Okay, technically it was Beatlefest… well technically-technically it was “The Fest for Those Among You Whom Call Yourselves Fans of the Beatles” or something like that. I (Bonnie) wasn’t there, but my web partner Laurie was, as well as the old gang from Chicago Neilfest 2001, plus about 247 new Neil campers from the innesboard. They were joined in Chicago by 7th Python filmmakers Burt Kearns & Brett Hudson and of course Neil himself. From what I’ve heard from everybody else, the movie was a rousing success, the house was packed, and everybody really enjoyed the movie. And they all said such nice things about my animation, and Laurie said everybody clapped when my name came up in the credits. (yay!)
Some visual highlights:
7th Python filmmakers Brett Hudson & Burt Kearns, along with Neil & Mark Lapidos, introducing the 7th Python.
The reaction at the end of the film, courtesy Tabloidbaby… I can’t make out the names in the credits, but is that my name they’re cheering for near the end? Since I don’t know, let’s just say it is.
Neil talks about the movie and his time with the Bonzos and Monty Python. Another video thanks to DeeBee!
Neil playing I Must Be In Love with Liverpool
Some pictures put up on the Neilfest 2008 photo gallery…
We’ll start with Laurie & Neil…
Rutling Ken, Neil’s projected image (he’s off on the left out of the frame)
and Vet Ken Simpson make some purty music.
Laurie on the left, Rutling Ken on the right, and Christine in the middle.
Christine’s sure got a purty mouth.
Neil & the gang from the Innesboard
Neil holding court with the Innesboarders.
Neil joins in a spontaneous jam session.
I think they were singing a George song.
More mingling with yanks!
Mahhhhhhhh-tin! A TRIUMPH!!
Neil being a goomba out in the lobby. Video by Barb!
Neil playing Rutle songs with Liverpool
Last day, everybody just waiting for time to go to the airport…
featuring Patrick, the adorable Spawn of Vet Ken on the right.
And now from the Chicago Sun Times…
Full Story: http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/1094681,innes080708.article
A satisfied Rutle spends lost weekend with Beatles fans in Chicago
August 7, 2008
BY JEFF ELBEL
According to Neil Innes, he stumbled innocently into show business with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band during the 1960s and has been falling through open doors ever since. He’s happier as a respected peer of timeless entertainers like the Beatles and Monty Python troupe than being considered a star himself.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Rutles film “All You Need Is Cash,” a wickedly funny Beatles spoof. Monty Python’s Eric Idle wrote the screenplay about the “Prefab Four,” and Innes starred as John Lennon figure Ron Nasty. Innes’ compositions for the soundtrack (and 1996’s “Archaeology”) rival the wit and craft of the Beatles’ works they affectionately skewer.
This weekend in Chicago, Innes will speak at The Fest for Beatles Fans and perform Rutles favorites with the band Liverpool. Attendees also can see a new documentary called “The Seventh Python,” dedicated to Innes’ “accidental career.”
Innes spoke with the Sun-Times from his home in England.
Q. The Rutles song “Joe Public” could make a fitting theme song for the pro-anonymity stance of “The Seventh Python,” if you weren’t such an inspiring skeptic. Would the lyric “I put my faith in the powers that be” ever suit you?
A. No, but that’s what Joe Public does. If you go right back to Socrates, intelligence has not been a commodity held in high esteem. Most Joe Publics are happy to support a football team or form some sort of tribe, which plays into the hands of anyone wanting to take away their hard-earned dollar. [The general public] are not stupid, but we are unaware of how things work.
Q. Does “The Seventh Python” stoke your ego, or provoke your contempt for fame?
A. It’s a wriggly, awkward place to be, I’ll tell you [laughs]. I quite like that they went ’round with a photograph and nobody recognized me. My favorite bit was on Hollywood Boulevard, where the guy says, “So, you’re making a documentary about somebody nobody knows?” Fame and money have become the twin pillars of modern culture. I love the idea of a D-list celebrity, which is someone who’s been hit on the head by Tiger Woods’ golf ball.
Q. Would people at The Fest for Beatles Fans have the same trouble with the photo?
A. No, no. I just don’t cross into the mainstream. I’ve [witnessed] very big fame through people I know. It’s a lot more fun being a Rutle than a Beatle!
Q. Will you find the type of fans who made life challenging for the Beatles at the Fest?
A. No; it’s people on a voluntary Lost Weekend with family, playing songs to each other that they love. What unites everybody is a preferable reality to the one that comes down the pipe every other day of the year. It’s a little oasis of friendliness and hope. I’m incredibly flattered that they should find the Rutles songs not that wide of the mark. Jeff Elbel is a Chicago freelance writer.
And that’s the way it was at Neilfest 2008!
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