Herman’s Hermits played an energetic show at Reynolds Thursday night, showcasing the band’s English Invasion-era style.
Herman’s Hermits frontman Peter Noone began the show with some jokes and teasing of the Lettermen before going into “I’m Into Something Good,” one of their more famous songs.
The band mostly played their famous hits and covers of popular songs. The last song the band played was the crowd-pleasing “I’m Henry the VIII, I am.” Noone encouraged the audience to sing the simple song with him.
Noone joked in between songs, sometimes spending as much as five minutes between songs talking to the audience and making jokes about his band’s age. Noone also made fun of audience members and handed out T-shirts and CDs to children in the audience.
Noone continued joking with audience members after the show as well.
“Good crowd, wasn’t it?,” Noone said. “I was worried at first because the crowd seemed a little old for me, but they livened up.”
Herman’s Hermits performance was highly energetic and polished. Noone’s experience with performing showed in his style and ease on stage.
Though he has been performing with Herman’s Hermits since 1963, Noone’s voice sounded strong and he hit most notes in the performance easily.
Herman’s Hermits were formed in 1963 and were part of the British Invasion in the early 1960s along with better-known artists such as the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. The band became popular in America with their clean-cut image and family-friendly songs, which was an image they never changed from. Noone is the only original member of the band left and tours as Herman’s Hermits with an entirely American band.
After the show, both Herman’s Hermits and the Lettermen signed merchandise and took pictures with the audience members.
The opening act of the show, The Lettermen, also put on a show that the crowd enjoyed, despite the audience not being nearly as enthusiastic as it was with Herman’s Hermits.
The Lettermen, lead by original member Tony Butala, started their act with a video of television clips of the group being introduced over the years on shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show.
Butala has led the group for 50 years and is the only original member left in the group.
“This year we are celebrating our 50th year in the business called show business,” Butala said during the show.
Each member took a solo section of the show. Donovan Tea began his solo performace with a country-flared song and then sang “Daddy’s Girl,” a song about his young daughter. The group’s third member, Bobby Poynton, sang a song from the musical “Les Miserables.” The performance was one of the stand-outs in the Lettermen’s performance.
Though Butalla’s experience with performing and wooing a crowd was obvious, his voice was the weakest of the group’s three members.
The group took members of the audience to go up on stage and take pictures with them during one song and went through the crowd on a few other songs.
The Lettermen had several popular songs during the 60’s and 70’s and have played at least 100 shows per year since 1961.