Re-creation of rooftop concert added to Beatles tribute show stopping in Wichita

As long as the Beatles have a place in pop culture, Steve Landes says, Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles will continue.

The latest resurgence of the Fab Four is thanks to a documentary that began streaming late last year, which is why a re-creation of the rooftop concert was added to the Rain show.

“Obviously with Disney+’s ‘Get Back’ series, people are really clamoring for it now,” Landes, who plays John Lennon, said in a phone interview from a tour stop in Richmond, Kentucky. “We really felt the excitement to get that put together.”

Rain stops at Century II concert hall on Monday night, as an add-on concert for the Broadway in Wichita series.

Landes has been with Rain since 1998, after performing for several years with Beatlemania.

Rain itself traces its roots back to 1975, when a Los Angeles group included a Beatles set in their show that became more popular than the original music they were trying to get out to the world.

“It’s really kind of the first tribute band per se,” Landes said. “The genre didn’t exist at that point. Yes, there were Elvis impersonators and impressionists, but as far as a tribute band goes that didn’t exist when they started doing this.”

Eventually, Rain was not alone.

“There are hundreds and hundreds of Beatles bands,” Landes said. “There are bands that do it for a living and the weekend warriors that have their own little Beatle band that plays at the local bar. It’s all great, it’s all fun. I’m glad everybody’s out there enjoying the Beatles music.”

It’s the showmanship, both among his bandmates and special effects, that sets Rain apart, Landes said.

“We’re the ones that turned it from a band into a production show on Broadway and the West End,” he said. “I think the musicality of this group, honing our skills at really replicating the Beatles music live on stage is what has primarily contributed to our longevity.”

Rain gives a history of Beatles in the show, from the 1964 appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” through the Shea Stadium concert, the mid-1960s recordings of “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver.” The second act includes highlights from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and, new for this tour, the entirety of “Abbey Road.”

Landes, who plays rhythm guitar, piano and harmonica, says the biggest challenge for the band is re-creating the recordings and their use of horns, strings and backwards tape loops.

“We want to replicate all of that live,” he said, adding that a keyboard player dubbed “the fifth Beatle” covers most of the intricacies.

There hasn’t been much turnover with the band, Landes said, with the newest players joining eight years ago.

Shy about his age except to say he’s a Generation X-er, Landes says he’ll keep on re-creating the 20-something Beatles “as long as it’s physically possible.”

“I wouldn’t want to be an 80-year-old Beatle up there,” he said, adding the Fab Four were at times ageless. “There was some sort of world wisdom they had about them. They acted more mature. They were not your typical 20-year-old kids.”

RAIN: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 18

Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas

Tickets: $41-$161, from wichitatix.com, the Century II box office or 303-8100