Peter Noone "In The Raw" at The Iridium

When it come to British rock I tend to gravitate toward the more testosterone driven material by The Stones, The Who, The Kinks, The Animals and Led Zeppelin, etc. So when I was invited to see Peter Noone at The Iridium recently, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew the hit singles from Herman’s Hermits, of course, and went to the show with an open mind. And WOW! what a fabulous and fun time it was. One of my recent favorite shows in fact. Peter Noone’s performance was a very intimate and personal trip through the history of the creation of some of the greatest music ever made. Hermits and otherwise. Part narrative and part hit parade we could have sat and listened for hours and hours. Simply incredible!

The small room at The Iridium seemed to encourage Peter into sharing story after story that he may have cut short or even left out in a larger venue. His story of hanging with John Lennon as a young and green 17 year old was fascinating. I’ll never be able to see a photo of Peter without thinking of his story of John calling him “Hermit” and buying him Rum and Cokes at the Ad Lib, a popular London nightclub.

He also had great stories about working with producer Mickie Most, The Animals, The Beatles, Gerry and The Pacemakers and many others. Peter worked with and walked amongst those that would become legends as they laid the foundation of popular music that would last for decades. His stories were exciting and real! Not your typical stories of Glory Days for sure.

Peter Noone was performing “In The Raw,” he said, accompanied only by guitarist Vance Brescia. Vance has a long rock and roll history of his own having written songs for The Monkees and others and played with a variety of well-known artists over the years. The sparse accompaniment ended up being perfect and highlighted Peter’s trademark voice throughout the show.

Peter’s show included many of the Hermits’ greatest hits like “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am,” “Silhouettes,” “No Milk Today,” “Sunshine Girl,” “Baby, Don’t You Believe it,” along with a few covers, an impromptu move to piano to sing “My Sentimental Friend” and the David Bowie penned classic “Oh! You Pretty Things.”