Colorful TV lines appeared on the large screen and it began flipping through various channels before stopping on one program: “The Monkees.”

On Saturday, the ’60s American pop-rock band took the stage at the H Ric. Luhrs Performing Arts Center during its Good Times: The 50th Anniversary Tour. The group opened with its theme song, “Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees. And people say we monkey around.”

In 1965, four young men were selected to the roles of struggling musicians in a fictitious rock band titled, The Monkees. This group consisted of Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith and the late Davy Jones. Ironically, The Monkees were a huge success and fans soon started begging for records since they loved their songs. When it first started out, The Monkees’ main priority was to act, but soon the group became full-fledged musicians. The show was cancelled in 1968, but the band continued to record for three more years.

After Davy Jones died in 2012, the remaining Monkees members performed a reunion show in honor of him. Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork decided to keep the music alive after the original reunion was such a success. The two released a new album this year called, “Good Times!”

Throughout the night, The Monkees pulled out the “way back machine” box to play old recordings of Jones singing. It was neat how Jones was still part of the performance and in a sense overcame death. The audience was still able to hear some of Davey’s songs like “Shades Of Gray” and “Daydream Believer.”

After an old song was played, the iconic Monkees symbol would fill the screen, and each time a new one was played, the band’s new cover would appear. In addition, the band had old clips from its show play in the background during its performance.

Dolenz and Tork goofed around on stage with one another between songs which made the audience feel like they were watching the show all over again. During one song, Tork tried stealing the microphone from Dolenz.

The group closed with its classic, “Daydream Believer,” but reappeared for an encore.

“For all those little kids out in the audience, don’t forget, we sang this song before ‘Shrek,’” Dolenz said as the band began “I’m a Believer.”

The audience stood and clapped along to the lyrics those of all ages knew so well. Even after 50 years, Dolenz and Tork proved they can perform just as well as they did in their youth.

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