like the Beach Boys, can still deliver the goods occasionally live, while others like Ringo Starr's All Starr Band is pathetically loose (As much of a Beatles fan that I am, I refuse to pay just to "see" Ringo anymore-and that's basically what his shows are now.)

So I had no real expectations when seeing Micky Dolenz perform live. Besides, it was a free show in a small venue in downtown Woodstock, Georgia. I've never seen The Monkees live on their many reunion tours, and the only solo-Monkee show I've seen is Mike Nesmith live in 1992. Since Micky sang lead on most of the bands hits singles, I expected a full barrage of Monkees' hits. Of course I would have loved to hear two of my favorite Monkees songs, "She" and "Saturday's Child" (love that proto-heavy metal guitar riff!)

Since Dolenz had the most experience as an actor when he became a Monkee, it was no surprise that he is great entertainer in interacting with the audience. He seemed totally at ease and constantly joked with the audience and told some very interesting stories. Also performing with Dolenz was his sister Coco, who supplied backup vocals, a duet with Micky and a solo spot.

The band took the stage and started playing "Monkees Theme", playing the tune just until Micky took entered the stage. "Last Train To Clarksville" was next, with Micky playing guitar, as opposed to the drums (which he played during his Monkees' years). After the song, he added, "And the hits just keep right on coming." Next was the Monkees reunion "hit" "That Was Then, This Is Now" (from the POOL IT album). Again, he joked with the audience after the song saying that there would be a "lotta big fat Monkees hits coming". He then mentions all the writers for the Monkees hit songs, such as Boyce/Hart, Neil Diamond, Michael Nesmith and adding, "Neil Armstrong…he did 'Blue Moon' ".

Dolenz then introduced the following song as a Michael Nesmith tune, "The Girl That I Knew Somewhere", doing a very good version. Next was a duet with Coco on "Bye Bye Blackbird", followed by a solo vocal by Coco singing another Nesmith tune "Different Drum" (1967 hit for Linda Ronstadt's Stone Ponies). More joking ensued as he told the audience he was going to sing a Monkees song that Davy Jones sang lead on, adjusting the microphone shorter to make fun of Davy's shortness. The song was the Neil Diamond written, "Little Bit Me, Little Bit You".

Right: Micky Dolenz live 7-16-05, photo by Donnie Thompson

Micky then told a story of how he partied with the Beatles in 1967 and how it inspired his song "Randy Scouse Git" - I was in heaven as this is another of my fave Monkees tunes! After the song, another Beatles story was told about Micky attending a Beatles recording session (this was during SGT. PEPPER) with him saying, "I don't remember a whole lot…but this is what I heard…" - the band immediately played "Good Morning, Good Morning". This was a pleasant surprise, hearing a competent cover of a Beatles song!

During the lull between songs, someone yelled "Porpoise Song", to which Micky responded without missing a beat, "Hey! (Excitedly)", then, "No (sternly)!" "For Pete's Sake" followed, then another Coco solo on Del Shannon's "Runaway" (a cool bluesy rendition). Another favorite Monkees song was played next, "Stepping Stone", with the guitarists adding a really cool riff to the familiar chord progression. Audience interaction was next, with Micky telling the story about how Jimi Hendrix once opened for the Monkees on one of their tours. He asked for a "Show of hands?" for those who knew this piece of rock 'n roll trivia. To show what it was like, the band went into a short version of "Purple Haze" followed by "we want the Monkees" yells from the band.

Micky introduces his next song as his audition piece for the Monkees - "Too Much Monkey Business". Micky actually played the lead guitar on this song, mixing segments of the "Secret Agent Man" riff to the lead. Another story follows about his dad singing naked in the house, then an "opera" version of a segment of "Some Enchanted Evening". Micky about his "P.M.S. - pre-Monkees songs" before launching into "Since I Fell For You". The Monkees song "Goin Down" was next, followed by another Nesmith song, "Circle Sky". As the song ended, the guitarist played a segment of "Papa Gene's Blues" as part of the song. Another Monkees fave "Pleasant Valley Sunday" was next, then the last song of the set, "Daydream Believer". When Dolenz came back on stage for an encore, he explains to the kids that "this is not originally a Shrek song!" before playing "I'm a Believer".

Although he played a pretty short set, I was totally satisfied with the show. Micky's backing band was really top-notch and the whole performance was easily in the top percentage of oldies shows. All in all, Micky Dolenz live is definitely a "feast"!