Beatles tribute band from Tokyo twists, shouts

The Beatles played at The Social last Friday. The Beatles tribute band, The Silver Beats, that is.

"I'm a huge fan of The Beatles, so that's why I came," Melissa Lirian, 17, said.

As an increasing line of fans wearing punk rock T-shirts, fedora hats and dress shirts patiently waited outside the venue for the doors to open, you could definitely sense the excitement from the crowd. After all, this was the first time The Silver Beats were playing in Orlando.

"I hope to hear a 'Day in the Life' and 'I Want To Hold Your Hand,'" Ariel Cano, 24, said.

Around 9:45 p.m., spectators from all walks of life filled The Social, ranging from teenagers to husband and wives, all coming together for one sole purpose: to experience The Beatles' music live.

Hailing from Japan, The Silver Beats' band members are Tadaaki Naganuma as Paul, Hidemasa Mabuchi as John, Hajime Kubo as George and Yukinobu Kabe as Ringo. The band's Beatles' songs catalog includes 160 songs that cover the whole career span of the rock legends.

The Silver Beats made their debut in 2002 at The Cavern Club Tokyo, where the band still plays nightly from 7:30 p.m. until 2 a.m.

"We were all brought together because the club was looking for a new band," Mabuchi, the band's guitarist, said.

He also said that in their first show, they sounded like amateurs and needed a lot of work, but after a few years of practicing and continuous playing, the band eventually landed exhilarating shows such as opening for The Killers at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Mabuchi fell in love with the fact that in America, the crowds love to cheer to their favorite bands.

"In Japan, it's hard to read the crowd, but in America, people go crazy," Mabuchi said.

The opening band, Mumpsy, started off the night with refreshing rock songs such as "Thanks to You" and "Sir Lancelot," and a very warm welcome of "Hello, early birds."

Following Mumpsy was Prabir and The Substitutes, whose on-stage chemistry caused the crowd to jump and down like it was a music video for House of Pain's "Jump Around."

The Silver Beats finally took the stage.

With long black hair that most emo kids would kill for, and dressed in navy blue, double-breasted vintage suits, red dress shirts and black leather dress boots, the Silver Beats could easily pass for Beatles stunt doubles.

As the band belted out classics such as "I Feel Fine" and "Come Together," the crowd danced and sang along.

At one point, Mabuchi took a break from carving out licks from his Rickenbacker guitar to mention that the band was once supposed to play with Chuck Berry, but Berry refused.

The crowd responded with boos, but Mabuchi revived their spirits by mentioning that band member Kubo was better than Berry, and Kubo then performed a guitar solo to prove it.

By the time the band played "Twist and Shout," The Social officially became one huge dance floor.

Members of the crowd twisted and twirled, while others locked arms and swerved side to side in an astonishing show of male bonding that only The Beatles' music could produce.

Even Prabir and The Substitutes joined in, as they hit the floor dancing and singing along with everyone else.

After a lengthy set, The Silver Beats thanked the crowd and stepped off stage.

They were back moments later, responding to the crowd as they shouted, "One More Song! One More Song!"

However, one simply wasn't enough, and the band stayed on-stage for another multiple song set.

The Silver Beats concert ended late into the night, but no one seemed to mind.

The crowd was so appreciative that each band member was bought a beer.

Mabuchi shouted, "I love Orlando!"