Micky Dolenz at Troubadour, 4-5-24 Concert Review

There are times when you just know it’s going to be a magical night, when the signs are there for everyone to see. Such was the case last night when Micky Dolenz played the Troubadour in West Hollywood. A fantastic performer in an intimate and iconic venue, and for a good cause. The money raised from the sale of tickets went to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Everything about the show indicated it was going to be something special.

People in Los Angeles are not known for getting to places early. It’s the kind of city where people show up to a baseball game in the third inning, where people arrive at concerts after the band has already taken the stage. Yet more than an hour before doors were even scheduled to open, many fans had lined up for this sold-out concert. There was not just excitement, but joy in the line. How often is that the case? Some folks had purchased special meet-and-greet tickets, and they were let in early. Just before 7 p.m., the doors were opened to the rest of us. By then, the line was quite long. Some of those with the meet-and-greet tickets had taken up spots in front of the stage, but there was plenty of space for us up there too, and we settled in.

Coco Dolenz

The concert, which was billed as “An Evening Of Songs And Stories,” was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., and right at 8, the lights went down, and Micky Dolenz came down the stairs. He introduced his sister, Coco Dolenz, who started the show with a short set of covers, backed by Emeen Zarookian on guitar, Alex Jules on keys, and Rich Dart on drums. Coco was also celebrating her birthday. She began with “Beautiful,” a Carole King song. The line about getting up in the morning with a smile on your face stood out, because there were big smiles all around me. She followed that with a Bessie Smith song, “You’ve Been A Good Ole Wagon.” And she sounded great. In Micky’s introduction, he had said that Coco sings better than he does, and, well, she seemed to be doing her best to prove him right. That song also featured a nice lead by Alex Jules on keyboard. Coco then recounted the story of George Gershwin giving Jimmy McHugh a piano during the Great Depression, and McHugh writing “On The Sunny Side Of The Street” on that piano. After a wonderful rendition of “On The Sunny Side Of The Street,” Coco closed her portion of the first set with “You’re No Good,” which featured some great stuff by Emeen Zarookian on guitar.

Micky Dolenz then returned to the stage, this time introducing himself, which was hilarious. You know, someone he’s known all his life. Also coming onto the stage at that time were Wayne Avers on guitar and John Billings on bass. And they went straight into “That Was Then, This Is Now,” a song The Monkees recorded in 1986, one that became the theme of their reunion tour that year. That was the first year I saw the band in concert, and hearing the song last night brought me back to my teens. The joy I felt back then at finally getting a chance to see my first favorite group I felt again last night. Micky and the band delivered a great version. “I can’t believe I’m playing the Troubadour,” he said afterward, joking about being on top of the world. As I mentioned, the show was billed as “An Evening Of Songs And Stories,” and Micky told anecdotes as introductions to the songs. Some of the stories we’d heard before, some we hadn’t. After “That Was Then, This Is Now,” he talked about the early days of the show, about how they had no control over any of it, and about making $400 a week. He said that he and the other band members had been told they had a hit record, and so he and Davy Jones would listen to the radio, hoping to hear the song. And finally one day, they did. That song was “Last Train To Clarksville,” which Micky then played. It was after that song that he mentioned something that I had never heard before. Apparently there were more lyrics to the song, and Micky had told songwriter Tommy Boyce that he was exhausted and having trouble remembering all the words. So Boyce told him, screw it, just go didda didda didda didda. Crazy, right? That’s become a memorable part of the song. During the set break later, we got to talking about other songs that were supposed to have more lyrics, such as Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me.” Just like with “Last Train To Clarksville,” those sections became the most beloved parts of the songs. Funny how things work out sometimes.

