Cindy Teixeira / For Nisqually Valley News
The morning cheerful weather on Saturday, Sept. 25, was a welcome reprieve from the previous day’s storm which brought windy rain and power outages throughout the northwest.
But a sunny Saturday morning lived up to the hype of Seattle-based cover band “Good Day Sunshine,” as it hosted the Brunch with the Beatles event at Yelm City Park.
Sponsored by the City of Yelm Parks and Recreation Department, people drove, walked, biked and otherwise made their way to the park to hear a live musical performance of oldies that seem forever fresh to fans.
The band opened the nearly two-hour set urging the crowd to come on a “Magical Mystery Tour.” Each song that followed invoked memories for the older folks and toe-tapping fun for the youngsters in the crowd.
Beatles music permeates popular culture, so nearly everyone has a favorite song.
Well, almost everyone.
Dawna Hansen placed her chair front and center to the stage and said she could not pick a single favorite.
“I love them all. I know the words to all of them,” Hansen quipped.
She singled out “When I’m 64,” because she is of that age now, she said.
The May family chowed down on some eggs, biscuits and gravy and other breakfast essentials listening for their favorites. Mark May said he liked “All My Loving,’” while Scott May said his choice was the entire B side of Abbey Road. Keri May chose “Here Comes the Sun,” followed by “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road.”
Mark turned 21 years old a few days earlier, and a quiet request to the band prompted a Beatles birthday song for him toward the end of the set.
Joel Derefield, a former Mayor of Roy, said he came to the park for the live music, food and friends. His favorite was Ringo’s Octopus’s Garden.
Another former mayor, JW Foster of Yelm, with wife Nicki, occupied a table with four of his grandchildren, Elliott, Callum, Rhys and Kieran, and their father, Luke Foster-Kosbab. Luke’s favorite was a lesser known song, “She Said,” which the band did not play.
Nicki chose “Hey Jude,” because it invokes a memory of her sons singing along in the back seat and one of them singing Paul McCarty’s part with sometimes too much enthusiasm. Annoying at the time, it is now a favorite Beatles memory, she said.
JW chose “Michelle.”
“But there was no actual Michelle,” he said laughing.
He also said he was so happy to see the park realize so many community events and become such a vibrant space. He commended those in the past who thought it important to plant shade trees, which now loom high, the community center, splash pad, play set, community garden, stage area, and the various events hosted there.
“It’s all about community,” JW said.
In the end, the band succumbed to multiple shouts of “one more!” a few times for several encores. Band members said the Yelm show had a “great vibe,” and they hope to return sometime.
Learn more about the band at gooddaysunshineband.com. Visit www.yelmwa.gov for future events.
