The Monkees, The Who And The Rolling Stones Played Locally This Month, The Monkees Were Best

A spent a week in December catching up with 1960s superstars live on stage, folks who should be dangling their Grandkids on their knees but were demanding satisfaction before graying fans and performing unbelievable acts of fierce time bending. All of them were various degrees of good, but, after watching the three acts in tandem, only the Monkees were great.

How is this possible.

1. All three acts had a problem with their biggest hits, to put it bluntly we had heard them once to often. But, with Nesmith back in the fold, the Monkees were playing minor hits as well. Unlike the Who, who were stuck with an opera, and the Stones who were stuck with the same old Great 28, the Monkees ransacked their catalog.

2. Both the Who and the Stones were in Arenas, the Monkees were in a theater. And while the had a similar multi-media presentation, it was much more intimate. You got the best of both worlds.

3. And the corollary, $100 got you the best tix house in the house for the Monkees, it wouldn't get you behind the stage for the Stones.

4. Between the price of the tickets and the worldwide anticipation, the Who and especially the Stones had impossibly high expectations that couldn't be and certainly weren't met. The Monkees couldn't really underperform.

5. And finally, the Stones and the Who are over estimated, the Monkees are under estimated. This time it caught up with the heavy weights.