Thursday, June 30, 2011

Things Seen in Liverpool- Blog 2

     On Tuesday morning I woke up around 4 in the morning, why you may ask? Well because there was an estimated amount of 35 flies in our room, that number maybe exagerated a bit, but it's pretty close. I decided that there was no way I was going to be able to fall back asleep with all the flies buzzing around, so I got up to take a shower as quietly as I could without waking Anna or Cheshire up. Little did I know that somehow I had convinced them I was sleepwalking. That had made for an interesting morning. We all took off for Liverpool at 6:30, that way when we arrived in Liverpool we would have enough time to make it to the Beatles Museum, Magical Mystery Tour, and to The Cavern Club. We all headed out for our first stop of the day, the Beatles Museum tour. Entering in I had this idea that it would just be Beatles memorabilia, nick nacks, and random facts about the Beatles. When I entered in however, it ended up being something completely different. Inside the museum they gave you an audio tour as well, you would put your headset on, then punch in the number of whatever spot you were at. It basically gave you an inside, more indepth look at everything. The museum took you from the begining, to before they became the Beatles, during the Beatles and then to their solo careers. One of the most intersting pieces to the tour was that in each section you walked into, you walked into the environment as well, making you feel like you were getting a real Beatles experience. They had a mini Cavern club that you could walk around, you could sit in airplane seats, just like the ones the Beatles had, and then at the end, when you hit the solo careers sections, each band member had their own little environment. For Ringo, the seating in his area was made up of drum seats, it also showed how he had changed since the Beatles, in Paul's it was theater seats, showing that he still had remained a true performer. George's was a very gypsy feel with colorful pillows, it showed how he was very caring and helped out others, and Johns was very peaceful with white pillows, it showed how he had changed since the Beatles and with Yoko. The whole museum showed how the Beatles were influenced, and how they themselves influenced others. Such as the Skiffle bands, when rock and roll was not permited people would make up skiffle bands, the Beatles pushed the boundries and ended up becoming one of the first groups to show what rock and roll really was. What I took the most out of the tour was probably how the Beatles had changed through the years with their different band mates, music styles, even clothing styles.  I also got a better inside look into each one of the Beatles and got to know a little bit more about who they were as an individual.

     Our next stop on the agenda was The Magical Mystery Tour. Our first stop off of the bus was Penny Lane. Interestingly enough, I learned that not every place or thing talked about in the song Penny Lane was actually located on the actual street. Paul and George would take the bus to Penny Lane every week, which created the friendship between Paul and George. This is also a street close to where Lennon had lived. Penny Lane became a routine and apart of their lives, which gave them reason to write a song, inspired by one of the places that made an impact on them and which created a friendship. Another thing that really influenced the Beatles was when Paul was introduced to Lennon by his neighbor. If Paul had not had that connection, he may never have ended up with the Beatles.

     Next we stopped off at John, Georges, Paul, and Ringo's houses. We were not able to get out at all of these spots, but it did give us a good idea of where, how, and what it was like growing up in that type of environment. Each one of the houses had one thing in common, they were all very small, and tight living areas. It would be hard to think that these men who have made so much success in their life, could have ever lived in such small area. It makes you think and wonder how much space they actually had to practice. There is no doubt about it that any artist isn't affected by where and how they grew up just like any individual. Being raised in a different environment and losing his mother, Lennon was bound to be affected, you can tell in his music and writing that having a loss of both parents made him a little dark and twisted on the inside, this however ended up benefiting for amazing songs. To me it seems that the stage was the one place John could really escape from his darker side. When Pauls mother died also this made a connection between the two, having that loss that they both knew about and could conect with.  Next we made a stop off at the Strawberry Fields gate. This was beautiful, it was a little torn up, but it still looked amazing and got the point across as to how it was an inspiration to the Beatles music. This mainly was a inspiration for John and a place where he could escape from the world and from his childhood.

    

     I would have to say however, that my favorite part of the trip to Liverpool was the Cavern Club. I can understand why anyone would want to go there. It had this odd feeling when you first walk in, as if you dont belong there, you're an outsider and that this wasn't your place, but after a while the music and the environment begin to pull you in, make you feel as though your a regular. You can't help but to dance and sing along to the songs. After one group was done playing, you just couldn't resist the urge to want to stay and listen to more. It's hard to pin point down exactly what influenced the Beatles the most about this place, but I would have to guess that it was the environment and air the place gives off. In August of 1957, the Beatles made their first appearence as the Quarry Men. February of 1961 The Beatles appeared for the first time, with fresh new rock beats and a new drummer, Ringo. This I would imagine is where the Beatles really fell in love with performing on stage and in front of people. It had a welcoming feeling, and I'm sure that's what sparked higher ambition in the Beatles.

1 comment:

  1. You made such a great point of John feeling like he could escape on stage as opposed to his every day life at home. Interestingly enough, I was watching an interview recently where John said he was never afraid on stage. The stage was where he felt safest and felt like he could be himself. So you were spot on! The Liverpool trip was a LOT of Beatles in just one day, but I can tell you soaked it all in with enthusiasm. In the Beatles Story museum, my favorite part was visiting each of their little pods of their solo careers. Unfortunately I only went to John and George's and now I'm kicking myself for not visiting the other two!!! Thank you for describing them, though! My question for you is, now that you have all this background knowledge of the Beatles hometown and the type of environment they each grew up in, can you hear that influence better in any of their songs?

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