No Kind of Hush with Herman

By Bruno Bornino

It’s ironic. How could young adults yell at a recording group for more than 30 minutes to sing a tune called “There’s a Kind of Hush All Over the World?”

Like I said, it’s ironic, but at the same time it’s easy. Especially when the requested song has sold more than a million records and the group singing is the one that made the record famous.

That, among other things, is what happened at Music Hall last night when there was absolutely no hush for Herman’s Hermits, England’s international recording greats making their first Cleveland visit.

THE HERMITS, along with the Who, Blues Magoos and the Choir, were in town for two WHK concerts. Neither of the shows was sold out, but both should have been. A non-music audience couldn’t have asked for more.

Herman’s Hermits, with 16 national hits, are considered one of pop music’s real “heavies.” The Who is unbelievable (see their review below). Blues Magoos have headlined shows before and the Choir is currently Cleveland’s top pop group.

Peter Noone, or Herman, lead singer of the Hermits, sang 12 songs, clowned with the audience and was a master showman. The Hermits opened the show with a Beatles’ number, “A Little Bit of Help From My Friends.”

After that it was fun and games, as the Hermits delighted their followers with “Listen People,” “Dandy,” “Don’t Go Out Into the Rain,” “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” “Henry VIII” and, of course, “There’s a Kind of Hush All Over the World.”

HERMAN’S herd loved every number and whistled, strobe, lighting screamed and threw soft objects after each song. Throughout, the other Hermits — Karl Green, Keith Hopwood, Barry Whitwam and Derek “Lek” Leckenby — looked like they were having a ball. The audience reacted in the same manner.

Blues Magoos proved to be masters at psychedelic sounds and lighting effects. Each wore an outfit that was wired. When the house lights dimmed, the Blues Magoos literally glowed in the dark. Excellent use of lighting was also effective for this group.

The Choir, who opened each show, received most applause when they sang “It’s Cold Outside,” a tune that topped Cleveland’s charts for five weeks.

[photo caption:] Herman had his followers up in arms last night at Music Hall. For the most part, young adults remained in their seats throughout the concert.

The Who: came, saw, conquered

It wouldn’t be fair to review the Who as part of another show.

This is a headline group.

It was obvious that many at the Hermits’ show really came to see if the rave reviews on the Who were justified. They were!

THE WHO start at a highly professional level, and then astound the audience by sounding better with each song.

The sound this quartet gets from two guitars and a set of drums is unreal. Of course, it must be taken into account that Keith Moon, the drummer, is considered the best in Europe (some say the world and I’m not about to disagree with them).

Pete Townshend and John Entwhistle know how to get every possible sound out of a guitar. Some impossible sounds are also thrown in for good measure. Lead singer Roger Daltrey has a dynamic style that adds much to the visual excitement of the group.

THE WHO was on stage for 30 minutes, but it seemed much shorter than that.

[photo caption:] Keith Moon, drummer for the Who, throws his $5000 set of drums into the audience. Stage looked like a disaster area after the Who completed their act.

They played “Soon to be Home,” “Substitute,” “Summertime Blues,” “Boris the Spider” and their monster hit, “Happy Jack.”

The group’s finale is truly unbelievable. They play “My Generation,” and then each gets out to the edge.

They smash guitars, break microphones and amplifiers, and to top it off, throw a $5000 drum kit into the audience (not to mention hundreds of drum sticks).

How do you follow an act like that? Ask Herman.

B.B.