Micky then played “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” a song written by Neil Diamond. Davy sang lead on the original Monkees recording, and last night Micky played maracas on this one. And it felt like Davy Jones was in the room with us. He followed that with “For Pete’s Sake,” a song written by Peter Tork that was used during the closing credits of the second season of the television series. It is really one of the band’s best songs, and it was wonderful hearing it again. Micky then talked about going to England to meet the Beatles, having dinner with Paul McCartney and being invited to hang out at a recording session at Abbey Road. That led to “Good Morning Good Morning,” the song that the Beatles had been working on during Micky’s visit. It was a treat to get to hear Micky cover this song, and it led straight into “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise),” a delightful surprise. I don’t recall ever hearing anyone cover the reprise before. After that song, Micky talked about the bands that he was in before The Monkees, which led to him performing his audition piece for the television series, Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” On the line about Johnny being “the leader of a big old band,” Micky pointed at Wayne Avers, who had just delivered some excellent stuff on guitar. After that song, Micky joked, “Despite that, I still got the gig.” He then talked a bit about Jimi Hendrix opening for The Monkees, and delivered part of “Purple Haze” before concluding the set with “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.” It was an energetic conclusion to the set, which ended at 8:55 p.m.

At 9:22 p.m., Micky Dolenz and the band were back on stage for the second set. Micky started it off by talking about the auditions for the television program, and how Stephen Stills was one of the folks who tried out. That led to another of the great surprises of the night, “For What It’s Worth,” a song written by Stephen Stills and originally recorded by Buffalo Springfield. And remember, weed goes great with kale. Several of Micky’s stories last night revolved around nights at the Troubadour, with a running gag about different spots in the club where he vomited. One of the stories he told was about seeing Elton John’s first U.S. performance there. The first song Elton played that night in 1970 was “Your Song,” and Micky delivered his own beautiful, moving, and somewhat dramatic rendition last night. He followed that with a fantastic rendition of “Valleri,” featuring some particularly outstanding work on guitar. Then Coco took over the vocal duties for “Different Drum,” a song that was written by Michael Nesmith but recorded by Stone Poneys. Coco was then on the alarm clock for “Daydream Believer,” a song that had me tearing up a bit. Another of the notable stories Micky told was about a serviceman who told him that he had been stationed on a nuclear submarine during the Cold War, trying to find the location of a Russian sub while not allowing the Russians to learn their own location. When it was clear the Russians had discovered where the U.S. sub was, the sub’s captain said, screw it, turn up the music. And the song that they cranked up was “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” That’s one hell of a good story, and the band delivered a great rendition of the song at the show.

Micky walked off the stage toward the end of the song, while the band kept jamming. He then returned, and they went straight into a cover of Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin’” that seriously rocked. This was a highlight of the night for me. There was a brief tease of Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing,” though without the vocals. During this jam, Micky introduced the band and led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday To You” to Coco. That led back into “Gimme Some Lovin’.” While he had been telling stories related to each of the songs, after this one, Micky said simply, “The reason I sang that is just ‘cause I friggin’ love it.” So did everyone in the crowd. He then did a bit of “(Theme From) The Monkees,” but as a blues number, which was great. And then the greatest jolt of the evening was when he burst into “No Time,” a seriously fun and high-energy rock song from Headquarters. It felt like the whole room was about to lift three or four feet off the ground. Fantastic. That would have been a great way to close the show, but Micky wasn’t done quite yet. He brought everyone together one last time with the always-appreciated “I’m A Believer.” The show ended at 10:10 p.m. There wasn’t an encore, though on the set lists on stage, everything after Micky’s brief departure was listed as the encore. Either way, the night felt complete. What a great show. It was one of those shows that was so enjoyable that many people stayed for a while after it was over, talking and taking time to let it all sink in. During that time, Rich Dart was kind enough to sign a set list for me, making the night even more special.

Set List

Set I

1. Beautiful
2. You’ve Been A Good Ole Wagon
3. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
4. You’re No Good
5. That Was Then, This Is Now
6. Last Train To Clarksville
7. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
8. For Pete’s Sake
9. Good Morning Good Morning >
10. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
11. Johnny B. Goode
12. Purple Haze
13. (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone

Set II

1. For What It’s Worth
2. Your Song
3. Valleri
4. Different Drum
5. Daydream Believer
6. Pleasant Valley Sunday >
7. Gimme Some Lovin’ >
8. Money For Nothing >
9. Happy Birthday To You >
10. Gimme Some Lovin’
11. (Theme From) The Monkees
12. No Time
13. I’m A Believer

Troubadour is located at 9081 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, California.