Grass Roots and Herman's Hermits in Concert.

Until his death in 2011, band member Rob Grill chose replacement band members who would carry on the band's sound for years to come. Since that time, "The Grass Roots" play 100 shows a year throughout the country. Originally from the Los Angeles California area, the band was known for their Folk Rock, pop, pop rock and sunshine pop (arguably, some would even put them in the psychedelic pop category as well).

The band today features the heart and soul of the band, bassist, vocalist Mark Dawson, Joe Dougherty on drums, Larry Nelson on keyboards and Dusty Hanvey on lead guitar. Continuing on its traditions, the band last night churned out 11 songs; aside from a questionable choice of order in those songs, they made their hour onstage pleasurable.

Original songwriters P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri were tremendous in the arrangements, the changing harmonies that earned them 29 charting singles- 13 of which went gold. Only 9 other bands have charted more hits on Billboards Hot 100 than The Grass Roots.

Opening with "I'd Wait a Million Years", the band put the crowd into a groove. The band's second song, "Sooner or Later" should have been the evenings last one. Always a fan favorite, it maybe their most recognizable song. Using a popular Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds cover: "Don't Pull Your Love" was the perfect lead in to the pensive "Let's Live for Today".

As the band really gained their traction, the evenings seventh song and perhaps should have been the second to last song song is the very popular rendition by the band "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Grows" (Edison Lighthouse cover). The Grass Roots popularized this song in the 70's, bringing it to number two on the charts. I am not sure why the band played "Where Where You When I Needed You", a Herman's Hermits song, but they really had a soulful version of this song. This song showed the talent of Larry Nelson on Keyboards.

Ending with "The River Is Wide" and "Midnight Confessions" are two that I would have reconsidered. The Grass Roots are a upbeat band, and are know for their pop, upbeat songs. I think that these two are not signature songs of the band, and a poor choice to close with.

This Grass Roots for the most part fit the image that Rob Grill wanted and imagined. Dusty Hanvey at times struggled on the lead guitar. His playing went from excellent to fair throughout the night. Joe Dougherty at times sounded like he was chopping wood on the drums. His down-strokes were to obtuse making the back beat too staccato. The lighting which is usually a strong point at The Morristown Performing Arts Center was not clear and the choice of colors were questionable. The colors did not match the genre of the music played. At Three Dog Night just two weeks ago, the colors washed well to the music; tonight it just didn't have the proper vibe.

Herman's Hermits.

Peter Noone, from Davyhulme, Lancashire, England got his training as an actor, musician and singer at Manchester college of music and drama. It was there that he founded the group "The Heartbeats". The band would later change its name to Harmans Hermits and later, Herman's Hermits. Noone had taken the role of conductor of the band and from there, Herman's Hermits had a sound of its own.

Because of his training as an actor, Noone (like David Bowie) was always able to bring excitement to the audience. As such, Herman's Hermits quickly became acclaimed as a talented band with a real character as their front man. Having been on regular T.V. shows like The Jackie Gleason show as well as Dean and many more, Noone would act in movies as well. A talented guitarist, pianist, Noone was sought after across all artist boundaries.

In the familiar Union Jack backdrop, Herman's Hermits performed 22 songs in total (many were short formed songs like Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire", "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones, "Benny and The Jets", Elton John, "All My Lovin", The Beatles, "Day Dream Believer", The Monkeys and "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"; to Noone, it is as much about the showmanship as it it is the show! And what a showman he is! It did not take long for the audience to figure out that he has an incredible scale range and that his energy makes it difficult to believe that he is 75 years old. Both fit and energized, Peter Noone marched all over the stage in perpetual motion (even in the audience) for an hour and fifteen minutes.

Playing all their hits: "I'm Into Something Good", "Dandy", "Silhouettes", "Mrs. Brown", "You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and ending with their two biggest hits: "I'm Henry the Vlll" and "There's a Kind of Hush", the band was tight all night long feeding the beast of its singer. The stage setup was such that the front man was front and center. The lead and bassist were in the backdrop over Noone's right shoulder, the drummer set far behind his center and the organist off to the left. After all, there is only room for the one big personality at the front, or anywhere near the front.

Like The Grass Roots, Peter Noone was self depreciating about his age, his carrier, where he has been and what he and the band have accomplished. In his British humor he makes fun of his band mates, his family, himself and even his aging audience. Like The Grass Roots, one thing is for certain: both bands love what they do in playing music, still out on the road entertaining their adoring fans.